UK Foreign Minister Lammy Plays Down Putin Threats– www.themoscowtimes.com Source Link Excerpt:
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of “bluster” Sunday over his warning that letting Ukraine use long-range weapons to strike inside Russia would put NATO “at war” with Moscow.
US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met at the White House to discuss whether to ease rules on Kyiv’s use of western-supplied weapons this week
“I think that what Putin’s doing is throwing dust up into the air,” Lammy told the BBC.
“There’s a lot of bluster. That’s his modus operandi. He threatens about tanks, he threatens about missiles, he threatens about nuclear weapons.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been asking for permission to use long-range weapons such as British Storm Shadow missiles and US-made ATACMS missiles to hit targets deeper inside Russia for months.
Biden and Starmer delayed a decision on the move during their meeting on Friday.
It came after Putin warned that green-lighting use of the weapons “would mean that NATO countries, the US, European countries, are at war with Russia.”
“If that’s the case, then taking into account the change of nature of the conflict, we will take the appropriate decisions based on the threats that we will face,” he added.
The Russian leader has long warned western countries that they risk provoking a nuclear war over their support for Ukraine.
“We cannot be blown off course by an imperialist fascist, effectively, that wants to move into countries willy nilly,” said Lammy.
“If we let him with Ukraine, believe me, he will not stop there.”
Lammy said that talks between Starmer, Biden and Zelensky over the use of the missiles would continue at the United Nations General Assembly gathering in New York later this month.
Elsewhere, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz once again ruled out sending long-range precision weapons to Ukraine on Saturday, regardless of decisions made by NATO allies.
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As NATO members privately discuss and publicly comment on the possibility of allowing Ukraine to use long-range western weapons into the heart of Russia, Putin is warning such moves would be an act of war.
Canada has already signaled approval while Britain’s foreign minister is downplaying Putin’s rhetoric. So far, it seems the west is intent on going forward with plants that could, if you believe Putin, require NATO troops to be actively engaging in attacking Russia. The U.S. expanded sanctions against Russia’s medias companies as Russia launched a major drone assault on Kiev.
Putin Warns Russia at War with NATO if Ukraine Allowed to Fire Long-Range Missiles; Biden Dismisses Threat– www.cbn.com Source Link Excerpt:
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s warning to NATO leaders that approval for Ukraine to use long-range Western-made missiles that could penetrate deep into Russia “would mean that NATO countries, the United States and European countries, are at war with Russia.”
When asked by reporters about the Putin threat, President Joe Biden essentially dismissed his warning, saying after a meeting Friday with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, “I don’t think much about Vladimir Putin.” Biden said he wanted to make clear that “Putin does not prevail in this war.”
Dmitri Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, asserted Saturday that a pending decision by the U.S. and NATO nations to approve Ukraine’s deployment of the missiles would possibly prompt Russia to use nuclear weapons, and he cautioned that Kyiv could be turned into a “gray melted spot.”
For much of this month, there have been indications that the U.S. and NATO might change the policy and allow Ukraine’s request to use the missiles. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken hinted at such a change on a visit to Kyiv earlier in September.
The head of NATO’s military committee, Admiral Rob Bauer from The Netherlands, indicated Saturday that Ukraine would be legally and militarily justified in launching the weapons.
“Every nation that is attacked has the right to defend itself. And that right doesn’t stop at the border of your own nation,” Bauer declared.
Trudeau says Ukraine can strike deep into Russia with NATO arms, Putin hints at war– ctv news Source Link Excerpt:
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Ukraine should be allowed to strike deep inside Russia, despite Moscow threatening that this would draw Canada and its allies into direct war.
“Canada fully supports Ukraine using long-range weaponry to prevent and interdict Russia’s continued ability to degrade Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, and mostly to kill innocent civilians in their unjust war,” Trudeau told reporters at a news conference in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Que., on Friday.
On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that the NATO military alliance allowing Ukraine to use weapons it has provided for long-range strikes “would mean that NATO countries, the United States and European countries, are at war with Russia.”
UK Foreign Minister Lammy Plays Down Putin Threats– www.themoscowtimes.com Source Link Excerpt:
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of “bluster” Sunday over his warning that letting Ukraine use long-range weapons to strike inside Russia would put NATO “at war” with Moscow.
US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met at the White House to discuss whether to ease rules on Kyiv’s use of western-supplied weapons this week
“I think that what Putin’s doing is throwing dust up into the air,” Lammy told the BBC.
“There’s a lot of bluster. That’s his modus operandi. He threatens about tanks, he threatens about missiles, he threatens about nuclear weapons.”
U.S. hits Russian state media with sanctions for raising money for Moscow’s troops in Ukraine – LA Times Source Link Excerpt:
The U.S. State Department has announced new sanctions on Russian state media, accusing a Kremlin news outlet of working hand in hand with the Russian military and running fundraising campaigns to pay for sniper rifles, body armor and other equipment for soldiers fighting in Ukraine.
While the outlet, RT, has previously been sanctioned for its work to spread Kremlin propaganda and disinformation, the new allegations suggest its role goes far beyond influence operations. Instead, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday, RT is a key part of Russia’s war machine and its efforts to undermine its democratic adversaries.
“RT wants its new covert intelligence capabilities, like its longstanding propaganda disinformation efforts, to remain hidden,” Blinken told reporters. “Our most powerful antidote to Russia’s lies is the truth. It’s shining a bright light on what the Kremlin is trying to do under the cover of darkness.”
Russia launches drone attack on Kyiv, Ukraine’s military says – MSN Source Link Excerpt:
Russia launched its eighth air attack in September on Kyiv overnight, with air defence units destroying nearly 20 drones that were heading towards the country’s capital, Ukrainian military said on Monday.
“Russian attack drones were heading to Kyiv from different directions and in different groups,” Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, said on Telegram.
“According to preliminary information, there were no casualties or damage in Kyiv.”
The scale of the attack, which kept Kyiv under air raid alerts for about 3.5 hours, will only be known later on Monday, he added on the messaging app.
Reuters’ witnesses reported a series of loud explosions in what sounded like air defence systems in operation.
There was no immediate comment from Moscow. Russia says that it targets only Ukrainian infrastructure that is key to its war efforts in its air attacks.
Russia launches drone attack on Kyiv, Ukraine’s military says – MSN Source Link Excerpt:
Russia launched its eighth air attack in September on Kyiv overnight, with air defence units destroying nearly 20 drones that were heading towards the country’s capital, Ukrainian military said on Monday.
“Russian attack drones were heading to Kyiv from different directions and in different groups,” Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, said on Telegram.
“According to preliminary information, there were no casualties or damage in Kyiv.”
The scale of the attack, which kept Kyiv under air raid alerts for about 3.5 hours, will only be known later on Monday, he added on the messaging app.
Reuters’ witnesses reported a series of loud explosions in what sounded like air defence systems in operation.
There was no immediate comment from Moscow. Russia says that it targets only Ukrainian infrastructure that is key to its war efforts in its air attacks.
Trudeau says Ukraine can strike deep into Russia with NATO arms, Putin hints at war– ctv news Source Link Excerpt:
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Ukraine should be allowed to strike deep inside Russia, despite Moscow threatening that this would draw Canada and its allies into direct war.
“Canada fully supports Ukraine using long-range weaponry to prevent and interdict Russia’s continued ability to degrade Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, and mostly to kill innocent civilians in their unjust war,” Trudeau told reporters at a news conference in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Que., on Friday.
On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that the NATO military alliance allowing Ukraine to use weapons it has provided for long-range strikes “would mean that NATO countries, the United States and European countries, are at war with Russia.”
Putin Warns Russia at War with NATO if Ukraine Allowed to Fire Long-Range Missiles; Biden Dismisses Threat– www.cbn.com Source Link Excerpt:
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s warning to NATO leaders that approval for Ukraine to use long-range Western-made missiles that could penetrate deep into Russia “would mean that NATO countries, the United States and European countries, are at war with Russia.”
When asked by reporters about the Putin threat, President Joe Biden essentially dismissed his warning, saying after a meeting Friday with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, “I don’t think much about Vladimir Putin.” Biden said he wanted to make clear that “Putin does not prevail in this war.”
Dmitri Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, asserted Saturday that a pending decision by the U.S. and NATO nations to approve Ukraine’s deployment of the missiles would possibly prompt Russia to use nuclear weapons, and he cautioned that Kyiv could be turned into a “gray melted spot.”
For much of this month, there have been indications that the U.S. and NATO might change the policy and allow Ukraine’s request to use the missiles. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken hinted at such a change on a visit to Kyiv earlier in September.
The head of NATO’s military committee, Admiral Rob Bauer from The Netherlands, indicated Saturday that Ukraine would be legally and militarily justified in launching the weapons.
“Every nation that is attacked has the right to defend itself. And that right doesn’t stop at the border of your own nation,” Bauer declared.
U.S. hits Russian state media with sanctions for raising money for Moscow’s troops in Ukraine – LA Times Source Link Excerpt:
The U.S. State Department has announced new sanctions on Russian state media, accusing a Kremlin news outlet of working hand in hand with the Russian military and running fundraising campaigns to pay for sniper rifles, body armor and other equipment for soldiers fighting in Ukraine.
While the outlet, RT, has previously been sanctioned for its work to spread Kremlin propaganda and disinformation, the new allegations suggest its role goes far beyond influence operations. Instead, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday, RT is a key part of Russia’s war machine and its efforts to undermine its democratic adversaries.
“RT wants its new covert intelligence capabilities, like its longstanding propaganda disinformation efforts, to remain hidden,” Blinken told reporters. “Our most powerful antidote to Russia’s lies is the truth. It’s shining a bright light on what the Kremlin is trying to do under the cover of darkness.”
Flooding death toll climbs after delayed warning from Myanmar junta – myanmar-now Source Link Excerpt:
More than 60 have died this week in floods caused by Typhoon Yagi in various parts of Myanmar, with most of the confirmed deaths occurring between Mandalay and the junta’s administrative capital of Naypyitaw, according to rescue workers.
Heavy rains started in and near Tachileik, eastern Shan State on Monday, causing floods by the next day. Flooding also occurred in Myawaddy, Karen State and in southern Shan State over the next few days.
Since Thursday, flooding has impacted Mandalay Region’s Kyaukse, Myittha, Pyawbwe, Thazi and Yamethin townships along the road from Mandalay to Naypyitaw, as well as Pyinmana, Tatkon, and Zayathiri townships in the Naypyitaw Union Territory, rescue workers said.
10 people have died in the floods in Yamethin Township, according to the rescue workers, with as many as 200 missing and feared dead after dozens were carried off in floodwaters in rural villages. In Pyawbwe Township, 15 people are reported missing and three bodies have been recovered, they said.
Israel seeking to close down Unrwa, says agency’s chief after school bombing | United Nations– www.theguardian.com Source Link Excerpt:
A campaign is under way to drive the UN relief agency for Palestinians, Unrwa, out of existence, its commissioner general has said, days after 18 people were killed when Israeli jets bombed an Unrwa school in Gaza.
Philippe Lazzarini said in an interview that the Israeli government was seeking to close down the agency, having failed to persuade western donors to stop funding it on the grounds of allegations about links between Unrwa staff and Hamas.
“This deliberate attempt to eliminate Unrwa and prevent it from operating would have devastating consequences for the multilateral system, the UN and the cause of a Palestinian transition to self-determination,” Lazzarini said.
Vance says Trump’s plan to end the war would likely force Ukraine to give up land, NATO aspirations– www.washingtonexaminer.com Source Link Excerpt:
VANCE’S VISION OF UKRAINE PEACE: Former President Donald Trump’s running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), has laid out a vision of how he expects Trump’s plan to bring the war in Ukraine to a quick end will play out, and it’s pretty much everything Russian President Vladimir Putin could have hoped for.
Trump has repeatedly refused to say he wants Ukraine to win but has promised to end the war as soon as he wins the November election — before he actually takes office. “I will get that settled and fast, and I’ll get the war with Ukraine and Russia ended,” Trump said at this week’s debate with Vice President Kamala Harris. “If I’m president-elect, I’ll get it done before even becoming president.”
“I think what this looks like is, Trump sits down, he says to the Russians, the Ukrainians, the Europeans, you guys need to figure out, ‘what does a peaceful settlement look like?’” Vance said in a podcast interview Thursday with former Navy SEAL Shawn Ryan.
“And what it probably looks like is something like the current line of demarcation between Russia and Ukraine — that becomes like a demilitarized zone, it’s heavily fortified so the Russians don’t invade again,” Vance said. “Ukraine retains its independent sovereignty. Russia gets the guarantee of neutrality from Ukraine, it doesn’t join NATO, it doesn’t join you know some of these sort of allied institutions. And I think that’s ultimately what this looks like.”
U.S. moves USS Theodore Roosevelt from Middle East, leaving USS Abraham Lincoln as sole carrier in vicinity – 13 News Now Source Link Excerpt:
WASHINGTON — The United States has reduced the number of aircraft carriers it has stationed in the Middle East,
The Pentagon announced Thursday that it has moved USS Theodore Roosevelt from the region. That decision leaves the U.S. with just one carrier in the vicinity: USS Abraham Lincoln.
Both carriers have been in place since August 23 to provide presence, as Israel continues its war with Hamas.
“Following a period of dual carrier coverage by the Theodore Roosevelt CSG and the Abraham Lincoln CSG in the CENTCOM region, the Theodore Rosevelt has departed and begun its transit into the Indo-Pacific area of operations,” said Major General Pat Ryder, Department of Defense Press Secretary.
China raising its retirement age may be unpopular but it’s much needed, analysts say– www.cnbc.com Source Link Excerpt:
China’s top legislative body passed an official plan Friday to begin incrementally raising the nation’s statutory retirement age from Jan. 1 of next year and concluding in 2040, according to Chinese state media.
The final goal of the roughly 15-year plan is to raise the retirement age by three years for men to 63 years old, five years for women that work in factories from 50 to 55 and three years for women that work in white-collar jobs from 55 to 58.
The reforms are “overdue and very much welcome,” Erica Tay, director of macro research at Maybank Investment Banking Group, told CNBC.
China has been grappling with a shrinking workforce and looming pension budget shortfalls that could significantly damage the economy.
Viktor Orban praises Germany for leading the EU in major migrant crackdown | World | News– www.express.co.uk Source Link Excerpt:
Hungary’s Viktor Orban praised his liberal German counterpart Olaf Scholz for cracking down on migrants. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stunned his pro-EU allies after unveiling strict border rules which will allow for a “massive step-up in rejections” of asylum seekers.
Mr Orban whose anti-immigrant rhetoric and actions has sparked huge rows with Brussels, sent a message of support to Mr Scholz: “Germany has decided to impose strict border controls to stop illegal migration. Scholz, welcome to the club! #StopMigration.”
EU officials have warned that Mr Scholz’s new policy threatens to unravel the entire European bloc, as one leading German politician remarked: “Border controls would be the beginning of the end for the EU.”
Unveiling the plan on Monday, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) said: “Until we achieve stronger border protection with the joint European asylum system, we must further protect our national borders.”
China to train thousands of overseas law enforcement officers to create ‘more fair’ world order – The Guardian Source Link Excerpt:
China will train thousands of foreign law enforcement officers so as to see the world order “develop in a more fair, reasonable and efficient direction”, its minister for public security has said.
“We will [also] send police consultants to countries in need to conduct training to help them quickly and effectively improve their law enforcement capabilities,” minister Wang Xiaohong told an annual global security forum.
Wang Xiaohong made the announcement in the eastern city of Lianyungang on Monday in front of law enforcement representatives from 122 countries, regions and international organisations such as Interpol.
The forum is part of ongoing efforts by China’s ruling Communist party to position itself as a global security leader. In 2022 China’s leader, Xi Jinping, launched the Global Security Initiative (GSI), which centres China as a facilitator to “improve global security governance … and promote durable peace”.
Mali’s Colonel Assimi Goïta reflects on visit to China – APAnews Source Link Excerpt:
In an interview with Malian television, he described the visit as a decisive advancement in Mali-China relations.
Colonel Goïta noted, “Currently, China and Mali enjoy fraternal ties that have lasted for over 60 years,” emphasizing that these relations span several sectors, including defense and security, education, agriculture, and energy.
A significant outcome of the visit was the announcement that Mali and China would elevate their relationship to a strategic partnership. “At the request of President Xi Jinping, we have decided to enhance our partnership to a strategic level,” the head of Mali’s transition stated. This development underscores the importance of Sino-Malian cooperation and will be formalized during an upcoming state visit.
Aspects of China’s global economic coercion strategy – Mizzima News Source Link Excerpt:
The US has adopted a two-pronged strategy towards China. One, is pursuing the path of dialogue, the other is confrontation. Both go hand in hand as can be seen by recent developments. While Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State travelled to Beijing for talks, back home administration officials criticised China for its coercive behaviour worldwide.
The nature of Chinese coercion is evident on all fronts and its ramifications across several fronts including economic, defence and other areas, is also a focus area for the Biden administration. Such actions are normally visible as Beijing uses tools like the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Global Security Initiative to penetrate and pressurize nations. Just one recent example of the heft China carries can be cited, this time in a cultural context. In Paris at a cultural event on China, the French Museum which hosted the event was ‘forced’ to title Tibet as ‘Xizang’, the latest effort by China to show that Tibet has always been a part of China. Thus, the world should be aware of various aspects of China’s coercive tactics.
China’s military coercion has been very visible in the South China Sea and its current actions clearly threaten the security of the Philippines. Nicholas Burns, the US Ambassador to China, recently pointed that the “very ill-advised efforts by the government of China to intimidate the Philippines at Second Thomas Shoal, at Sabina Shoal, in an incident at Scarborough Shoal, just to name three incidents over the last month or so”. Diplomatic messaging is certainly one way to signal intent and the US has been consistently doing it. Apart from the Ambassador in Beijing, Secretary Antony Blinken has conveyed US concerns to China as did US NSA Jake Sullivan, who told the Chinese leadership “very directly” that Washington had an ironclad commitment to defend the Philippines.
Russia and China Conduct Largest Military Drills since Cold War › American Greatness– amgreatness.com Source Link Excerpt:
In the last week, the military forces of China and Russia conducted some of the largest drills in the last 30 years, marking an alarming increase in the two nations’ displays of military strength.
According to Fox News, the week-long drills will include 90,000 troops, 400 naval vessels, and 120 aircraft, and will take place in the Pacific and Arctic Oceans, as well as the Baltic, Caspian, and Mediterranean Seas. The drill has been named “Ocean 24.”
The display of power takes place as representatives from the United States meet with leaders of the European Union in Brussels, specifically focusing on rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific Region. China and Russia have slowly been growing closer together in recent years, with the former supporting the latter’s invasion of Ukraine.
The United States has been critical of China for providing “very substantial” support to Russia’s ongoing war effort.
“These are not dual-use capabilities,” said U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell after the latest reports of China providing military supplies to Russia. “These are basically being applied directly to the Russian war machine.”
‘Tier One’ US Special Forces Unit Preparing for Chinese Invasion of Taiwan: Report– www.westernjournal.com Source Link Excerpt:
A “Tier One” force is reportedly preparing to assist the island nation of Taiwan against a mainland superpower’s overwhelming and relentless force.
The United States Navy’s SEAL Team 6 is currently training for the types of missions that may occur if the People’s Republic of China opens hostilities against its island neighbor, the Financial Times reported.
According to the report, SEAL Team 6 has been training for the simmering conflict for over a year at the elite force’s Dam Neck, Virginia, headquarters.
Blinken and Lammy arrive in Kyiv as Ukraine pushes for long-range strikes on Russia– abcnews.go.com Source Link Excerpt:
KYIV, Ukraine — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy arrived in Kyiv on a joint visit Wednesday, as Ukraine presses the West to allow it to use long-range missiles against Russia.
The top diplomats reached the Ukrainian capital by train hours after the U.S. presidential debate during which Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump sparred over the 2 1/2-year war in Ukraine.
For months, Ukraine has been requesting approval to use long-range weapons from the United States and Western allies to strike targets in Russia, and is expected to press harder given Russia’s latest reported weapons acquisition.
Biden and Starmer to meet as decision nears on plan to allow Ukraine to use Western weapons for deeper strikes into Russia.– www.washingtonexaminer.com Source Link Excerpt:
BLINKEN: ‘WE WANT UKRAINE TO WIN’: The U.S. and the U.K. appear close to approving a plan that would loosen the restrictions placed on the use of Western long-range weapons by Ukraine to counter Russia’s relentless attacks on civilian targets and vital energy infrastructure.
President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will confer tomorrow in Washington after being briefed by their emissaries, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who met with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Ukraine yesterday.
“And among other things, we discussed long-range fires, but a number of other things as well,” Blinken said at a news conference in Kyiv. “We’re going to take what we learned back to President Biden in my case, and the prime minister in David’s case. The two of them will meet in just a few days’ time in Washington to discuss how our countries will continue to support Ukraine.”
Putin vows WW3 if Ukraine allowed to use British missiles to fire into Russia – but PM insists tyrant ‘started it’– www.thesun.co.uk Source Link Excerpt:
MAD Vlad Putin vowed World War Three if the West allows British missiles to be fired on Russia by Ukraine.
But last night Sir Keir Starmer told The Sun the Kremlin tyrant “started it.”
The PM was on his way to Washington DC for crunch talks with US President Joe Biden over whether to allow the dramatic escalation in support for war torn Ukraine.
Putin yesterday warned granting permission for the Ukranians to use British and French kit to pound targets deep within Russian territory would mean war.
He said: “This would in a significant way change the very nature of the conflict… It would mean that Nato countries are at war with Russia.”
Teamsters Release Presidential Endorsement Polling Data – teamsters.org Source Link Excerpt:
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters today publicly released six months of membership polling data on the union’s possible endorsement for the next U.S. President, revealing former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden each edged Vice President Kamala Harris among Teamsters voters in major polls commissioned by the union….
From April 9-July 3, nearly 300 Teamsters local unions nationwide conducted first-of-their-kind Presidential town halls, soliciting endorsement preferences from members via straw polls. The in-person voting was held prior to Biden’s withdrawal from the race. The Teamsters’ polling data shows members backed Biden 44.3 percent to Trump’s 36.3 percent.
Following the Republican National Convention and Biden’s campaign exit, the Teamsters commissioned a national electronic poll of its 1.3 million members, overseen by an independent third party. During a voting window from July 24-Sept. 15, rank-and-file Teamsters voted 59.6 percent for the union to endorse Trump, compared to 34 percent for Harris.
Trump 3-for-3 in North Carolina’s post-debate polls – thecentersqare.com Source Link Excerpt:
(The Center Square) – Three samplings in battleground North Carolina have been initiated since last week’s presidential debate, and Republican former President Donald Trump has led Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in each.
All, however, remain within the margin of error. And a close finish through 49 more days to Nov. 5 is anticipated by nationwide analysts watching the state.
On the heels of his 1.7% lead from the Quantus Polls and News analysis released Friday, Trump over the weekend picked up a 48.9%-45.9% edge from AmericanGreatness/TIPP Insights and 48.4%-46% from The Trafalgar Group. Sponsors, respectively, were Trending Politics, American Greatness and Trafalgar Group.
RealClear Polling, without the Quantus sampling, has the state remaining statistically even at Trump plus 0.4%. There is no margin of error factored in, though most polls range from nearly 3% to at or just under 4%. This means both candidates are about 3% away from saying he or she leads the state.
Project 538 also computes Trump ahead by 0.4% at 47.5%-47.1%.
Ratings changes show path to GOP control of Senate, House – rollcall.com Source Link Excerpt:
ANALYSIS — In the shadow of the presidential race sit two competitive fights for the Senate and the House, and the latest race rating changes give Republicans a more straightforward path to sweeping control of both chambers…
Inside Elections continues to project that Republicans will gain one to three Senate seats. In order for Democrats to maintain control without ousting any Republican senators whose races have much safer ratings, they need Tester to either make up a few points or baffle the pollsters like GOP Sen. Susan Collins did in Maine in 2020. They would also need Harris to win the White House so a Vice President Tim Walz could break tie votes. But the Tester victory will be a challenge.
In the House, nine rating changes don’t change the overall dynamic in the fight for the majority. Democrats need a net gain of four seats, but Republicans continue to have a narrow advantage to keep control.
The GOP needs to win just two of the 13 Toss-up races, while Democrats need to win 12 of 13, if the other races end as expected. The current Inside Elections projection continues to range from Democrats picking up five seats to Republicans picking up five. Overall, there are 70 House races rated as competitive by Inside Elections.
Hillary Clinton Demands that Americans be “Criminally Charged” for Free Speech › American Greatness– amgreatness.com Source Link Excerpt:
In a bizarre interview on Monday, former Secretary of State and failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said that Americans who engage in speech that she doesn’t like should be “criminally charged.”
As reported by Breitbart, Clinton made the remarks during an interview with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, in response to a question regarding the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to silence alleged Russian propaganda ahead of the 2024 election.
“I also think there are Americans who are engaged in this kind of propaganda, and whether they should be civilly or even in some cases, criminally charged, is something that would be a better deterrence,” said Clinton. She also claimed, without evidence, that Republican members of Congress are parroting “Russian talking points” on “the floor of Congress.”
“I think we need to uncover all of the connections and make it very clear that you could vote however you want,” she continued. “But we are not going to let adversaries, whether it is Russia, China, Iran, or anybody else, basically try to influence Americans as to how we should vote in picking our leaders.”
Kari Lake has Donald Trump’s stamp of approval but Arizona polls show her lagging, with implications for U.S. Senate race – myheraldreview.com Source Link Excerpt:
Kari Lake has consistently underperformed Donald Trump in Arizona, an anemic showing that spells trouble for Republicans hoping to nab the state’s open U.S. Senate seat.
A Fox News poll of Arizona voters on Aug. 28 showed Lake lagging Democratic U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego by 15 percentage points, even as the former president remained virtually tied with Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential race.
Harris Repeats Lie That Admin Inherited ‘Worst Unemployment Since Great Depression’– legalinsurrection.com Source Link Excerpt:
HARRIS: “Four years ago when we came in, we came in during the worst unemployment since the Great Depression. We came in during the worst public health epidemic in centuries. We came in after the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War. And a lot of it due in large part to the mismanagement by the former president, as it relates to Covid and obviously January 6th. And we had then a lot of work to do to clean up a mess. As of today, we have created over 16 million new jobs, over 800,000 new manufacturing jobs. We have the lowest black unemployment rate in generations.”
Harris repeats this incorrect stat in her interview today with @NABJ
“Four years ago, when we came in, we came in during the worst unemployment since the Great Depression.”
Tim Walz Thinks Your Kids Belong To The Public School System– thefederalist.com Source Link Excerpt:
Democrats are leaning hard into the “schoolteacher” and “coach” personas for Tim Walz to paint their vice presidential candidate and the Minnesota governor as more relatable and less radical than he really is.
“I was a schoolteacher for a lot of years,” said the folksy Tim Walz in a speech last week at a Human Rights Campaign dinner, touting his time as a “social studies teacher and high school football coach.” Yet in the next breath, he praised LGBT “allyship” and declared, “We must be the country that leads on “gay and transgender rights.”
They used the same strategy during Walz’s speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago last month. Former students showed up to watch, teachers union officials played up that part of his resume on the convention floor, and Walz himself spoke about it in his speech to a crowd holding signs that said, “Coach Walz.”
Tim Walz is wrong. Project 2025 doesn’t call for pregnant women to register with a federal agency– www.politifact.com Source Link Excerpt:
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, said Sept. 14 the project would require women to register with the federal government when they become pregnant.
“By the way, Project 2025. Some of you want to know, in there, they’ve got a national pregnancy coordinator that tracks all pregnancies,” Walz told the crowd in Superior, Wisconsin.
“Think about what they’re saying in Project 2025, you’re going to have to register with a new federal agency when you get pregnant,” he added.
Walz’s claim is a new version of something Democrats, including Vice President Kamala Harris, have been saying forweeks: that the 900-page presidential transition document calls for monitoring each woman’s pregnancy.
It doesn’t. Walz is describing a policy that doesn’t exist.
GOP Billionaire Says He Will Pull Funds from Stock Market if Harris Wins– www.breitbart.com Source Link Excerpt:
Republican megadonor and hedge fund billionaire John Paulson revealed that he would pull his money out of the stock market if Vice President Kamala Harris wins the upcoming presidential election, pointing to “uncertainty” around her economic policies.
In an interview with Fox Business host Liz Claman, Paulson who founded Paulson & Co., spoke about how the Biden-Harris administration wants to raise the corporate tax rate from 21 percent to 28 percent and wants to raise the capital gains rate from 20 percent to 28 percent. Trump has previously considered having Paulson serve as his Secretary of the Treasury if elected president.
“The difference between the Trump administration and Harris is very, very different,” Paulson explained. “Trump is — wants to extend the current, very successful tax policy, which was implemented in 2017. The Biden-Harris group, on the other hand, wants to change that. They want to change the corporate tax rate from 21 to 28 percent, they want to raise the capital gains rate from 20 percent initially to 39 percent now, they flip-flopped back to 28 percent.”
Recount further complicates race after 2 U.S. House candidates tied – latimes.com Source Link Excerpt:
The astonishing saga of a tied Silicon Valley congressional race took another zag this week, with a recount now underway in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties.
Two candidates tied for second place in the primary to replace retiring Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Menlo Park), meaning both of them, plus the first-place finisher, will face off in the November general election, per the California elections code. The slated three-way race is an extraordinary outcome, even in the wild world of California politics.
It is the first time this has happened in a congressional race since the state shifted to its nonpartisan primary system in 2012, which dictates that the top two finishers advance to the November ballot regardless of party affiliation.
A recount could theoretically put a kibosh on a November three-way race, if the vote totals change. The calls for recounts have also raised questions about who is truly behind the effort and generated a fresh round of campaign mudslinging.
Trump says he won’t debate Harris again – CBS News Source Link Excerpt:
Washington — Former President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he won’t debate Vice President Kamala Harris again, following Tuesday night’s matchup between the two in Philadelphia.
“THERE WILL BE NO THIRD DEBATE!” Trump said at the end of a long post on his Truth Social account. The first presidential debate was in June between Trump and President Biden.
“When a prizefighter loses a fight, the first words out of his mouth are, ‘I WANT A REMATCH,'” Trump wrote in his post, explaining his decision and insisting unnamed polls showed he won.
Kamala Harris Sees No Gain in Polls After Debate › American Greatness– amgreatness.com Source Link Excerpt:
New polling confirms that Vice President Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) did not see any major boost as a result of her first debate with former President Donald Trump, despite claims from the mainstream media that she was the winner of the debate.
As the Daily Caller reports, the latest poll from ABC News and Ipsos saw that Harris only gained one percentage point in a general election matchup against President Trump, now at 51% to Trump’s 47%. This was despite 58% of respondents in the same poll saying that they believed Harris won the debate.
The poll was conducted online between September 11th and September 13th, with a sample size of 3,276 registered voters and a margin of error of 2%. In the same poll, Harris leads Trump among all adults with 51% to 46%, with her lead increasingly slightly among likely voters, with 52% to Trump’s 46%.
ABC News Won’t Say If Debate Was In-Kind Contribution To Harris– thefederalist.com Source Link Excerpt:
Who won the ABC debate-ambush between former President Donald Trump, and the trio of Vice President Kamala Harris, David Muir, and Linsey Davis?
There were two clear winners: the Harris campaign, which was enriched with a massive in-kind donation from ABC in the form of a favorable political infomercial, and the ABC publicity department, which is now boasting about the network’s record viewership.
“With 19 million total viewers on ABC, ABC News’ presidential debate is the most-watched debate on any Network in 16 years,” a company statement said. “ABC News Live on streaming and digital platforms, including Hulu, Disney+ and ABC owned television stations, currently stands at 7.4 million viewers in early reporting, bringing ABC News audience to more than 26 million viewers. The debate is the most-viewed live event by hours streamed on Disney+ in the U.S. to date.”
*IF* This Is True, ABC News Is About to Become Engulfed in a Major Scandal– townhall.com Source Link Excerpt:
I asked yesterday morning whether Kamala Harris’ camp got the ABC News debate questions in advance. The vice president was visibly nervous for the first portion of the debate but got into a groove, especially when she figured out that Donald Trump would take the bait she was chumming. When Trump took it hook, line, and sinker on the rally size dig, you knew he was going to be kicked off message when he had a wide berth to rip into Harris on inflation, immigration, and overall making us poorer than we were four years ago.
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) September 13, 2024
Harris seemed ready for the questions, which explained her word salad responses, but she never answered any of the questions from moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis. They did fact-check Trump live, though these interruptions were peppered with fake news—no shock there. Harris was never pressed for her mountain of lies, and we know why: an ABC whistleblower is alleging that not only did the Harris camp get questions in advance, but that she was given assurances that she wouldn’t be fact-checked by the moderators either. I’m not saying this is fact, but if this is true, it’s a major scandal:
BREAKING: ABC whistleblower allegedly will release an affidavit claiming the Harris campaign was given sample questions that were “essentially the same questions that were given during the debate,” as well as assurances that Trump would be “fact-checked” and she would not.
AS IT RIGGED? Former CLINTON ADVISER Calls for Investigation into ABC News!– wltreport.com Source Link Excerpt:
You never know these days where the voice of common sense might come from. Today, it seems to be coming from Mark Penn — former adviser to Bill and Hillary Clinton!
WONDERS NEVER CEASE!
🚨 Mark Penn, former top adviser to Bill and Hillary Clinton, calls for immediate internal investigation by ABC into ABC News’ Presidential debate for potentially “rigging the outcome of this debate.”
Quite frankly, Mark Penn makes the best case I’ve heard so far for something to be done about the blatant heavy-handed tactics of the ABC News moderators. First, here’s a clip of Mark on with Fox News talking about it today:
‘Finger On The Scale’: Former Clinton Pollster Says ABC Hosts Put Future Debates ‘In Jeopardy’ pic.twitter.com/B6Yd76433s
‘Disgraceful’: ABC News Roasted For Repeatedly Fact-Checking Trump While Letting Kamala Slide– dailycaller.com Source Link Excerpt:
Viewers took to X on Tuesday to criticize ABC News debate moderators Linsey Davis and David Muir for alleged bias against former President Donald Trump during the debate against Vice President Kamala Harris.
Harris and Trump squared off in their first and so-far only scheduled debate as the race between them remains tight. Viewers on X accused the moderators of fact-checking and interrupting Trump significantly more than Harris during the debate.
Kamala’s Condescending and Mocking Debate Faces May Be What Voters Remember– legalinsurrection.com Source Link Excerpt:
… there’s something else I took away from this—and it’s showing on the screen just to the side of me here. One thing I really noticed throughout was the faces that Harris was making—very condescending, very mocking, very childish, actually. I think that’s the one thing I remember more than anything about the debate.
Now, I think Trump did a very good job, even though he didn’t make the points I thought he could have, like showing how she flip-flopped. He hit hard on the border and the economy, and I think that may have a lasting impact.
What’s showing up in the focus groups—ones I’ve seen not by right-wing groups, but CNN, Reuters, NBC—there seems to be a disconnect between who they think won the debate and how they’re reacting substantively.
Post-Debate Poll Explains Harris’ Big Problem, Why Trump Is Now Leading in Michigan – RedState– redstate.com Source Link Excerpt:
I wrote earlier about the new Insider Advantage post-debate poll on Michigan that now shows former President Donald Trump up by one, 49 to 48 percent, with 800 likely voters over Sept 11-12.
Shocker: 60% of voters moved to Trump after Kamala Harris’s failure to answer one important question– www.louderwithcrowder.com Source Link Excerpt:
The debate is over. Trump lost the debate. It’s ok to admit that. It doesn’t make you an anti-Trump op sent by the deep state to say so. It’s time to move on to what’s next. The good thing is that while she may have won on style points, Kamala Harris didn’t blow anyone away outside of journalisming employees. And while the moderators asked about topics that don’t matter to Normie-America, normies are STILL concerned about the economy.
Kamala didn’t address the economy. During Reuters focus groups of undecided voters, SIXTY PERCENT moved to Trump as a result.
Out of their focus group of ten people, six saw nothing from Kamala to assure them that the next four years would be any different from the last four. It echoed what we heard from a CNN group:
My life was better when Trump was in office. The economy was better. Inflation was lower. Things were better overall. And now, with Kamala’s administration, things haven’t been so fantastic. She’s saying she can fix the problems that her administration has caused, but I don’t know if I can afford to take that risk.
Five said they found Harris vague on how she would improve the U.S. economy and deal with the high cost of living. It remains THE top concern for voters.
Four of those six said she didn’t convince them she would be any different than Joe Biden.
Harris Campaign Eyes Shakeup As Post-Debate Panic Sets In– trendingpoliticsnews.com Source Link Excerpt:
Vice President Kamala Harris — who has sat for just one pre-taped, 18-minute interview since becoming the de-facto Democratic presidential nominee in July — intends on doing a number of local and National interviews in the coming weeks, according to a campaign memo reported on by the New York Times.
While Harris has avoided both sit-down interviews and press conferences over the last 50 days, the campaign appears to be switching up its strategy after Tuesday night’s presidential debate. While a number of outlets have declared Harris the winner through polls and focus groups, a number of outlets found pro-Trump results as well, including Reuters and the New York Times.
A majority of polls and focus groups of undecided voters and independents have also produced positive results for the former president, as both key demographics preferred Trump’s answers on key issues like the economy and illegal immigration.
Taunting Trump might not have been what undecided voters wanted to see from Harris– www.washingtonexaminer.com Source Link Excerpt:
The question now becomes whether Harris’s well-executed plan of irritating Trump and joining with the moderators and Trump himself to draw attention to his negatives was what the voters she most needs really wanted.
Trump pollsters Tony Fabrizio and Travis Tunis say that, according to their data from the top seven battleground states, the answer is no. “We found that despite the best efforts of Kamala Harris and [the] media to portray the debate as some kind of overwhelming win for her, voters did not see it this way as support for her remained flat,” they wrote in a memo released on Thursday. “The only change we saw was a 2-point bump for President Trump in both ballot configurations.”
“In our post-debate data, President Trump leads Vice President Harris by 2-points, 48% – 46%, and in the head-to-head ballot, he is up 3-points, 50% – 47%,” Fabrizio and Tunis continued. “Clearly, target state voters were not impressed by Kamala Harris’ empty platitudes and while the media would have people believe she is cruising to victory, this couldn’t be farther from the truth.” Their predebate numbers, they said, showed the two candidates tied.
Poll Finds Taylor Swift’s Endorsement of Kamala Harris Turns Off More People than it Attracts– lidblog.com Source Link Excerpt:
A poll conducted after pop superstar Taylor Swift endorsed Kamala Harris seems to show that Swift has lost some of her ability to persuade because the poll shows that her endorsement is turning off more people that she has convinced to join the Harris bandwagon.
The post debate poll comes from YouGov, which are left-leaning pollsters, and the firm found that only a tiny eight percent said that Swif’s endorsement is “somewhat” or “much more likely” to make them want to vote for Harris.
On the other hand, according to the New York Post, the other end of the scale did not make Swift look very good…
But a whopping 20% said they are “somewhat” or “much less likely” to vote for former President Donald Trump’s opponent now that Swift has spoken.
Most of the respondents, 66%, said Swift’s endorsement made no difference on how they will vote in November.
….
The majority — 32% of the online poll’s respondents — think the move will have a positive effect on Harris’ campaign, while 27% said they don’t think it’ll have an effect either way.
POLL: Donald Trump Leads Kamala Harris in Key State of North Carolina | The Gateway Pundit– www.thegatewaypundit.com Source Link Excerpt:
Democrats have been making a sincere effort to flip North Carolina from red to blue but it looks like it’s not paying off as they had hoped.
Donald Trump is leading Kamala Harris in the state, according to new polling.
Not only that, Trump is ahead with key voting blocs.
TIPP Poll: Trump Leads Harris by 3 Points In North Carolina
Former President Donald Trump holds a three point lead over Vice President Kamala Harris in North Carolina, a larger margin than he won the state by in 2020, an American Greatness/TIPP survey found Friday.
The poll sampled 1,037 registered voters from September 9-11 with a 3.2 percentage point margin of error. The polling overlapped the presidential debate on September 10.
Trump held a three-point lead, the poll found:
Trump: 48.9%
Harris: 45.9%
Republicans are gaining ground in Pennsylvania. See where voter registration is shifting – Centre Daily Times Source Link Excerpt:
As of Sept. 9, roughly 8.88 million Pennsylvanians are registered to vote. However, that figure is down from the 9.09 million residents who were eligible to vote during the 2020 election that saw Joe Biden carry Pennsylvania en route to the White House. Perhaps more notably, Republicans now hold voter registration advantages in four counties — Beaver, Berks, Bucks and Fayette — that previously leaned in favor of Democrats, according to 2020 end-of-year registration data published in 2021.
Majority of GOP Senate candidates lag behind Trump in polling ahead of Election Day– www.washingtonexaminer.com Source Link Excerpt:
Nearly two dozen Democratic seats are up for reelection in 2024, with five incumbents seen as vulnerable, while only 10 Republicans face reelection. However, Republicans in six critical races are trailing Trump and their Democratic opponents.
The only Senate GOP candidate who is consistently leading is Montana Republican Tim Sheehy. In an average of polling, Sheehy is ahead of incumbent Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) by 5.2 percentage points. However, Sheehy’s lead is not as strong as Trump’s in Big Sky Country, in which he leads by an average of 17.6 percentage points.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has a 51-seat advantage and the ability to tap Vice President Kamala Harris for any tiebreaking votes. He is already expected to lose one seat in West Virginia with the retirement of Sen. Joe Manchin (I-WV). If Republicans win in Montana, they’ll be able to capture the majority, but the race for control of the upper chamber is still up in the air in a cycle that favors Republicans.
Kamala Harris Is Facing Severe Deficits Among Core Democratic Voter Groups– townhall.com Source Link Excerpt:
Kamala Harris wants another debate, whereas Trump said, ‘No mas.’ Some commented on how this was a tactical blunder for Trump—he should have demanded a debate on Fox News and waited for Harris to reject it. Whatever the case, Harris and her allies in the media are likely to waste a lot of time calling Trump a coward. Let them. Ms. Harris has severe deficits among crucial Democratic Party voter groups that spell disaster with less than 60 days from Election Day.
Harris is running behind Joe Biden’s numbers regarding black and Jewish voters. Right now, Trump is projected to win 18 percent of the black vote, the largest share for a Republican since Richard Nixon in 1972. As for Jewish voters, she’s gearing to earn the lowest share for any Democrat since Michael Dukakis.
RealClear Quick Take – Episode 12
Black Americans comprise roughly 13% of the electorate, and their support has been crucial to the Democratic Party for decades. Recent polls suggest they may not be as excited for Kamala Harris.
Jewish Americans have long represented a faithful Democratic voting bloc, and the progressive wing’s unabashed antagonism toward Israel hasn’t changed that.
A Pew Research poll on the preferences of U.S. religious voters released this week found that 65% of Jewish respondents plan to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris, while 34% back former President Donald Trump in the Nov. 5 presidential election.
The survey of 9,720 U.S. registered voters released this week found the candidates tied overall at 49% each…
2 Pollsters Who Got it Right in 2016 and 2020 Say Kamala Harris is Failing – lidblog.com
Two polling groups where were in the top tier of getting poll predictions right in 2016 and 2020 say that Kamala Harris has already peaked and that Donald Trump is the favorite to win the 2024 presidential election.
The New York Post is reporting that InsiderAdvantage and Trafalgar polling have surveyed seven battleground states and predicted the Trump would end up with 296 electoral votes as things stand now. Only 270 electoral votes are needed to win the White House.
“Matt Towery of Georgia-based InsiderAdvantage found Trump ahead in Arizona, Nevada and North Carolina (and down by 0.4% only in Georgia),” the Post reported.
“He noted that both he and Robert Calahy of Trafalgar (which handled Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan) were both in the top 3 of pollsters in the ‘16 and ‘20 cycles because their methodology allows them to “pick up some Trump vote that some of the other pollsters might not be able to get,” the paper continued.
Trump, Harris Neck and Neck in Key Swing States as Campaigns Ramp Up: Poll – freebeacon.com
Former president Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are locked in a razor-thin race for the White House in six key battleground states, according to a CNN poll released Wednesday.
In Georgia and Nevada, 48 percent of likely voters support Harris while 47 percent back Trump, and in must-win Pennsylvania, the candidates are tied at 47 percent, according to the poll conducted from Aug. 23 to Aug. 29. Harris leads Trump by 6 points in Wisconsin and by 5 points in Michigan while Trump is ahead in Arizona, 49 percent to Harris’s 44 percent, all barely outside the survey’s 4.9 percent margin of error.
The new polling comes as the candidates gear up for the final sprint to Nov. 5. With nine weeks until Election Day, both campaigns are focusing their efforts on these key swing states.
Over the holiday weekend, Harris campaigned in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, also known as the three “blue wall” states, and is set to deliver an economy-focused campaign speech in New Hampshire on Wednesday afternoon. Her GOP counterpart is also campaigning in the toss-up battleground states, joining in a Fox News town hall event in Pennsylvania Wednesday evening and hosting events in Wisconsin and Arizona later this week.
Nate Silver and Others Present Damning Evidence That Kamala Harris’ Candidacy Has Stalled – townhall.com
… With the Democratic convention out of the way, Harris saw no bump. The race is razor-thin, drastically different from when Biden started running away from Donald Trump. In the states that matter, it’s not looking too hot, so the former president notched a few more points ahead of Harris in Nate Silver’s Electoral College probability model. Trump has a 58 percent chance of clinching 270 votes—it was 56 percent earlier this week—and winning the election, with an 80 percent probability of winning a state carried by Biden in 2020.
If it’s Pennsylvania, it’s the ballgame. Silver noted that Harris hasn’t had a lot of good polling. He’d also be more bullish on her candidacy if she didn’t rehire all of Biden’s operatives. Last, Pennsylvania and now Michigan “has become something of an issue for Harris.”
I think I’d buy the bull case for Harris a bit more if she hadn’t rehired so many of the Biden people.
President Donald Trump has overtaken Democrat presidential nominee Kamala Harris in Michigan, a recent poll shows.
Although the lead is small, it represents a crack in the so-called “blue wall” that is vital for Harris to win, Breitbart reported.
The WDIV/Detroit News poll revealed that 43.5% of likely voters supported Harris over 44.7% of likely voters who said they’d vote for Trump.
The survey was taken between August 26 and 29, just days after the Democratic National Convention.
Moreover, 4.7% of voters said they supported Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who the Associated Press noted dropped out of the race and endorsed Trump on August 23, just days before the survey began.
Another 4.8% were undecided, while 2.3% supported an unnamed third-party candidate.
📊 MICHIGAN poll by Glengariff Group for WDIV/Detroit News
New polls show a tight race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump just months from Nov. 5. Neither candidate is on the trail today.
Trump holds 5-point lead over Kamala among men: ABC/Ipsos poll | The Post Millennial – thepostmillennial.com
Pre-Democratic National Convention, Harris held a six-point lead over Trump among women (51-45 percent) and a three-point lead among men over Trump (49-46 percent).
A new poll has found that a majority of men support Donald Trump ahead of the 2024 election, while a majority of women support Kamala Harris. This is a shift from polling done before the Democratic National Convention, where Harris held a slight lead among both demographics.
The ABC News/Ipsos poll, released on Sunday, found that 51 percent of American men support, while 46 percent of men said they would vote for Harris. Among women, 54 percent said they support Harris, while 41 percent said they would vote for Trump.
Pre-Democratic National Convention, Harris held a six-point lead over Trump among women (51-45 percent) and a three-point lead among men over Trump (49-46 percent).
Among the demographics leading this change are white men and women. Among white women, Trump saw a 13-point lead over Harris pre-convention. Post-DNC, however, Trump is now holding a 2-point lead over Harris. And among white men, Trump went from holding a 13-point lead over Harris to a 21-point lead post-DNC.
A top Trump volunteer in Massachusetts is out after sending an email on Sunday evening warning “the campaign has determined that New Hampshire is no longer a battleground state” and urging supporters to put their efforts into Pennsylvania instead.
Tom Mountain, who had served as one of several vice chairs for the Trump in Massachusetts, wrote “the campaign has determined that New Hampshire is no longer a battleground state,” and advised supporters to instead direct their attention to Pennsylvania, the Boston Globe reported in an exclusive.
“(T)he Dems’ campaign shakeup from Biden to Harris led our campaign to shift strategy to other winnable battleground states,” Mountain wrote in an email to Trump volunteers in the state. “So for those who were active in the NH ground campaign in 2016 and 2020, and expected to do the same after Labor Day, the simple question is… what are we to do?” Mountain wrote. “GO TO PENNSYLVANIA. The nearest battleground state. This is a must-win state. If we lose Pennsylvania we lose the election.”
Poll Finds Donald Trump Leading Kamala Harris Among Veterans by Double Digits Despite Smears From Democrats – The Gateway Pundit
Poll: Donald Trump Leads Kamala Harris Among Veterans by Double Digits, Despite Dem Smears
A 2024 presidential election poll released Thursday shows former President Donald Trump leading Vice President Kamala Harris among veterans by 10 percentage points — 51 percent to 41 percent.
The poll published by Semafor, showed that Democrat efforts to smear the former president’s support for veterans is not working.
Democrats recently accused Trump of using Arlington Cemetery as a campaign ad backdrop after Gold Star families invited him to participate in a solemn Labor Day ceremony honoring their loved ones who died in the Biden-Harris administration’s botched Afghanistan withdrawal.
Florida Democrats say state is in play but aren’t putting money where their mouth is – washingtonexaminer.com Source Link Excerpt:
Florida Democrats have been saying the Sunshine State, which has increasingly shifted toward Republicans in recent years, is in play in November, but the spending in the race has not backed up their claims.
Former President Donald Trump and Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) are expected to win the presidential and Senate races in Florida in November, but recent polls have shown a closer-than-expected race in both contests. Democrats in the state have maintained they can flip the Senate seat, but a report from the Associated Press shows they have not invested in the campaign as bullishly.
Using data from AdImpact, the report shows Republicans and aligned groups have spent $12.7 million on advertisement reservations through Election Day, while Democrats and aligned groups have only spent $3.2 million on ad reservations for the Senate race as of Wednesday. While spending on advertisements could increase, the significant GOP advantage in spending is unlike most Senate races considered battlegrounds.
Fundraising
Kamala Harris Raised More Than Twice As Much Money As Trump In August – politicususa.com
Donald Trump is being buried under a blue wave of donor money as VP Kamala Harris more than doubled Trump’s fundraising total in August.
NBC News reported:
Vice President Kamala Harris’ political operation raised more than $300 million in the month of August â more than twice as much as former President Donald Trump’s operation gathered in the same period â two sources familiar with the Harris fundraising numbers told NBC News.
…
The whopping fundraising numbers for Harris come just after the Trump campaign reported it and related entities raised $130 million in the month of August, with nearly $300 million cash on hand. Trump’s campaign reported that 98% of the month’s donations came in at less than $200.
Kamala Harris raised as much money in August as Donald Trump has cash on hand for his entire campaign. Trump’s fundraising slowed from July to August, while Harris maintained the same pace or growth.
Trump’s new allies: Tech billionaires are jumping on the MAGA train – theblaze.com
Silicon Valley has traditionally been a reliable gold mine for the Democratic Party and progressive causes. But a rightward shift is occurring. The first fault lines popped up years ago with Elon Musk, but the shift has been accelerating in recent months, with several movers and shakers throwing their weight and wealth behind Donald Trump. Silicon Valley just isn’t as comfortable being a Democratic lapdog as it once was.
Wealthy venture capitalists from hedge fund manager Bill Ackman to Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz, the Winklevoss twins, David Sacks, Joe Lonsdale, Doug Leone, and many more are now off the reservation and openly stating support for Trump and opposition to Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party’s agenda for America.
Silicon Valley titans want deregulation and a place for AI and exploratory technologies to thrive. Whether that’s an entirely positive or negative direction for the right to head in the future remains an open debate, but the point is that the tech shift to Trump isn’t just about emotions; it’s about business.
Trump campaign unveils outreach strategy targeting swing-state voters who don’t regularly vote: Report– www.washingtonexaminer.com Source Link Excerpt:
The Trump campaign is deploying a new strategy to reach out to “hard-to-reach, low-propensity voters” who have indicated they could be interested in supporting the Republican nominee in the general election.
According to campaign training materials obtained by Axios, Trump’s staff are working to court voters who have shown interest in their candidate by attending a rally but haven’t been reliable in showing up at the polls in the past.
According to the documents, the campaign’s volunteers are incentivized to reach out to specific lists of voters. They are given an initial list of 25 voters, with a goal of visiting at least 10 in person. The volunteers are then rewarded for engagement with Trump merchandise and “expedited” entry into Trump rallies. As the volunteers contact and engage more voters, they are eligible for larger rewards. The most active volunteers could be rewarded with an exclusive “thank you party.”
Taylor Swift endorses ‘warrior’ Kamala Harris for US president in post signed ‘childless cat lady’– www.euronews.com Source Link Excerpt:
The singer has 283 million followers on Instagram and her post received over two million likes in just half an hour.
Taylor Swift endorsed Kamala Harris for US president shortly after Tuesday night’s presidential debate against Donald Trump ended.
“I think she is a steady-handed, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos,” Swift wrote in an Instagram post, which included a link to a voter registration website.
“I’m voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them,” she added.
Trump calls for no tax on overtime at campaign rally in Tucson– www.latimes.com Source Link Excerpt:
In his latest economic pitch to voters, former President Trump on Thursday called for no taxes on overtime pay while speaking to supporters at a campaign stop in Tucson.
The Republican nominee has already called for an end to taxes on tips and on Social Security benefits, though he has not addressed how the federal government would address the resulting deficit. Still, the announcement about overtime pay drew cheers from the Arizona crowd Thursday afternoon.
“That gives people more incentive to work,” Trump said about his new proposal. “The people who work overtime are among the hardest-working citizens of our country, and for too long, no one in Washington has been looking out for them.”
NY Times Admits That Iran Would Prefer That Trump Not Be POTUS Again – PJ Media – pjmedia.com
The New York Times spearheaded the “Russia collusion” false narrative from its inception, which is why it is surprising to see it flirting with the truth when it comes to Iran’s attempts to sway American voters.
Iran has long carried out clandestine information operations against its adversaries, especially Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United States, but until now most of its activities were conducted under the shadow of similar campaigns by Russia and China. Its latest propaganda and disinformation efforts have grown more brazen, more varied and more ambitious, according to the U.S. government, company officials and Iran experts.
Iran’s efforts appear intended to undermine former President Donald J. Trump’s campaign to return to the White House, according to the officials and companies, but they have also targeted President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, suggesting a wider goal of sowing internal discord and discrediting the democratic system in the United States more broadly in the eyes of the world.
The World’s Bad Actors Do Not Want Trump to Win in November – PJ Media
The world leaders who most want to knock the United States of America off of its superpower perch don’t want any part of a second Donald Trump term in the White House. They’ve all been living large on the weakness of the Biden administration. There were probably buckets of tears shed for days in Beijing, Moscow, and Tehran when Biden was tweeted out of the presidential race.
After the major players in China, Russia, and Iran realized that the Democrats were serious about this Kamala Harris thing, they no doubt turned their frowns upside-down.
Back to Russia: the Dems know that Putin would prefer Trump not return to power, despite any public proclamations to the contrary. Should Kamala end up winning the presidency, we won’t hear so much as a peep from them about the Russians for a while. The Republicans and Democrats can get back to debating whether there is a bear in the woods.
Trump Vows to Establish Government Efficiency Commission Led by Elon Musk, Cut Business Tax Rate to 15% – slaynews.com
President Donald Trump delivered a major economic address in New York City on Thursday.
During the speech, Trump announced his plan to create a “Government Efficiency Commission” led by Elon Musk.
Musk is renowned for utilizing small, hyper-efficient teams of workers at his companies.
He famously slashed the workforce by thousands when taking over Twitter, which he rebranded as X.
The move would align with Trump’s other promises to cut federal bureaucracy.
Trump also pledged to cut the corporate tax rate to 15% while vowing to “make America richer and stronger” if he wins re-election in November.
Trump made the announcement during a speech to The Economic Club of New York.
Kamala Harris
CNN Caught Doing Journalism, Calls Out Harris Campaign As ‘repeatedly deceptive’– legalinsurrection.com Source Link Excerpt:
CNN’s Daniel Dale has done the unthinkable. He took aim at @KamalaHQ, the official rapid response page on X for Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign. With over 1.3 million followers, the account has a wide reach, and according to Dale, “has made a habit of misleadingly clipping and inaccurately captioning video clips to attack former President Donald Trump.”
The account has been “repeatedly deceptive” and has made “inaccurate comments on multiple occasions,” Dale wrote. And he goes on to detail eight of the account’s most disingenuous posts from the last month.
He points out that all of these posts have been called out in real time by “an anonymous rebuttal account called @KamalaHQLies, which itself has more than 268,000 followers.”
Taylor Swift endorses ‘warrior’ Kamala Harris for US president in post signed ‘childless cat lady’– www.euronews.com Source Link Excerpt:
The singer has 283 million followers on Instagram and her post received over two million likes in just half an hour.
Taylor Swift endorsed Kamala Harris for US president shortly after Tuesday night’s presidential debate against Donald Trump ended.
“I think she is a steady-handed, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos,” Swift wrote in an Instagram post, which included a link to a voter registration website.
“I’m voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them,” she added.
Democrats hope Swift voter registration plea can turbocharge party’s efforts after Biden drag– www.washingtonexaminer.com Source Link Excerpt:
Democrats are hoping Taylor Swift encouraging people to register to vote will give Vice President Kamala Harris an edge in critical battleground states.
Swift’s encouragement, in a social media post and during her appearance at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards, is opportune for Harris after Democrats experienced a “big deficit” in voter registration under President Joe Biden, according to election experts.
Kamala Harris Refuses to Reveal Her ‘Current Position’ on Reparations – slaynews.com
The campaign for Democrat presidential nominee Kamala Harris is refusing to reveal the vice president’s “current position” regarding slavery reparations.
The statement from the Harris campaign has provoked mockery on social media over the Democrat candidate’s flip-flopping and lack of transparency.
Harris’s “position,” or lack thereof, was highlighted Wednesday by National Republican Senatorial Committee official Philip Letsou.
In a post on X, Letsou shared a screenshot from Politico’s “Playbook” newsletter.
The radical left is pressuring its ally, Vice President Kamala Harris, to continue to support the controversial idea of reparations for black Americans.
Harris remained silent on Monday about whether or not she supports a newly proposed package of reparations bills in California. The Harris campaign ignored Breitbart News’s request for comment and the Washington Post’s multiple requests for comment on her current position on reparations.
Though 68 percent of Americans oppose reparations according to a Pew Research poll in 2022, Harris pledged several times to force taxpayers to pay reparations for descendants of Africans enslaved.
“I think there needs to be some form of reparations and we can discuss what that is,” Harris told The Root in 2019 when asked if “black people should get reparations.”
While running for president in 2020, Harris told Reverend Al Sharpton, an MNSBC host and activist, that she would sign a reparations bill if she became president.
Kamala Harris Hires Top Socialist Strategist to Advise Campaign – slaynews.com
Let’s take it slow here. It’s an allegation that caught the eye of RealClearPolitics’ Tom Bevan, who rightly said that if this is true, CNN has a significant scandal on its hands. It wouldn’t be the first time a network has done this—this type of stuff goes back to when NBC was busted for chopping up the 911 call from George Zimmerman to smear him as a racist. Yet, Zimmerman wasn’t a presidential candidate. If true, the anti-Trump network took extreme measures to ensure Ms. Harris’ unelectable policy positions were snuffed out of their sit-down with her.
It was only 18 minutes, but it was a trainwreck. It was word salad, drowned in a dressing of unrepentance. Ms. Harris knew something was wrong with Mr. Biden. With the president no longer running for reelection, reports and stories from various American and European officials came out of the woodwork regarding how everyone saw how frail and weak Biden was becoming, likening it to how some members were treating their elderly parents. Harris showed zero regrets for being involved in the White House cover-up that shielded some from the president’s declining health. I say some because half the country already knew this guy was cooked.
Here’s the problem: it’s based on one tweet from someone who claims to know CNN’s managing editor. The post alleges that the interview was 41 minutes long and included topics like fracking and the Green New Deal. The Harris camp allegedly objected to half of the interview, which was pre-taped.
On the anniversary of the attack that left 13 U.S. service members dead during Joe Biden’s botched military withdrawal from Afghanistan, Donald Trump paid a respectful visit to Arlington National Cemetery to mark the somber occasion.
Neither Joe Biden nor Kamala Harris bothered to make an appearance, but that did not stop the latter from attacking Trump on social media for allegedly using the event for political gain.
As Vice President, I have had the privilege of visiting Arlington National Cemetery several times. It is a solemn place; a place where we come together to honor American heroes who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service of this nation.
Almost immediately, individuals who lost loved ones in service to this country began speaking out against Harris’ comment and in support of Trump, as the Daily Caller reported:
Gold Star families spoke out against Vice President Kamala Harris after she weighed in on the controversy surrounding former President Donald Trump’s visit to Arlington Cemetery to honor the 13 soldiers killed in the Biden administration’s Afghanistan withdrawal.
Harris posted a tweet Saturday slamming Trump for filming videos while honoring the fallen soldiers, adding that she, unlike the former president, “will always honor the service and sacrifice of all of America’s fallen heroes.” Eight Gold Star families took to Twitter to rebuke Harris’s comments, explaining that they invited Trump to the cemetery for the ceremony and have never heard from the vice president in the three years since they lost their children in the August 2021 terrorist attack in Kabul.
Kamala Harris CAUGHT Bussing In Thousands Of People To Her Events! – wltreport.com
Kamala Harris has spoken out about Wednesday morning’s shooting at a Georgia high school, which left four students dead and several injured.
The Democratic presidential nominee took the stage during a scheduled rally in North Hampton, New Hampshire, and began her remarks by expressing her condolences to those impacted by the tragedy, and emphasizing the need for gun violence reform in the country.
Though neither the suspect nor the four victims’ names have been shared, it has been reported by several outlets that the shooter is a 14-year-old male, however it has not yet been disclosed whether he is a student of the school, Apalachee High School, in Winder.
While the focus of Harris’ rally in New Hampshire was the economy, she began her speech by addressing the “tragic shooting,” acknowledging that authorities were still in the process of gathering information.
“Our hearts are with all the students and the teachers and their families of course, and we are grateful to the first responders and law enforcement that were on the scene,” she said, before declaring: “This is just a senseless tragedy, on top of so many senseless tragedies, and it is outrageous that everyday in our country in the United States of America, that parents have to send their children to school worried about whether or not their child will come home alive.”
Tim Walz
Tim Walz Brags About Passing Laws That Restrict Speech– thefederalist.com Source Link Excerpt:
According to a recent Wall Street Journal editorial, Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., bragged about the impact of the new law, saying that employers will either have to toe the line or be sent to jail.
Making matters worse, Walz also personally appointed all the members of Minnesota’s teacher licensing board, which recently instituted new rules restricting and coercing teachers’ speech. These new regulations “require educators to ‘affirm’ their students’ gender identities, have ‘racial consciousness,’ and learn to ‘disrupt oppressive systems,’” according to Fox News. Count me in as one of those who are shocked yet perhaps not terribly surprised that Walz believes that there should be no guarantees to free speech in America.
Couple Walz’s attacks on free speech with attempts from the political left (and Walz’s attorney general in particular) to put public pressure on social media platforms, such as Elon Musk’s X, and the message is clear. Our First Amendment is under attack.
Walz Made MN A ‘Sanctuary’ For Baby Killers And Child Mutilators– thefederalist.com Source Link Excerpt:
Kamala Harris chose a running mate who is as extreme on children’s health care as she is.
Democrat vice presidential candidate and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz describes his state of Minnesota as a sanctuary. But a sanctuary for whom, exactly? Not for the children deceived into permanently mutilating their bodies. Not for the parents stripped of custody of their children. And not for the babies born alive after abortion.
Minnesota is not a sanctuary — it’s a health risk to children and a graveyard for parental rights.
Governor Tim Walz was one of 14 governors who signed legislation to make their states “sanctuary states” for children who believe they are transgender. Walz joined states like California, Washington, and New York, drafting an executive order and signing a successive state law encouraging these children to travel to his state for experimental treatments or surgeries.
Tim Walz Spent Billions To ‘Improve Child Literacy.’ Reading Levels Remain Low, New Test Scores Show.– freebeacon.com Source Link Excerpt:
Minnesota governor Tim Walz, now the Democratic vice presidential candidate, last year signed a flagship education bill that boosted K-12 education spending by more than $2 billion, a “signature accomplishment” that he said would “improve child literacy.” New test scores reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon show that hasn’t happened.
Just 46 percent of Minnesota’s third-graders, for example, are considered proficient in reading, marking a slight dip from 2023, according to data recently released by the Minnesota Department of Education. Across all grade levels, roughly half of Minnesota students are proficient in reading, and just 45 percent are proficient in math. Those figures are nearly identical to those from 2023.
The new numbers suggest Walz’s $2 billion education spending blitz did not impact Minnesota’s students the way he said it would, undercutting a central part of his pitch to voters as he runs for vice president. As Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’s running mate, Walz has leaned on his educational background, touting his record as a former teacher. The National Education Association last month lauded him as the “Education Governor.”
Walz subpoenaed by House GOP over handling of COVID fraud scheme – washingtonexaminer.com
The subpoena argues that information provided by the Minnesota Department of Education regarding its oversight of the federal child nutrition programs was “insufficient” in addressing the committee’s concerns over how people from the nonprofit Feeding Our Future were able to defraud the U.S. Department of Agriculture and misuse more than $250 million in funds.
“As the chief executive and the highest ranking official in the state of Minnesota, you are
responsible for the MDE and its administration of” the federal child nutrition program, Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) wrote in a letter to Walz. “Statements in the press by you and your representatives indicate that you and other executive officers were involved, or had knowledge of, MDE’s administration of the FCNP and responsibilities and actions regarding the massive fraud.”
“The Committee must now compel the production of responsive documents that will show the extent of the actions taken by you and your administration relating to MDE’s administration of the FCNP and the extent of your responsibilities and actions addressing the massive fraud that resulted in the abuse of taxpayer dollars intended for hungry children,” Foxx continued.
Tim Walz used cash reward to encourage Minnesota parents to give Covid vax to children as young as 5 – thepostmillennial.com
“That’s cash in your pocket for starting the year off right by protecting your child from COVID.”
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz offered parents a cash reward to encourage their children to get vaccinated against COVID-19, which was available to children as young as five at the time. The vaccine incentive titled “Kids Deserve a Shot” was announced by Walz in Jan. 2022 offered $200 to families who got their children between the ages of 5 and 11 “fully vaccinated.”
Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, wrote on X at the time: “Big news: Starting this month, families who get their 5- to 11-year-olds vaccinated can get $200! That’s cash in your pocket for starting the year off right by protecting your child from COVID.”
Eligibility was contingent upon parents or guardians providing documentation that their children received both shots of the vaccination between Jan. 1 and Feb. 28, 2022. Walz made the pitch by citing a surge in the “Omicron” variant at the time.
“As Omicron surges across our nation, we’re continuing to use every resource we have to keep our families safe and healthy,” he wrote in a statement. “There’s a lot of highly transmissible virus circulating in our communities, but getting our children 5-11 years old vaccinated gives them critical protection against severe illness and hospitalization from COVID-19 and helps keep them in school.”
Here’s What Tim Walz Did When Asked About the Six Hostages Found Dead in Gaza – townhall.com
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is slurping up milkshakes and eating pork chops on a stick at the state fair this weekend. Not many outlets will cover this heinous exchange with the press at the event, where Walz refused to answer a question about how he felt about the six hostages whose bodies were found by Israeli forces in Gaza over the weekend. Walz listened to the question and then walked away.
REPORTER: “What’s your reaction to the 6 hostages being found dead in Gaza?”
For Democrats who pined for Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, this is a moment for you, though I don’t think Donald Trump takes this state despite coming within a hair of it in 2016. New surveys show the Harris-Walz ticket didn’t get a bump from their convention. Mr. Walz could be hurting Ms. Harris in his home state, where the vice president had a healthy 10-point lead over Mr. Trump. It’s now 48-43 (via NY Post):
Kamala Harris’ bet on Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has actually lost her ground in his home state.
That’s the takeaway from new polling of 635 Likely Voters from Minnesota’s KSTP, which found that the Democratic presidential nominee’s advantage over Donald Trump has been cut in half since she picked Walz as her running mate last month and showcased the ticket at the Democratic National Convention.
Harris now leads Trump 48% to 43%, a significant decline for her from the previous survey that showed her up 50% to 40%.
[…]
This is particularly remarkable given that this was a poll that included more Democrats than Republican respondents — with Dems making up 40% of the sample, Republicans 35%, and independents the remainder.
Republicans favored to regain Senate as key race shifts in GOP’s favor – nypost Source Link Excerpt:
Republicans are in pole position to take back the Senate majority for the first time in four years after a widely respected analysis shifted a key race toward the GOP candidate Thursday.
The nonpartisan Cook Political Report assessed the Montana contest between incumbent Democrat Jon Tester and challenger Tim Sheehy as “lean Republican.”
If all three races break the Republicans’ way, the GOP would begin the 119th Congress with 53 members of the upper chamber, providing a key check on Democrats should Kamala Harris win the White House and her party regain the House.
Montana Democrat Jon Tester (above) is facing challenger Tim Sheehy as “lean Republican,” according to an assessment from Cook Political Report. CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Montana Senate race shifts toward GOP, Cook Political Report says – Axios Source Link Excerpt:
Republican Tim Sheehy is now favored to win Montana’s Senate race, according to a Thursday analysis from Cook Political Report.
Why it matters: The GOP will likely gain control of the Senate if incumbent Democratic Sen. Jon Tester loses the seat.
Cook Political Report changed its race rating from “toss-up” to “leans Republican.”
The Senate is currently made up of 48 Democrats, 49 Republicans and 3 independents. However, the independent Senators caucus with Democrats to give them a 51-49 majority.
State of play: Protecting Tester’s seat is a top goal for Democrats, but Sheehy’s polling has been strong.
“Republicans are now an even heavier favorite to win back control of the Senate, regardless of the result at the top of the ticket,” Cook Political Report’s Jessica Taylor said in an analysis on Thursday.
Vice President Kamala Harris’s sudden entry into the presidential election has upended the electoral math to reach the White House, growing her levels of support above those of President Joe Biden in some polls while dampening it in others. All signs point to Pennsylvania being the pivotal battleground that may determine the election, and a new poll in the state’s U.S. Senate race indicates that Republicans are gaining traction.
Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), who is seeking his fourth six-year term, faces a pugnacious challenger in Dave McCormick, a businessman and former U.S. Treasury undersecretary for international affairs. In a notable break from previous polls, McCormick, 59, is now tied with the 64-year-old incumbent, according to a survey from CNN and SSRS. Nearly 800 likely voters were asked to choose between the who men, each of whom drew 46%. Another poll by Wick, also conducted during the final week of August, gave Sen. Casey a 2% lead, the smallest on record for the past several months, according to FiveThirtyEight.
Democrat Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) does not believe there is an underlying issue in the country of illegal immigrants voting, making the remark when asked about the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which would provide safeguards to ensure non-citizens are not voting in federal elections.
The SAVE Act is back on the scene following chatter of attaching it to a continuing resolution. While it is already illegal for non-citizens to vote in federal elections, conservatives say the bill is necessary as there are no concrete safeguards to check it.
The House in the Balance? Alaska’s At-Large Race Is Now Neck-and-Neck – RedState– redstate.com Source Link Excerpt:
While Alaska’s issues are frequently of concern primarily to Alaskans, in 2024, our at-large House of Representatives election is drawing some significant national attention. Why is this? Partly because the balance of the House of Representatives is at stake and that might come down to a few seats. It’s also partly due to the complications ranked-choice voting (RCV) has introduced – and how both parties here in the Great Land are dealing with it.
Cook Political Report, which analyzes races across the country, has shifted the Alaska U.S. House race from the “Lean Democrat” category to “Toss Up,” in the latest ranking.
The change explains why Democrats, who have their own polling, are now suing the state Division of Elections to save the Rep. Mary Peltola, who is facing Republican Nick Begich in the general election, in her reelection bid.
Dem Senate Candidate Finally Speaks Out Against China-Linked Battery Maker After Months Of Attacks From GOP– americanactionnews.com Source Link
Excerpt:
Democratic Michigan Rep. Elissa Slotkin came out against a Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-linked company during a campaign rally this week, after enduring months of criticism from Republicans over the matter.
Slotkin, currently running for Senate in the state, had previously not publicly opposed a plan by Gotion High-Tech — a subsidiary of the Chinese-owned firm Gotion Inc. — to build a massive battery plant in Michigan, according to Politico Pro. Slotkin had fallen under criticism from Republican lawmakers and organizations who claimed she had signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) on discussing Gotion’s projects.
“To me, until there’s a national security vetting, I don’t love the idea of moving forward on any project or any sale of farmland [to a Chinese-based entity],” Slotkin told reporters following a campaign event in southern Michigan this week, according to Politico Pro. “I believe that we need to not just think about economic [implications], but also about the national security implications of Chinese-affiliated companies.”
President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation needs to desist from forcing the weak hand of Armenia concerning the Zangezur corridor. Iran notified the Russian Federation that geopolitical changes in the Caucasus are not desired. Therefore, other nations – including America, France, and Greece – must step up in their support of this ancient Christian land against the threat of Pan-Turkism (Azerbaijan and Turkey) and the intrigues of the Russian Federation.
Iran is displeased that the Russian Federation and Turkey (NATO power) are supporting Azerbaijan in its demand to control the Zangezur transport corridor. This stretch of Armenian land splits the Nakhchivan Azerbaijan enclave (once Armenian Christian land until cleansed) from the rest of Azerbaijan.
If Azerbaijan, the Russian Federation, and Turkey usurped the Zangezur transport corridor from the control of Armenia, this would entail that Iran is conclusively cut off from its natural border with Armenia.
Iran warns Russia against Caucasus geopolitical changes amid corridor dispute – Al-Monitor
By showing Musk’s X the red card, has Brazil scored a goal for all democracies? – The Guardian Source Link Excerpt:
… Cue shock, horror, incredulity, outrage and all the reactions in between. Musk – who has been sparring with Moraes for quite a while – tweeted: “Free speech is the bedrock of democracy and an unelected pseudo-judge in Brazil is destroying it for political purposes.” The animosity between the two goes back to 8 January 2023, after the defeat of Jair Bolsonaro in the 2022 Brazilian presidential election, when a mob of his supporters attacked federal government buildings in the capital, Brasília. The mob invaded and caused deliberate damage to the supreme federal court, the national congress and the Planalto presidential palace in an abortive attempt to overthrow the democratically elected president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Justice Moraes is in the firing line because before the 2022 presidential election the country’s supreme court had given him expansive powers to crack down on online threats to democracy and he has been an enthusiastic deployer of that capability ever since. A New York Times report, for example, said that he “jailed five people without a trial for posts on social media that he said attacked Brazil’s institutions. He has also ordered social networks to remove thousands of posts and videos with little room for appeal.” And it is this last practice that brought him into collision with Musk, whose platform was one of the channels used by the 8 January insurgents.
—
Explained: Why did Brazil ban Elon Musk’s X? – The Times of India
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has supported Justice de Moraes’ decision, asserting that wealthy individuals like Musk are not above the law. Meanwhile, Musk has criticized President Lula, referring to him as de Moraes’ “lapdog.” The decision to suspend X was upheld by one of Brazil’s Supreme Court panels, though some legal experts argue that a broader consensus among justices should have been sought for such a critical action.
The Musk vs. de Moraes case exemplifies the complexities tech companies face when navigating different legal frameworks globally, highlighting growing tensions between multinational digital platforms and sovereign laws. With no immediate resolution in sight, the conflict continues to draw international attention, underscoring the intricate relationship between technology, law, and politics in today’s digital landscape.
Brazil Supreme Court panel unanimously upholds judge’s decision to block X nationwide – The Associated Press
The broader support among justices undermines the effort by Musk and his supporters to cast Justice Alexandre de Moraes as an authoritarian renegade who is intent on censoring political speech in Brazil.
The panel that voted in a virtual session was comprised of five of the full bench’s 11 justices, including de Moraes, who last Friday ordered the platform blocked for refusing to name a local legal representative, as required by law. It will stay suspended until it complies with his orders and pays outstanding fines that as of last week exceeded $3 million, according to his decision.
MSNBC calls for boycott of social media platform X, contributor calls for Elon Musk’s prosecution | The Post Millennial– thepostmillennial.com Source Link Excerpt:
“If every moderate-to-liberal human and organization stopped using the site, that might pressure Musk or his board of directors to stop weaponizing it.”
MSNBC has called for a boycott against the social media platform X, claiming that its owner, Elon Musk, has pushed misinformation relating to the upcoming election.
An opinion piece published by MSNBC calling for the boycott cited a recent report by the nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate which claimed to have identified 50 instances where Musk posted false claims about the election. The MSNBC piece also accused Musk of amplifying conspiracy theories and anti-Semitism.
“If every moderate-to-liberal human and organization stopped using the site, that might pressure Musk or his board of directors to stop weaponizing it,” the opinion, written by journalist Jay Michaelson, argued.
“It isn’t even a boycott. Leaving X isn’t like boycotting Coors because it’s too right-wing or Bud Light because it’s too left-wing. Those boycotts are fine — that’s part of capitalism too — but X is different in kind. Because unlike beer, the X product itself is the problem,” Michaelson added.
X’s Global Affairs Chief Nick Pickles Resigns After Brazil Ban – observer.com
Longtime X employee Nick Pickles is leaving the social media platform during a tumultuous time. Win McNamee/Getty Images
Elon Musk’s social media platform X is losing one of its longest-running employees. Nick Pickles, the current vice president of global affairs at the company, announced his resignation yesterday (Sept. 5) in a post on the platform. “After more than ten years, tomorrow will be my last day at X,” said Pickles, who did not provide a reason for his departure. X did not respond to requests for comment from Observer.
Pickles was one of the few employees of X, previously known as Twitter, to have survived Elon Musk’s $44 billion takeover of the company in 2022 and was a trusted member of X CEO Linda Yaccarino’s inner circle. The British executive said he was grateful for Yaccarino’s support and partnership, noting that he made the decision to leave X several months ago and is “looking forward to taking some time off before a new challenge.”
Pickles became a prominent figure throughout X’s numerous clashes with international governments. Censorship battles between X and countries like Brazil, India and Australia have proliferated since Musk’s acquisition and a loosening of content restrictions on the platform. “It’s vital that democratic governments don’t unwittingly endorse or adopt the policies of governments who do not want to protect the open, global internet,” said Pickles of government attempts to remove content from the site in a May interview with the Financial Times. “We risk a race to the bottom, with ever more aggressive sanctions being used to try and control the global internet without respect for global norms and free expression,” he added.
It’s not just Brazil v. Elon Musk’s X: Governments are seeking harsh remedies to social media abuses – Fortune
There have always been consequences in media for getting things wrong, from lawsuits and reputational damage to jail time and fines that can gut a business. You can be right and still get targeted. Just ask the Committee to Protect Journalists. Now, social media platforms are dealing with those issues. What’s different and disturbing is how many governments are aiming to essentially shut them down.
Federal Loopholes Allow China To Buy Land Near Sensitive Ports, Labs, and Coast Guard Facilities, Prompting Congressional Concern– freebeacon.com Source Link Excerpt:
… The Treasury Department’s Committee of Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), the central body responsible for approving land sales to foreign entities, moved to “significantly expand” its jurisdiction in July, allowing it to review real estate transactions near 50 military and other sensitive sites. That expanded list, however, does not include locations such as “national laboratories, maritime ports, and critical telecommunications and energy infrastructure,” all of which remain vulnerable to foreign spy operations, according to Reps. Greg Murphy (R., N.C.) and John Moolenaar (R., Mich.).
The oversight, the lawmakers say, reflects “significant gaps in our national security screening regime for land purchases near national security sites.” Their concern comes as China works to ramp up its influence operations and “wreak havoc” on American infrastructure, efforts that have made combating Chinese land purchases a major political issue in states across the country.
“Coast Guard facilities, Department of Energy National Labs, among other locations, remain off CFIUS’s list of sensitive sites and are thereby vulnerable to foreign adversary exploitation,” Murphy and Moolenaar, who chairs the House Select Committee on China, wrote in a Monday letter to the Treasury Department.
“These loopholes must be closed, and closed quickly. Allowing our adversaries to have potential access to these sites poses risks to both our economic and national security, especially as we see companies with ties to hostile nations continue to increase their investments in the U.S.”
Chinese Communist Party-tied companies own at least 384,000 acres of American agricultural land, a 30 percent increase since 2019, though poor federal oversight means the number could be higher. This accounts for nearly $2 billion in holdings, planting Beijing and its interests across the American heartland.
China Has 100,000 Mines Ready to Sink the U.S. Navy – nationalinterest.org Source Link Excerpt:
Beyond having a larger fleet, China is developing innovative attack methods, including the mass production of cheap yet highly lethal naval mines.
-These mines are difficult to detect and capable of targeting U.S. warships, including aircraft carriers, especially in constrained waters near China like the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait.
-While U.S. carriers have layered defenses against mines in open waters, conflicts in these compact regions pose a greater risk due to China’s ability to seed the areas with mines.
China has already proven it has superior manufacturing capacity than the United States, at least at the mass-production level. And contrary to popular opinion in the West, Chinese technology is reaching parity with the Americans. This all translates to significant strategic advantages for the Chinese military if Beijing and Washington ever go to war.
US strategy for anti-ship weapons to counter China: plentiful, mobile, deadly – Reuters.com Source Link Excerpt:
The United States is amassing an arsenal of abundant and easily made anti-ship weapons as part of American efforts to deter China in the Indo-Pacific region and gear up U.S. forces there.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has pushed U.S. thinking toward a new philosophy – “affordable mass,” as one missile industry CEO put it, speaking on condition of anonymity, referring to having plenty of relatively cheap weapons at the ready.
“It’s a natural counter to what China has been doing,” said Euan Graham, a senior analyst with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute think tank, referring to the Chinese arsenal of ships and conventional ballistic missiles including those designed to attack vessels.
The Pentagon and China’s Ministry of Defence did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The United States has ramped up testing of its QUICKSINK weapon, an inexpensive and potentially plentiful bomb equipped with a low-cost GPS guidance kit and a seeker that can track moving objects. The U.S. Air Force used a B-2 stealth bomber during a test last month in the Gulf of Mexico to strike a target ship with QUICKSINK.
China will still have a large advantage in sheer numbers of anti-ship missiles, according to experts, and can base them on its home territory. But increasing U.S. production of QUICKSINK would narrow that gap by putting China’s 370 or so warships at more risk during any future conflict than they have faced since before Beijing leaned into modernizing its military in the 1990s.
China: Supplying Components for Russian Drones in the War Against Ukraine – lansinginstitute.org Source Link Excerpt:
Chinese companies are supplying components for Russian military drones, which may shed light on Beijing’s interests in prolonging the war in Ukraine and avoiding pressure on the Kremlin to end the conflict. These supply chains allow Russia to maintain its UAV production and military operations, raising questions about China’s true geopolitical motivations.
By supporting Russia’s drone capabilities, China indirectly contributes to Moscow’s military aggression, despite its public stance of neutrality and calls for peace. Beijing’s reluctance to exert pressure on Russia could indicate a strategic interest in keeping the West distracted and divided, as well as ensuring access to Russian resources and maintaining a partnership against Western influence.
This dynamic suggests that China might see the continuation of the conflict as beneficial for its long-term objectives, avoiding direct involvement while gaining from the geopolitical instability. By balancing diplomatic rhetoric with actions that support Russia, China maintains its influence without openly aligning with Moscow’s military agenda.
Chinese Electric Vehicles Could Be ‘Weaponised’ by Beijing, Report Warns– www.breitbart.com Source Link Excerpt:
The British government’s open-doors approach to electric vehicles from Communist China threatens to undercut domestic manufacturing and expose the country to national security risks, with a think tank warning that EVs could be “weaponised” by Beijing.
A report from the China Strategic Risks Institute (CSRI) warned that the growing market share of and dependency on Chinese-made electric vehicles in Britain presents both “economic and security risks” to the United Kingdom.
The report noted that the UK’s domestic car industry is responsible for 198,000 manufacturing jobs, representing 2.5 per cent of the country’s entire GDP.
… A 60 Minutes crew got a close look at the tense situation when traveling on a Philippine Coast Guard ship that was rammed by the Chinese Coast Guard.
China has repeatedly rammed Philippine ships and blasted them with water cannons over the last two years. There are ongoing conversations between Washington and Manila about which scenarios would trigger U.S. involvement, Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro said in an interview.
“I really don’t know the end state,” Teodoro said. “All I know is that we cannot let them get away with what they’re doing.”
China states it has indisputable sovereignty over reef after Philippine ship leaves – LBC Group Source Link Excerpt:
China said Sunday it had “indisputable sovereignty” over a contested reef after a Philippine ship anchored there for months left the area.
Beijing “has indisputable sovereignty over… Xianbin Jiao and its adjacent waters,” Chinese coast guard spokesperson Liu Dejun said, using the Chinese name for Sabina Shoal.
Analysis: As China-Vatican deal nears renewal, warming ties could shake Holy See’s decades-old alliance with Taiwan – Channel News Asia Source Link Excerpt:
Dr Reyes noted that the developments reflect the “significant progression” between both parties, even as both do not share formal relations.
Beijing severed diplomatic ties with the Holy See in 1951, after China’s Communist Party (CCP) took power and expelled foreign priests. The Vatican instead maintains official links with Taiwan – one of only a dozen states to do so.
Mr Yeo highlighted that Cardinal Chow, during his visit to the Vatican in May, extended an invitation to Pope Francis to visit Hong Kong. He views the gesture as significant, aimed at reinforcing the city’s role as a bridge between China and the global Catholic community.
Pope Paul VI is the only pontiff to have visited Hong Kong – he made a three-hour stopover in 1970 when it was a British colony, holding mass at Happy Valley racecourse.
“It was an informal invitation, but many eyebrows were raised because the Hong Kong cardinal would not have issued this invitation on his own, without clearance to China,” said Mr Yeo in an interview with CNA late last month.
China frees David Lin, American pastor who U.S. government says was wrongfully detained for 18 years– www.cbsnews.com Source Link Excerpt:
China’s Mid-Autumn Festival holiday typically sees families reunite and give thanks, much like Thanksgiving in America. This year, Chinese-American pastor David Lin will have much to be thankful for when the holiday is marked on Tuesday. In a surprise move, Beijing freed the 68-year-old Sunday after he spent nearly 20 years in prison in a case the U.S. government and his family have always dismissed as baseless.
Lin entered China in 2006 and attempted to establish a Christian training center in Beijing. China‘s Communist Party disapproves of such activities and routinely roots out underground Christian churches, seeing them as a threat to its power. Only officially-sanctioned, closely monitored churches are permitted under the Communist Party’s rule.
Lin was detained the same year he arrived, then in 2009 he was handed a life sentence after being convicted of fraud. The charge is often applied to home church leaders who try to raise money for expansion, according to the Dui Hua Foundation human rights group.
The U.S. State Department, which always maintained that Lin was wrongfully detained by China, confirmed his release on Sunday. The Chinese government did not make any public comment on Lin’s release during the long holiday weekend.
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Russia and China Conduct Largest Military Drills since Cold War › American Greatness– amgreatness.com Source Link Excerpt:
In the last week, the military forces of China and Russia conducted some of the largest drills in the last 30 years, marking an alarming increase in the two nations’ displays of military strength.
According to Fox News, the week-long drills will include 90,000 troops, 400 naval vessels, and 120 aircraft, and will take place in the Pacific and Arctic Oceans, as well as the Baltic, Caspian, and Mediterranean Seas. The drill has been named “Ocean 24.”
The display of power takes place as representatives from the United States meet with leaders of the European Union in Brussels, specifically focusing on rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific Region. China and Russia have slowly been growing closer together in recent years, with the former supporting the latter’s invasion of Ukraine.
The United States has been critical of China for providing “very substantial” support to Russia’s ongoing war effort.
“These are not dual-use capabilities,” said U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell after the latest reports of China providing military supplies to Russia. “These are basically being applied directly to the Russian war machine.”
China to train thousands of overseas law enforcement officers to create ‘more fair’ world order – The Guardian Source Link Excerpt:
China will train thousands of foreign law enforcement officers so as to see the world order “develop in a more fair, reasonable and efficient direction”, its minister for public security has said.
“We will [also] send police consultants to countries in need to conduct training to help them quickly and effectively improve their law enforcement capabilities,” minister Wang Xiaohong told an annual global security forum.
Wang Xiaohong made the announcement in the eastern city of Lianyungang on Monday in front of law enforcement representatives from 122 countries, regions and international organisations such as Interpol.
The forum is part of ongoing efforts by China’s ruling Communist party to position itself as a global security leader. In 2022 China’s leader, Xi Jinping, launched the Global Security Initiative (GSI), which centres China as a facilitator to “improve global security governance … and promote durable peace”.
China’s New Aircraft Carriers Have a ‘Sizeable Edge’ over U.S. Navy for 1 Reason – The National Interest Online
Unlike the U.S., whose aircraft carriers are central to its naval power, China’s carriers are meant to operate under the protective “bubble” created by its A2/AD defenses, particularly within the First Island Chain.
What You Need to Know on China’s Aircraft Carriers and the 1 Edge They Have Against the U.S. Navy: China is rapidly expanding its aircraft carrier fleet, with plans for five or six by the 2030s, despite the challenges posed by anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) systems. Unlike the U.S., whose carriers are central to its naval power, China’s carriers are meant to operate under the protective “bubble” created by its A2/AD defenses, particularly within the First Island Chain.
US roll outs new export controls aimed at restricting China’s chip industry – Al Jazeera English
The United States has rolled out fresh export controls on quantum computers and semiconductor-manufacturing equipment amid concerns about the use of advanced technologies by rivals such as China.
The US Department of Commerce said on Thursday that the export restrictions followed consultation with international partners and would strengthen relations with “like-minded countries”.
“Today’s action ensures our national export controls keep step with rapidly evolving technologies and are more effective when we work in concert with international partners,” Under Secretary for the Bureau of Industry and Security Alan Estevez said in a statement.
“Aligning our controls on quantum and other advanced technologies makes it significantly more difficult for our adversaries to develop and deploy these technologies in ways that threaten our collective security.”
Xi offers African leaders more aid as China challenges US-led global order – Imperial Valley Press
BEIJING (AP) — Dozens of African leaders gathered Thursday in Beijing for a summit that signals China’s influence in a continent that it hopes will be a key ally in pushing back against a U.S.-led global order.
Chinese President Xi Jinping promised the leaders billions of dollars in loans and private investment over the next three years, and proposed that relations with all African countries that have diplomatic ties with China be elevated to the “strategic” level.
China rolls out red carpet for African leaders as it strategizes against the West – washingtonexaminer.com
China is rolling out the red carpet for 53 African leaders as it seeks to strengthen ties and cement its influence in the mineral-rich and strategically centered continent.
The three-day summit in Beijing began on Wednesday and comes as China tries to counter U.S. and European influence in the region to gain global dominance.
Dancers perform as Morocco Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch arrives at the Beijing Capital International Airport ahead of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation summit in Beijing on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (Adek Berry/Pool Photo via AP)
Under President Xi Jinping, China is trying to raise its political credibility to the point that it becomes a rulemaker versus a rulebreaker in the international playing field. To do that, it needs other countries, in this case, in Africa, to become its allies in international institutions such as the United Nations. However, to do that, it must first build and nurture the relationships.
Even though the United States, Japan, India, and Russia also hold summits to push their interests in Africa, China is unmatched when it comes to the continent’s economic partner, investing billions of dollars in infrastructure and green projects.
‘Tier One’ US Special Forces Unit Preparing for Chinese Invasion of Taiwan: Report– www.westernjournal.com Source Link Excerpt:
A “Tier One” force is reportedly preparing to assist the island nation of Taiwan against a mainland superpower’s overwhelming and relentless force.
The United States Navy’s SEAL Team 6 is currently training for the types of missions that may occur if the People’s Republic of China opens hostilities against its island neighbor, the Financial Times reported.
According to the report, SEAL Team 6 has been training for the simmering conflict for over a year at the elite force’s Dam Neck, Virginia, headquarters.
German warships to cross Taiwan Strait for first time in 22 years, defying Beijing’s warnings – Firstpost Source Link Excerpt:
Two German warships are set to pass through the sensitive Taiwan Strait in the middle of this month, becoming the first German naval vessels to do so in 22 years, Spiegel magazine reported on Saturday.
Reuters reported last month that the warships were awaiting orders from Berlin to sail the Strait, prompting a rebuke to Germany from Beijing.
Spiegel cited unspecified sources as saying Beijing would not be formally notified of the German ships’ passage to emphasise that Berlin views the trip as normal.
Germany’s defence ministry declined to comment.
China targets SpaceX’s reusable rocket lead, seeks to replace Jeff Bezos as Elon Musk’s top space rival – Mint Source Link Excerpt:
China is aiming to loosen Elon Musk’s lock on reusable launch vehicles — and close a yawning technology gap with the US.
Beijing is turning to aerospace startups and state-owned enterprises alike to develop an edge in rockets that can be used dozens of times to lift satellites into low-Earth orbit.
One company trying to meet that challenge isLandSpace Technology Corp.,whoseZhuque-3 reusablerocket successfully completed a 10 kilometer (6.2 mile)vertical takeoff and landing returntest flightat the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centeron Wednesday.According to Chinese state media, it markeda “significant breakthrough in China’s commercial space industry” and was a “crucial step toward achieving high capacity, low cost, high frequencyand reusability in future space launches.”
China raising its retirement age may be unpopular but it’s much needed, analysts say– www.cnbc.com Source Link Excerpt:
China’s top legislative body passed an official plan Friday to begin incrementally raising the nation’s statutory retirement age from Jan. 1 of next year and concluding in 2040, according to Chinese state media.
The final goal of the roughly 15-year plan is to raise the retirement age by three years for men to 63 years old, five years for women that work in factories from 50 to 55 and three years for women that work in white-collar jobs from 55 to 58.
The reforms are “overdue and very much welcome,” Erica Tay, director of macro research at Maybank Investment Banking Group, told CNBC.
China has been grappling with a shrinking workforce and looming pension budget shortfalls that could significantly damage the economy.
Mali seals arms deal with Chinese manufacturer – APANEWS
Mali has sealed a military cooperation deal with Chinese arms manufacturer Norinco on the eve of the opening of the 9th Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) taking place in Beijing from 4 to 6 September.
The head of the Malian transition, Colonel Assimi Goïta, visited the headquarters of Norinco, a world leader in the manufacture of armaments for the signing of a contract for the purchase of new military equipment for his country.
In Beijing, Colonel Goïta was received at Norinco’s headquarters, accompanied by the Minister of Defence and Veterans, Colonel Sadio Camara, and several members of his government.
The visit gave the Malian officials the opportunity to learn about the latest innovations in the field of armaments, particularly in the areas of light weapons, combat drones and advanced artillery systems.
Mali’s Colonel Assimi Goïta reflects on visit to China – APAnews Source Link Excerpt:
In an interview with Malian television, he described the visit as a decisive advancement in Mali-China relations.
Colonel Goïta noted, “Currently, China and Mali enjoy fraternal ties that have lasted for over 60 years,” emphasizing that these relations span several sectors, including defense and security, education, agriculture, and energy.
A significant outcome of the visit was the announcement that Mali and China would elevate their relationship to a strategic partnership. “At the request of President Xi Jinping, we have decided to enhance our partnership to a strategic level,” the head of Mali’s transition stated. This development underscores the importance of Sino-Malian cooperation and will be formalized during an upcoming state visit.
China Hands 9-Year Prison Sentence to Taiwan Activist for ’Separatism’ – time.com
China handed a nine-year prison term to a Taiwanese political activist convicted of “separatism,” a rare sentence that prompted Taiwan to warn its people about the dangers of traveling across the strait.
Yang Chih-yuan received the term in a court in the eastern Chinese city of Wenzhou, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council said in a briefing on Thursday, according to the semi-official Central News Agency.
China’s ruling Communist Party intended for the “case to intimidate the people of Taiwan,” said council Deputy Minister Liang Wen-chieh, adding that travelers from the democracy of 23 million should be prudent when considering going across the strait.
This was the first time China jailed a Taiwanese person on a charge of trying to break up its territory, according to the council, a government department in Taipei that handles cross-strait relations. In recent years, Chinese prosecutors have leveled the charge against Uyghurs, a minority group in the restive far western region of Xinjiang.
As Xi Clamps Down, Chinese Civil Society Flourishes Overseas– www.dailysignal.com Source Link Excerpt:
Mournful residents of Shanghai, China, watched Jifeng Bookstore close its doors for the last time on Jan. 31, 2018. The establishment was best known for carrying books and hosting forums that pushed the boundaries on issues deemed sensitive by the Chinese Communist Party.
The forced closure of the bookstore was part of a broader crackdown on free speech and civic discourse by Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s government.
Nearly seven years later, Jifeng reopened Sept. 1 in a new location—Washington, D.C.—under the name JF Books. The bookstore’s grand opening attracted a diverse assortment of local scholars, journalists, activists, and members of diaspora communities from mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.
The excitement was palpable as visitors perused books, took in memorabilia from the shuttered Shanghai store, and registered for upcoming lectures, which are starting back up this month after a hiatus of nearly seven years.
China’s Presence in Timor-Leste Is Unseen, but Unmissable – TIME
“It was not really an assassination attempt,” says José Ramos-Horta. Timor-Leste’s President is sitting on the breezy veranda of Galeria Memoria Viva, the seafront bungalow in capital city Dili that now serves as his personal museum. The walls are festooned with memorabilia spanning half-a-century of activism and politics: a watercolor by an incarcerated former comrade; a plaque commemorating his 1996 Nobel Peace Prize; photos of an Australian journalist slain during his nation’s tumultuous birth pangs.
But when asked about that fateful morning of Feb. 11, 2008, Ramos-Horta tears up the history book. It was during his previous stint as president that rebel leader Alfredo Reinado entered his home at 6 a.m. with a dozen heavily armed men. Ramos-Horta was out jogging on the beach and returned to a firefight between the intruders and his security staff, during which he was shot at least twice (the rebels used banned “dum-dum” bullets that fracture on impact, so the exact number remains a mystery.)
Ramos-Horta was airlifted to the Australian city of Darwin for medical treatment and nearly lost his life; one shrapnel fragment was lodged just 2 mm from his spine. When he eventually recovered, Ramos-Horta from his hospital thanked “all who prayed for me, who looked after me, who cared for me following the assassination attempt on me by Mr. Alfredo Reinado.
As Global Underpopulation Crisis Continues, China’s One-Child Policy Has Destroyed Its Population – lifenews.com
Steven Mosher, President of the Population Research Institute, has issued a stark warning in the New York Post. In his article “Baby Doom,” Mosher highlights the alarming global decline in birth rates.
“The big story comes from China, home to one-sixth of the world’s population,” Mosher writes, “the decades-long devastation wrought by the one-child policy has sent that country, for centuries the pacesetter in population, into absolute decline.” He notes that the official population figure of 1.44 billion is likely exaggerated by as much as 130 million.
This birth rate issue is widespread, as Mosher explains “for the first time in the 60,000 or so years that human beings first arrived on the planet, we are not having enough babies to replace ourselves.” In addition, he argues that the 2.1 figure, often reported as the necessary replacement rate, is too low because “in many countries sex-selection abortion skews the sex ratio strongly in favor of boys.”
Aspects of China’s global economic coercion strategy – Mizzima News Source Link Excerpt:
The US has adopted a two-pronged strategy towards China. One, is pursuing the path of dialogue, the other is confrontation. Both go hand in hand as can be seen by recent developments. While Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State travelled to Beijing for talks, back home administration officials criticised China for its coercive behaviour worldwide.
The nature of Chinese coercion is evident on all fronts and its ramifications across several fronts including economic, defence and other areas, is also a focus area for the Biden administration. Such actions are normally visible as Beijing uses tools like the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Global Security Initiative to penetrate and pressurize nations. Just one recent example of the heft China carries can be cited, this time in a cultural context. In Paris at a cultural event on China, the French Museum which hosted the event was ‘forced’ to title Tibet as ‘Xizang’, the latest effort by China to show that Tibet has always been a part of China. Thus, the world should be aware of various aspects of China’s coercive tactics.
China’s military coercion has been very visible in the South China Sea and its current actions clearly threaten the security of the Philippines. Nicholas Burns, the US Ambassador to China, recently pointed that the “very ill-advised efforts by the government of China to intimidate the Philippines at Second Thomas Shoal, at Sabina Shoal, in an incident at Scarborough Shoal, just to name three incidents over the last month or so”. Diplomatic messaging is certainly one way to signal intent and the US has been consistently doing it. Apart from the Ambassador in Beijing, Secretary Antony Blinken has conveyed US concerns to China as did US NSA Jake Sullivan, who told the Chinese leadership “very directly” that Washington had an ironclad commitment to defend the Philippines.
Disney Consumer Products helps Chinese partners to ‘go global’ – China.org Source Link Excerpt:
A Disney executive shared with China.org.cn that his cross-border strategy, introduced last year, has prompted many of Disney’s Chinese partner brands to successfully sell their products in overseas markets. In addition to aiding Chinese partners abroad, the global media and entertainment conglomerate is also optimistic about future growth with its own business in consumer products.
Kermid Rahman, senior vice president and general manager for Disney Consumer Products in Asia Pacific, stated that since he initiated the cross-border strategy last year nearly 70 licensees in the region have collaborated with Disney to start cross-border business.
“Many Chinese brands have successfully entered the Japanese, South Korean and Southeast Asian markets, and have already achieved brilliant performance,” he said at The Walt Disney Company’s Greater China Consumer Products Showcase 2025 held in Shanghai on Sept. 10. The temporary exhibition and showcase conference saw more than 3,700 representatives from various partner brands in attendance.
(LifeSiteNews) — In a further sign of the United Kingdom’s increasingly aggressive policing of speech, two British journalists documenting genocide have been arrested under section 12 of the Terrorism Act in the past month.
Richard Medhurst documents Israel’s genocide. He was arrested on disembarking at Heathrow Airport on Thursday, August 15, under the Terrorism Act.
Sarah Wilkinson was arrested in her home days ago by ten non-uniformed police officers under the Terrorism Act – for documenting Israel’s genocide. A shocking account of her ordeal can be read here.
Canada’s left-wing New Democratic Party (NDP) has pulled the plug on a two-and-a-half-year-old agreement with Justin Trudeau’s Liberals that had helped keep his minority government in power.
In a video posted to social media on Wednesday, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh said he had informed the prime minister of his decision, saying the Liberals were “too weak, too selfish” to fight for Canadians.
The deal – called a “supply and confidence” agreement – had the NDP supporting the Liberals in confidence votes.
The announcement does not automatically mean a federal election is imminent but that Canadians may go to the polls before the election scheduled for October 2025.
BREAKING: Pierre Poilievre responds to NDP breaking confidence agreement with Trudeau Liberals, calls for ‘Carbon Tax Election’ now – thepostmillennial.com
“In today’s media stunt, Sellout Singh refuses to state whether the NDP will vote with non-confidence to cause a carbon tax election at the first chance,” Poilievre wrote. Photo: Beth Baisch
Official Opposition Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre responded Wednesday to the news that NDP leader Jagmeet Singh has ended his party’s loose coalition agreement with the Trudeau government, calling for an immediate “Carbon Tax Election.”
Poilievre posted on X: “Two years ago, Sellout Singh sold out workers and signed on to a costly coalition with Justin Trudeau that hiked taxes, ballooned food costs, doubled housing costs and unleashed crime and chaos in our once safe streets.”
“In today’s media stunt, Sellout Singh refuses to state whether the NDP will vote with non-confidence to cause a carbon tax election at the first chance,” Poilievere continued. “Sellout Singh has voted to quadruple the carbon tax to $0.61/L, a plan that will drive Canadians to food banks and grind our economy to a halt— killing hundreds of thousands of jobs. Sellout Singh did all of this after promising he would be an opposition voice.”
Canadians rank Trudeau as worst prime minister since the 1960s by wide margin in new poll– www.lifesitenews.com Source Link Excerpt:
(LifeSiteNews) – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was ranked Canada’s worst leader since the 1960s in a new study.
An investigation conducted by Research Co. and released September 4 shows that 38 percent of Canadians overall said they disliked Trudeau the most compared with a list of other prime ministers.
A distant second as the most disliked was Stephen Harper, who was the former head of the Conservative Party, at 14 percent. Trudeau’s dad, Pierre, came in third at 7 percent.
Trudeau has been prime minister since 2015.
In western Canada, dislike for Trudeau was the strongest, with 55 percent of Albertans and 52 percent each in Saskatchewan and Manitoba saying they are not fond of him.
Research Co. has been tracking the popularity of current and former prime ministers for the past five years. Trudeau’s unpopularity has risen dramatically since 2022, nearly doubling since that year.
Starmer ‘interested in Italy’s migrant deal’ with Albania ahead of visit to Rome to meet right-wing PM Meloni – LBC Source Link Excerpt:
The newly-elected British PM has made the comments ahead of his first visit to Rome to meet Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Monday.
Under the terms of the deal, Italy sends migrants rescued crossing over sea from places such as North Africa to Albania for their asylum claims to be processed.
..
AfD party calls for an end to mail-in ballots, launches investigation into suspicious software error – rmx.news
Although the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party secured a first-place finish in the Saxony elections on Sunday, the party is still launching an investigation into an alleged computer error that cost them a seat in parliament and is also calling for an end to mail-in votes, citing security concerns and shady practices.
The first issue is the alleged software glitch that resulted in the AfD and the Christian Democrats (CDU) both losing a seat, while the Greens and Social Democrats (SPD) both gained one seat. The party says that it is launching an investigation into this.
“We want to know exactly what went wrong,” said the AfD’s state and parliamentary group leader Jörg Urban in a statement. He is demanding an exact error analysis. “If there are any irregularities, we will take legal action.”
Notably, the loss of one seat resulted in the AfD losing its blocking majority, which would have allowed the party, for example, to block the appointment of certain judges in the state.
🇩🇪 NEW: Alleged software error in Germany means the AfD and CDU both lose one seat in Saxony.
That seat was important for the AfD, as it provided the party with a “blocking minority” during crucial votes that require a two-thirds majority. pic.twitter.com/kqmCw3nLdR
The error initially gave the AfD and CDU an incorrect number of seats. After a review, “the state election management corrected the allocation of seats,” according to the German news outlet Leipziger Volkzeitung.
Viktor Orban praises Germany for leading the EU in major migrant crackdown | World | News– www.express.co.uk Source Link Excerpt:
Hungary’s Viktor Orban praised his liberal German counterpart Olaf Scholz for cracking down on migrants. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stunned his pro-EU allies after unveiling strict border rules which will allow for a “massive step-up in rejections” of asylum seekers.
Mr Orban whose anti-immigrant rhetoric and actions has sparked huge rows with Brussels, sent a message of support to Mr Scholz: “Germany has decided to impose strict border controls to stop illegal migration. Scholz, welcome to the club! #StopMigration.”
EU officials have warned that Mr Scholz’s new policy threatens to unravel the entire European bloc, as one leading German politician remarked: “Border controls would be the beginning of the end for the EU.”
Unveiling the plan on Monday, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) said: “Until we achieve stronger border protection with the joint European asylum system, we must further protect our national borders.”
Keir Starmer vows to stop people-smuggling gangs with tactics used to jail rioters – theguardian.com
Keir Starmer has pledged to break up people-smuggling gangs in the same manner used to apprehend and jail hundreds of rioters this summer.
Following a meeting with law enforcement agencies and cabinet ministers on plans to stop small boats crossing the Channel on Friday, the prime minister said that the “high-level summit” mirrored the approach taken after disturbances fuelled by far-right activists.
“We sat round the table with law enforcement and the police to make sure that we got the desired outcome and made sure we could deliver – in that case – swift justice.
“I’m absolutely determined to take the same approach here, active government, an operational summit, making sure that we are going to retake control of our borders, take these gangs down,” he said.
Telling uncomfortable truths is now considered ‘terrorism’ in Britain – lifesitenews.com
(LifeSiteNews) — In a further sign of the United Kingdom’s increasingly aggressive policing of speech, two British journalists documenting genocide have been arrested under section 12 of the Terrorism Act in the past month.
Richard Medhurst documents Israel’s genocide. He was arrested on disembarking at Heathrow Airport on Thursday, August 15, under the Terrorism Act.
Sarah Wilkinson was arrested in her home days ago by ten non-uniformed police officers under the Terrorism Act – for documenting Israel’s genocide. A shocking account of her ordeal can be read here.
Almost three months after a snap election saw France’s current President Emmanuel Macron’s party get effectively voted out of office, a new government is forming with a new Prime Minister, Michael Barnier, who will lead a center-right coalition parliament.
The appointment of Bruno Retailleau to Interior Minister signals the shift to the right for this government as Retailleau comes from the conservative Republicans Party, a party founded by former French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Among Macron’s new cabinet, only one leftist politician was represented.
Macron unveils new right-wing French government – BBC Source Link Excerpt:
French President Emmanuel Macron has unveiled his new government almost three months after a snap general election delivered a hung parliament.
The long-awaited new line up, led by Prime Minister Michel Barnier, marks a decisive shift to the right, even though a left-wing alliance won most parliamentary seats.
Despite the partnership between Macron’s centrist party and those on the right, parliament remains fractured and will rely on the support of other parties to pass legislation.
It comes as the European Union puts France on notice over its spiralling debt, which now far exceeds EU rules.
France has a new prime minister. Who is Michel Barnier? – globalnews.ca
President Emmanuel Macron named on Thusday the EU’s Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier as France’s new prime minister, after more than 50 days of a caretaker government.
The appointment of the 73-year-old Barnier follows weeks of intense efforts by Macron and his aides to bring an intense period of political turmoil to an end by finding a government leader who can survive in France’s newly fractured political landscape.
Barnier faces the tough task of having to work with the bitterly divided, hung parliament that emerged from legislative elections that Macron called in June, in a huge surprise.
Without a legislative majority of his own behind him, Barnier will need to find loose ad hoc groupings of backers in the National Assembly to tackle France’s pressing issues — including the budget for 2025.
Barnier could quickly face possible attempts in parliament to topple the new government he will now put together and lead. Opponents of Macron on the left of French politics immediately portrayed the appointment of the conservative Barnier as a slap in the face of those who voted for them.
The floods have killed at least 33 people in the country and displaced more than 235,000 people, the junta said.
But there are fears the actual death toll could be far higher, as the true scale of the devastation is only just emerging. Communication with much of the affected region has been cut off by landslides and heavy flooding.
Myanmar was one of the last countries to be hit by Yagi after it passed over the Philippines, China, Vietnam and Thailand, leaving a trail of destruction and killing at least 300 people.
Heavy flooding has hit the capital Naypyidaw, part of a roughly 162 sq km area worst-hit by a deluge on Thursday, according to satellite imagery analysis by the UN-backed Myanmar Information Management Unit (MIMU). Myanmar‘s second-largest city, Mandalay, has also been badly affected.
Myanmar junta announces census for promised 2025 election – The News International
Myanmar’s military government will conduct a nationwide population and household census in October, state media said on Monday, paving the way for a promised election next year amid raging conflict across swathes of the country.
The census data collected between Oct 1-15 will be used to hold a general election next year, junta chief Min Aung Hlaing told a meeting on Sunday, state media reported. “The census can be used in compilation of correct and accurate voter lists which is a basic need for successfully holding a free and fair multi-party democratic general election,” Min Aung Hlaing said separately in a televised speech on Sunday.
Myanmar junta says fifth batch of conscripts begins training– Frontier Myanmar Source Link Excerpt:
A fifth batch of conscripts Myanmar’s junta hopes will help reverse its battlefield losses has begun training, state media reported on Tuesday.
A military source also told Agence France-Presse the new batch followed around 15,000 other conscripts who had already completed their training.
The junta enforced a conscription law in February, three years after its coup that sparked armed uprisings across Myanmar and as it reeled from a string of defeats.
The law allows the military to summon any man aged 18-35 and woman aged 18-27 to serve in the armed forces for at least two years.
“Eligible citizens” from the fifth batch arrived at the “respective military training depots” on Monday, according to state-run outlet The Global New Light of Myanmar, without saying how many were involved.
Myanmar junta chief warns of ‘counterattacks’ in opponent-held areas – VOA Asia
Myanmar’s embattled junta chief has warned civilians in territory recently captured by ethnic minority armed groups to prepare for military counterattacks, state media reported on Wednesday.
The military has lost swaths of territory near the border with China in northern Shan state to an alliance of armed ethnic minority groups and “People’s Defence Forces” battling to overturn the junta’s 2021 coup.
The groups have seized a regional military command and taken control of lucrative border trade crossings, prompting rare public criticism by military supporters of the junta’s top leadership.
Junta troops “will… launch counterattacks,” junta chief Min Aung Hlaing said on Tuesday in the Shan state capital Taunggyi, according to the Global New Light of Myanmar.
Junta’s airstrikes on No-2 border police battalion in Maungdaw, over 50 killed, many injured – narinjara.com Source Link Excerpt:
Naung Min Thu, Narinjara News, 10 September 2024
The junta forces carried out airstrikes on 2nd border guard police
battalion (NaKhaKha-2) in 4-mile of Maungdaw town, which was occupied by
the Arakan Army (AA) fighters. The attack, conducted by two jet fighters,
resulted in the death of more than 50 people, including prisoners of war and
civilian inmates, with many others injured.
According to a statement issued by the AA, two airstrikes were
conducted by jet fighters on 9 September at around 9:30 pm. The casualties
included prisoners of war and civilian inmates temporarily detained at
NaKhaKha-2 base in Arakan State.
Flooding death toll climbs after delayed warning from Myanmar junta – myanmar-now Source Link Excerpt:
More than 60 have died this week in floods caused by Typhoon Yagi in various parts of Myanmar, with most of the confirmed deaths occurring between Mandalay and the junta’s administrative capital of Naypyitaw, according to rescue workers.
Heavy rains started in and near Tachileik, eastern Shan State on Monday, causing floods by the next day. Flooding also occurred in Myawaddy, Karen State and in southern Shan State over the next few days.
Since Thursday, flooding has impacted Mandalay Region’s Kyaukse, Myittha, Pyawbwe, Thazi and Yamethin townships along the road from Mandalay to Naypyitaw, as well as Pyinmana, Tatkon, and Zayathiri townships in the Naypyitaw Union Territory, rescue workers said.
10 people have died in the floods in Yamethin Township, according to the rescue workers, with as many as 200 missing and feared dead after dozens were carried off in floodwaters in rural villages. In Pyawbwe Township, 15 people are reported missing and three bodies have been recovered, they said.
Putin Warns Russia at War with NATO if Ukraine Allowed to Fire Long-Range Missiles; Biden Dismisses Threat– www.cbn.com Source Link Excerpt:
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s warning to NATO leaders that approval for Ukraine to use long-range Western-made missiles that could penetrate deep into Russia “would mean that NATO countries, the United States and European countries, are at war with Russia.”
When asked by reporters about the Putin threat, President Joe Biden essentially dismissed his warning, saying after a meeting Friday with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, “I don’t think much about Vladimir Putin.” Biden said he wanted to make clear that “Putin does not prevail in this war.”
Dmitri Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, asserted Saturday that a pending decision by the U.S. and NATO nations to approve Ukraine’s deployment of the missiles would possibly prompt Russia to use nuclear weapons, and he cautioned that Kyiv could be turned into a “gray melted spot.”
For much of this month, there have been indications that the U.S. and NATO might change the policy and allow Ukraine’s request to use the missiles. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken hinted at such a change on a visit to Kyiv earlier in September.
The head of NATO’s military committee, Admiral Rob Bauer from The Netherlands, indicated Saturday that Ukraine would be legally and militarily justified in launching the weapons.
“Every nation that is attacked has the right to defend itself. And that right doesn’t stop at the border of your own nation,” Bauer declared.
Trudeau says Ukraine can strike deep into Russia with NATO arms, Putin hints at war– ctv news Source Link Excerpt:
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Ukraine should be allowed to strike deep inside Russia, despite Moscow threatening that this would draw Canada and its allies into direct war.
“Canada fully supports Ukraine using long-range weaponry to prevent and interdict Russia’s continued ability to degrade Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, and mostly to kill innocent civilians in their unjust war,” Trudeau told reporters at a news conference in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Que., on Friday.
On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that the NATO military alliance allowing Ukraine to use weapons it has provided for long-range strikes “would mean that NATO countries, the United States and European countries, are at war with Russia.”
UK Foreign Minister Lammy Plays Down Putin Threats– www.themoscowtimes.com Source Link Excerpt:
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of “bluster” Sunday over his warning that letting Ukraine use long-range weapons to strike inside Russia would put NATO “at war” with Moscow.
US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met at the White House to discuss whether to ease rules on Kyiv’s use of western-supplied weapons this week
“I think that what Putin’s doing is throwing dust up into the air,” Lammy told the BBC.
“There’s a lot of bluster. That’s his modus operandi. He threatens about tanks, he threatens about missiles, he threatens about nuclear weapons.”
U.S. hits Russian state media with sanctions for raising money for Moscow’s troops in Ukraine – LA Times Source Link Excerpt:
The U.S. State Department has announced new sanctions on Russian state media, accusing a Kremlin news outlet of working hand in hand with the Russian military and running fundraising campaigns to pay for sniper rifles, body armor and other equipment for soldiers fighting in Ukraine.
While the outlet, RT, has previously been sanctioned for its work to spread Kremlin propaganda and disinformation, the new allegations suggest its role goes far beyond influence operations. Instead, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday, RT is a key part of Russia’s war machine and its efforts to undermine its democratic adversaries.
“RT wants its new covert intelligence capabilities, like its longstanding propaganda disinformation efforts, to remain hidden,” Blinken told reporters. “Our most powerful antidote to Russia’s lies is the truth. It’s shining a bright light on what the Kremlin is trying to do under the cover of darkness.”
Russia launches drone attack on Kyiv, Ukraine’s military says – MSN Source Link Excerpt:
Russia launched its eighth air attack in September on Kyiv overnight, with air defence units destroying nearly 20 drones that were heading towards the country’s capital, Ukrainian military said on Monday.
“Russian attack drones were heading to Kyiv from different directions and in different groups,” Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, said on Telegram.
“According to preliminary information, there were no casualties or damage in Kyiv.”
The scale of the attack, which kept Kyiv under air raid alerts for about 3.5 hours, will only be known later on Monday, he added on the messaging app.
Reuters’ witnesses reported a series of loud explosions in what sounded like air defence systems in operation.
There was no immediate comment from Moscow. Russia says that it targets only Ukrainian infrastructure that is key to its war efforts in its air attacks.
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Putin vows WW3 if Ukraine allowed to use British missiles to fire into Russia – but PM insists tyrant ‘started it’– www.thesun.co.uk Source Link Excerpt:
MAD Vlad Putin vowed World War Three if the West allows British missiles to be fired on Russia by Ukraine.
But last night Sir Keir Starmer told The Sun the Kremlin tyrant “started it.”
The PM was on his way to Washington DC for crunch talks with US President Joe Biden over whether to allow the dramatic escalation in support for war torn Ukraine.
Putin yesterday warned granting permission for the Ukranians to use British and French kit to pound targets deep within Russian territory would mean war.
He said: “This would in a significant way change the very nature of the conflict… It would mean that Nato countries are at war with Russia.”
Biden and Starmer to meet as decision nears on plan to allow Ukraine to use Western weapons for deeper strikes into Russia.– www.washingtonexaminer.com Source Link Excerpt:
BLINKEN: ‘WE WANT UKRAINE TO WIN’: The U.S. and the U.K. appear close to approving a plan that would loosen the restrictions placed on the use of Western long-range weapons by Ukraine to counter Russia’s relentless attacks on civilian targets and vital energy infrastructure.
President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will confer tomorrow in Washington after being briefed by their emissaries, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who met with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Ukraine yesterday.
“And among other things, we discussed long-range fires, but a number of other things as well,” Blinken said at a news conference in Kyiv. “We’re going to take what we learned back to President Biden in my case, and the prime minister in David’s case. The two of them will meet in just a few days’ time in Washington to discuss how our countries will continue to support Ukraine.”
Blinken and Lammy arrive in Kyiv as Ukraine pushes for long-range strikes on Russia– abcnews.go.com Source Link Excerpt:
KYIV, Ukraine — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy arrived in Kyiv on a joint visit Wednesday, as Ukraine presses the West to allow it to use long-range missiles against Russia.
The top diplomats reached the Ukrainian capital by train hours after the U.S. presidential debate during which Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump sparred over the 2 1/2-year war in Ukraine.
For months, Ukraine has been requesting approval to use long-range weapons from the United States and Western allies to strike targets in Russia, and is expected to press harder given Russia’s latest reported weapons acquisition.
EU at UN Security Council: Ukraine has lost up to 80% of its pre-war thermal electricity production capacity – euneighbourseast.eu Source Link Excerpt:
On 10 September, the Head of the EU Delegation to the United Nations, Ambassador Stavros Lambrinidis, speaking in New York at the UN Security Council on the Maintenance of International Peace and Security, repeated the EU’s call on Russia immediately to halt its illegal war of aggression, including its unrelenting air strikes against Ukraine’s civilians and civilian and critical infrastructure.
On 26 August, Russia launched an unprecedented number of 236 missiles and drones. On 3 September, at least 55 people were killed and 328 injured in Poltava alone.
“It has hit residential buildings, hospitals, schools, power plants and playgrounds. This is unacceptable under any circumstances. Ukraine has lost up to 80% of its pre-war thermal electricity production capacity. It is clear Russia is attempting to pile the pressure on the Ukrainian people ahead of a cold winter,” Lambrinidis said.
He said the EU is “very concerned” by the recent reports indicating that Iran has supplied Russia with ballistic missiles and called upon all countries, including the DPRK and Belarus, to refrain from any actions that may amount to complicity in Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
Zelensky Pushes Ahead With Cabinet Overhaul – nytimes.com
President Volodymyr Zelensky’s party announced a slate of nine candidates for cabinet posts on Wednesday, marking the biggest shake-up in the government since the war against Russia started.
Vance says Trump’s plan to end the war would likely force Ukraine to give up land, NATO aspirations– www.washingtonexaminer.com Source Link Excerpt:
VANCE’S VISION OF UKRAINE PEACE: Former President Donald Trump’s running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), has laid out a vision of how he expects Trump’s plan to bring the war in Ukraine to a quick end will play out, and it’s pretty much everything Russian President Vladimir Putin could have hoped for.
Trump has repeatedly refused to say he wants Ukraine to win but has promised to end the war as soon as he wins the November election — before he actually takes office. “I will get that settled and fast, and I’ll get the war with Ukraine and Russia ended,” Trump said at this week’s debate with Vice President Kamala Harris. “If I’m president-elect, I’ll get it done before even becoming president.”
“I think what this looks like is, Trump sits down, he says to the Russians, the Ukrainians, the Europeans, you guys need to figure out, ‘what does a peaceful settlement look like?’” Vance said in a podcast interview Thursday with former Navy SEAL Shawn Ryan.
“And what it probably looks like is something like the current line of demarcation between Russia and Ukraine — that becomes like a demilitarized zone, it’s heavily fortified so the Russians don’t invade again,” Vance said. “Ukraine retains its independent sovereignty. Russia gets the guarantee of neutrality from Ukraine, it doesn’t join NATO, it doesn’t join you know some of these sort of allied institutions. And I think that’s ultimately what this looks like.”
Ukraine mourns dead from major Russian strike, vows response with underground weapons production– abcnews.go.com Source Link Excerpt:
POLTAVA, Ukraine — Funeral services were held Saturday for victims of one of the deadliest Russian airstrikes since the war in Ukraine began, as Ukraine’s president vowed to increase domestic military production by creating underground weapons factories.
The funerals took place in the eastern Ukrainian city of Poltava for the victims of a Russian missile attack on a military training facility that left over 50 dead and more than 300 injured.
Hundreds of mourners, including grieving families, local residents, and officials, gathered at the Cathedral of the Assumption in the city, some 350 kilometers (200 miles) southeast of Kyiv, for the solemn ceremony. Sobbing relatives, many holding red carnations, stood over caskets placed outside the church, draped in yellow-and-blue Ukrainian flags. An air raid siren sounded during the service.
Russia loses 1,300 soldiers in one day as Putin’s troops suffer blow – express.co.uk
Russia lost an eye-watering 1,300 soldiers in one day on Sunday, bringing Moscow’s total casualties to 617,000, Ukraine‘s General Staff of the Armed Forces has claimed.
Kyiv’s forces claim that it has destroyed 8,601 (+9) Russian tanks, 16,786 (+26) armored combat vehicles, and 17,646 (+10) artillery systems since the start of the war.
Russia Says Army Seized New Village in Eastern Ukraine– www.themoscowtimes.com Source Link Excerpt:
Russia said on Saturday it had seized another village in eastern Ukraine, where Moscow’s troops are continuing to advance.
The defense ministry said Russian forces “have liberated the village of Kalynove” in the Donetsk region, which lies around 25 kilometers (16 miles) southeast of the key logistics hub of Pokrovsk, held by Kyiv’s forces.
Russian troops have been advancing on Pokrovsk for months and Ukraine has ordered the mandatory evacuation of children from the city.
Moscow has claimed to have captured a string of villages in the area, even as it struggles to fight off a major Ukrainian counter-attack into its own western Kursk region.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Russia’s “primary objective” in the conflict was to capture the entire Donbas region – which consists of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
War in Ukraine is “serfs killing serfs” claims Ukraine anarchists that advocate desertion – Indybay
“Since the morning of August 6, when Ukrainian troops broke through the border and occupied some border settlements in the Kursk region of Russia, debates have not subsided about the meaning and consequences of this sortie from a military-political point of view. The end of the battles for this territory are still far away. At the moment, it is only clear that such an attack against the backdrop of the collapsing Ukrainian defense in the Donetsk region came as a complete surprise to many.
In particular, the focus of attention during the battles for the Kursk region was on the border gas metering station in Sudzha (Suja), through which Russian gas is supplied to Europe. Its continued work despite hostilities around it became another symbol of the fact that war is war but international business continues as usual. From the posts of Netherlands-based Donetsk emigrant Andrey Shokotko:
“Dutch families will be warm this winter. With full gas reserves, the chances of an extreme increase in energy bills are limited.” Thanks to Zelensky and Putin, whose reliable partnership (so brilliantly confirmed in Sudzha) does not allow us in Europe to freeze. But it is not entirely clear – why do they send their serfs to kill each other? And why do slaves, knowing about the Russian-Ukrainian business partnership, go to kill each other?
Zelenskyy accuses Brazil of being pro-Russia, slams peace proposal – POLITICO Source Link Excerpt:
“We are not stupid,” Zelenskyy said during the interview. “How can you offer ‘here is our initiative’ without asking anything from us?” He added, “This is a lack of respect toward Ukraine.”
Zelenskyy expressed doubt over Brazil’s efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the war, arguing that Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he described as a “murderer,” has no intention of ending the conflict.
When asked about Brazil’s position on the war, Zelenskyy said, “Unfortunately, I believe that they [the Brazilian government] are taking Russia’s side.”
“I had a good conversation with President Lula and I thought he understood me. I was grateful to meet him, and I was very open, absolutely open. I thought I would see in his experience an understanding of what is happening, and not just a political pacification,” he added.
