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Trump: Fed 'boneheads' should cut interest rates to zero 'or less,' US should refinance debt

Jeff Cox and John Molloy
CNBC
Wed, 11 Sep 2019 16:29 UTC
trump
President Donald Trump on Wednesday continued his verbal assault on the Federal Reserve, which he blames for slowing the economy, tweeting that the central bank should cut interest rates to zero or even set negative interest rates. The president also called Fed officials "boneheads" in the tweet.

"The Federal Reserve should get our interest rates down to ZERO, or less, and we should then start to refinance our debt. INTEREST COST COULD BE BROUGHT WAY DOWN, while at the same time substantially lengthening the term," he said.

A Fed spokesman declined comment on the latest Trump salvos.

The president also made a new suggestion not seen in some of his past attacks on the Fed, saying that the country should refinance its debt load. The U.S. has $22.5 trillion in debt, $16.7 trillion of which is held by the public.
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Chess

Maidan 2.0: Pro-Hong Kong rally in DC against 'CHINAZI regime' being sponsored with US govt-linked money


RT
Thu, 12 Sep 2019 16:20 UTC
'Chinazi' flag
© Reuters / Kai Pfaffenbach
A version of the 'Chinazi' flag
A planned Washington DC protest in support of Hong Kong activists and promoting the 'Chinazi' flag is being sponsored by at least six organizations backed by the notoriously shady, US-funded National Endowment for Democracy (NED).


Comment: For more on the role the NED plays in US-led regime change tactics, see:

Posters for the event circulated online contain an image of the so-called 'Chinazi' flag - an altered version of the Chinese national flag with the yellow stars arranged to form a swastika and with a hammer and sickle placed in the center.

Protesters plan to form a human chain encircling the Chinese Embassy in Washington to protest the "Chinazi regime" and call for an independent Hong Kong. The #Chinazi hashtag has also become popular with activists on Twitter.

The list of event sponsors proves that the anti-China movement in Hong Kong is backed not only by American politicians, but also by American money - through US government-funded groups.
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Chess

Released 'Operation Yellowhammer' docs suggest delays & rising prices in 'worst case' no-deal Brexit


RT
Thu, 12 Sep 2019 16:13 UTC
bojo
© Reuters / Phil Noble
A no-deal Brexit could mean months of border delays and rising prices of food, medicine and electricity, according to a document released by the British government detailing its "worst case" scenario plans for leaving the EU.

Losing out to opposition MPs in a vote earlier this week, the government was forced to publish the six-page document on Wednesday. It frames the Brexit preparations, dubbed "Operation Yellowhammer," and lays out a number of projections for what a no-deal exit could mean.

The document covers 20 "worst case planning assumptions," including price increases and supply disruptions in fuel, medicine, food and electricity - which it predicts will "disproportionately" affect "low-income groups."

A "rise in public disorder" is also expected in the case of a no-deal Brexit, which will "take place across the UK and may absorb significant amounts of police resource [sic]."
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Smoking

Vaping crisis: Trump announces plan to ban sale of flavored e-cigarettes

Hallie Jackson, Kristen Welker & Janelle Griffith
NBC News
Wed, 11 Sep 2019 15:24 UTC
vaping, e-cigarette
The Trump administration said Wednesday it plans to ban the sale of non-tobacco-flavored electronic cigarettes amid a vaping crisis.

"The Trump Administration is making it clear that we intend to clear the market of flavored e-cigarettes to reverse the deeply concerning epidemic of youth e-cigarette use that is impacting children, families, schools and communities," Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said in a statement. "We will not stand idly by as these products become an on-ramp to combustible cigarettes or nicotine addiction for a generation of youth."

Speaking to reporters following an Oval Office meeting with Azar and Ned Sharpless, the FDA's acting commissioner, President Donald Trump said vaping has been very profitable and has become a giant business in a very short period of time.

"A lot of people think vaping is wonderful, is great ... It's really not," Trump said. "We have to find out the extent of the problems... it's so new ... but we're going to find out."

Comment: Liberals and conservatives alike are railing against the announcement:
Before the thick, flavorsome clouds of controversy had settled, vapers, libertarians and Trump's opponents of all stripes took to Twitter to vent at the announcement. The libertarians raged at Trump's "nanny state" machinations, with some adopting the "come and take it" slogan of the gun-rights crowd to suit their beloved vapes.



Liberals raged at the sight of the president seemingly taking action over six deaths, while doing little to crack down on the sale of guns even after a string of mass shootings recently. Conversely, gun enthusiasts argued that Trump's willingness to ban vape devices would be used as an example by Democrats looking to push tougher gun laws.


Others called the proposed ban a pointless restriction of freedom, especially when regular cigarettes continue to kill nearly half-a-million Americans every year.


With his base fuming, it remains to be seen whether Trump will read the smoke signals and reverse course, or whether Vape pens will go the way of the Kinder egg and disappear from the shelves of US stores.
More on the dangers of vaping:

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Chess

SCOTUS overrules federal judge, lets Trump's 'safe 3rd country' asylum restrictions take effect


RT
Thu, 12 Sep 2019 15:32 UTC
Migrant families
© REUTERS/Loren Elliott
Migrant families who turned themselves to US Border Patrol to seek asylum
The US Supreme Court has cleared the way for President Donald Trump's new asylum rules to take effect, suspending a pair of injunctions by a California federal judge that had tried to block the controversial policy changes.

Under the new rules, migrants would be barred from seeking asylum in the US if they have traveled through a third "safe country" en route to the American border, unless they also applied for asylum in that country.

The court announced on Wednesday evening that it would allow the enforcement of the updated regulations, pending government appeal of two decisions in the 9th Circuit Court. The new policy takes effect nationwide until then.

Trump celebrated the decision on Twitter, praising the "BIG United States Supreme Court WIN for the Border on Asylum!"
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Bad Guys

'The Kissinger model': Trump floats idea of expanding Pompeo's powers to fill Bolton's shoes


RT
Thu, 12 Sep 2019 14:52 UTC
pompeo trump bolton
© REUTERS/Leah Millis
The White House may hand Secretary of State Mike Pompeo the additional role of national security adviser following John Bolton's departure, giving the ex-CIA director enormous power, insiders have warned.

Pompeo would continue to serve in his current position but would also assume Bolton's responsibilities, sources close to the discussion told CNN on Wednesday, adding that such a move could make Pompeo "too powerful for Trump's taste." The diplomat would become only the second person in US history to hold both posts simultaneously. The first, Henry Kissinger, wielded enormous power under Richard Nixon during the 1970s, shaping the foreign policy of that period.

Even if Pompeo is not permanently appointed to fill Bolton's shoes, he will assume the uber-hawk's duties on a temporary basis until a replacement is named, the source said, though initial reports from the White House on Tuesday claimed that Bolton's deputy, Charles Kupperman, would assume the role in the interim. Pompeo told reporters that he was not surprised by Bolton's dismissal, but would not elaborate.
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Snakes in Suits

Czech president wants to withdraw recognition of Kosovo - 'Warn him of consequences' says former US ambassador


RT
Wed, 11 Sep 2019 19:54 UTC
Milos Zeman
© Reuters / David W Cerny
Czech President Milos Zeman (file photo)
Speaking in Serbia, the anti-mainstream Czech President Miloš Zeman said he'd like his goverment to withdraw recognition of the breakaway Kosovo province as an independent state. This has immediately attracted attention in the US.

Zeman expressed his Kosovo wish on Wednesday, during his official visit to Belgrade. He also said that he would discuss the issue with Czech lawmakers when he gets back to Prague.

The president would "ask the Czech government if it's possible to review the recognition of Kosovo," his spokesman Jiri Ovčaček wrote on Twitter.

Should Prague follow through on Zeman's desire, Czechia would become the first European country to withdraw the recognition of Kosovo, as well as the first EU and NATO member to do so.

Comment: See also:

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Info

Michael Gove's hamfisted attempts to spin the Yellowhammer Brexit plan are a disgrace

Owen Bennett
The Telegraph
Thu, 12 Sep 2019 07:51 UTC
Michael Gove
© Reuters
When the Yellowhammer document assessing the effect of leaving the EU without a deal was leaked to The Sunday Times last month, Michael Gove, the minister in charge of no-deal planning, dismissed it as an "old document".

It turned out to have been 16 days old, drawn up eight days after he and Boris Johnson took office.

Gove also said that the paper - with its warnings of medicine shortages and civil unrest - set out "the absolutely worst case". Now the government has published a version of the document headed "Reasonable Worst Case Planning Assumptions", so he appeared to be guilty merely of exaggeration.

Comment: See also:

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Network

Major Venezuelan oil company registers office in Moscow, facilitates oil trade with China, India


RT
Thu, 12 Sep 2019 00:25 UTC
PDVSA oil
© Reuters / Carlos Garcia Rawlins
Cutouts depicting images of oil operations are seen outside a building of Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA in Caracas, Venezuela.
Venezuelan state-owned oil company Petróleos de Venezuela, or PDVSA, has registered its office in Moscow. The move comes after Russian state oil major Rosneft last month became the main trader of Venezuelan crude.

"We've registered PDVSA in the Russian jurisdiction," Venezuela's minister for oil Manuel Quevedo told reporters on Wednesday. In July, Quevedo stated that Russia had asked PDVSA to register its own legal entity in the country to help ensure the work of the Moscow representative office of the company.

The PDVSA office was opened in Moscow in March, on the instruction of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro. It replaces the company's Portuguese branch.
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Arrow Up

BRICS New Development Bank approves investments worth over $10bn - Lavrov


RT
Wed, 11 Sep 2019 08:51 UTC
wind farm
© pexels.com
The total value of investment projects approved by the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) has exceeded $10 billion, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

"Building up strategic partnerships within BRICS is one of the priorities for Russia's foreign policy," Lavrov said in an interview with the National Institute of Information of Suriname.

According to him, the economy remains an integral part of the BRICS partnership, "particularly since the BRICS association surpassed the Group of Seven (G7) in terms of aggregate economic power."

Comment: See also:

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