Michael Bloomberg will be allowed to participate in the upcoming Democratic primary debate in Nevada, thanks in part to a helpful rule change - and hundreds of millions of dollars in campaign spending.

As of Tuesday, the former New York City mayor has polled over 10 percent in four surveys, meeting the threshold set by the Democratic National Committee (DNC). (Alternatively, Bloomberg could have qualified by receiving at least one delegate from either the Iowa caucuses or the New Hampshire primary - but the billionaire has yet to rack up a single delegate.)

His qualification for Wednesday's debate in Las Vegas was made possible by a rather accommodating rule change enacted by the DNC, which decided to drop the requirement that candidates have a strong network of donors.

In fact, requiring grassroots support would have been a major hurdle for Bloomberg. He is not soliciting donations, choosing instead to self-finance his campaign. With a seemingly bottomless war chest, the billionaire has shelled out a staggering $344 million of his own money since declaring his candidacy in late November.

Current polls suggest that Bloomberg has no clear path to winning the primaries. Some have expressed concern that the billionaire's plan is to poach delegates from other candidates during the Democratic Convention, in order snatch the nomination from Bernie Sanders. American comedian Lee Camp has argued that a match-up between Bloomberg and Donald Trump would be a lose-lose for the American people, describing both candidates as oligarchs who serve Wall Street.

Beyond pushing out his competitors, though, Bloomberg's spending is having a shockingly disruptive effect on Democratic politics throughout the country: He is hiring armies of staffers and canvassers in nearly every state in the country at eye-popping salaries, poaching talent from other campaigns and progressive organizations that are now struggling to fill jobs. In just three months, the Bloomberg campaign has hired thousands of people to staff more than 125 offices around the country, the New York Times reported Thursday.

[...]

The salaries being paid to Bloomberg staffers are well above market rates, and often come with housing included, as well as a laptop and an iPhone. One operative lured to Bloomberg's office in New York said she observed a seemingly endless wall of iPhones stacked like bricks as far as she could see. Another said that Bloomberg offered a job to one operative who didn't take it, but still received a laptop and iPhone from the campaign in the mail anyway, presumably by sheer dint of onboarding momentum. One progressive consultant in Arizona has lost multiple hires to Bloomberg and is having a hard time finding workers. "I have heard of new organizers being hired by Bloomberg and then saying they are secretly still knocking for Bernie," the consultant said.

[..]

Regardless of whether Bloomberg wins the nomination or not, the Bloomberg effect will continue through the end of the election cycle. His operation in support of whomever becomes the Democratic nominee will be well staffed. Everybody else is on their own.

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Both the Russian Armed Forces and the country's advisers will "support the Syrian Arab Republic armed forces in their fight against terrorism," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in a briefing on February 17.

Referring to escalating terrorist attacks in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib, he said that the Russian government "still regrets that these terrorists have revitalized in Idlib."

The statement follows US President Donald Trump's recent call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, during which Trump "expressed concern over the violence in Idlib." He also praised "Turkey's efforts to prevent a humanitarian crisis" in the province, and hoped that Russia would stop supporting the Assad government, according to Deputy White House Press Secretary Judd Deere.

Tensions in the Idlib de-escalation zone have been steadily rising in recent weeks. On February 3, a Turkish armed convoy came under artillery fire, leaving five dead as a result. The tragedy occurred when the Syrian Army was conducting an operation against terrorists in the area, and was not notified of the convoy's movements, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

Ankara retaliated, firing on known Syrian Army positions, and sending additional troops into the de-escalation zone 10 days later. In response to the troop surge, Damascus officially recognized the Armenian genocide by the Ottoman Empire.

Erdogan and Russia's President Vladimir Putin also discussed the situation on the ground in a phonecall last week. The two leaders agreed that the Sochi agreement on the Idlib de-escalation zone must be fully implemented.

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