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The burden of Trump's trade war will fall on US businesses & consumers according to analyst


RT
Thu, 16 May 2019 17:41 UTC
chess pawns us china trade war tariffs
© Getty Images
As the US and China continue to exchange blows in an ongoing trade battle, Professor Richard Wolff talks to RT's Boom Bust about the possible outcomes of the skirmish.

"It is already costing jobs, it is already costing money, it is now costing huge losses in stock markets and the irony of it all is that it's mostly political theater," the analyst said, discussing the impasse caused by the trade war sparked by US President Donald Trump.

"Mr Trump has initiated a massive tax on Americans. Tariff is just a word for a particular kind of tax," Wolff said, stressing that the president is taxing goods and services that come into the US.

Comment:

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Doberman

Warning issued after multiple dogs found killed, tortured in Franklin County, Vermont

Ross Ketschke
WPTZ
Tue, 14 May 2019 23:59 UTC
Dogs tortured, killed in Vermot
© WPTZ
Police have issued a warning to pet owners in Franklin County after multiple dogs have been found tortured and killed.

Sheldon Animal Control Officer Nicole Michel said she has been called to six incidents since the beginning of May.

"I really have no words for someone who could do something so heartless, so cruel," she said. "Dogs are our family."

According to Michel, some of the animals were found abandoned on the side of the road, suffocated with a plastic bag over their face. Another was found fatally shot and tied to a tree along a popular trail.
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Arrow Up

Going 'green' bites even deeper: Airline ticket prices rising as new aviation fuel tax looms


RT
Thu, 16 May 2019 16:44 UTC
Russian passenger jet
© Maxim Shemetov / Reuters
The European Commission is considering aviation fuel tax that is supposed to reduce carbon emissions by 11 percent and have a "negligible" impact on jobs and the economy. But experts say that it will have far-reaching effects.

According to a leaked EC report, taxing aviation kerosene sold in Europe would cut aviation emissions by 16.4 million metric tons of CO2 a year. It said that applying a tax of €330 per 1,000 liters of kerosene (which is the EU's minimum excise duty rate for the fuel) would result in a ticket price increase of 10 percent and an 11 percent decrease in passenger numbers. It would also lead to an 11 percent fall in carbon emissions.

Comment: The tax works nicely in the direction of AOC's Soros-sponsored Green New Deal, not to mention clamping down on freedom of movement in general.

The 10 most insane requirements of the Far Left's Green New Deal
  • Eliminate air travel. GND calls for building out "highspeed rail at a scale where air travel stops becoming necessary." Good luck Hawaii! California's high-speed boondoggle is already in $100 billion dollars of debt, and looks to be one of the state's biggest fiscal disasters ever. Amtrak runs billions of dollars in the red (though, as we'll see, trains will also be phased out). Imagine growing that business model out to every state in America?
US residents will soon require passports to travel domestically
At the time of writing, according to the Department of Homeland Security's website, only 27 US states are compliant with the Real ID Act.

Many are listed as being under review.

The legislation, which was established after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, makes it harder to obtain a driver's license with counterfeit records.

US congress passed the act 10 years ago, but it wasn't enforced until 2013.

By October 2020 the entire country will need to meet the revised standards, or face strict travel limitations.

The US Department of State recommends allowing up to six weeks for passports to be completed and returned, although people can pay for a faster turn-around of 21 days.


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Cross

Kremlin responds to protests: Church won't be 'part of bigger construction project'


RT
Thu, 16 May 2019 16:49 UTC
protest
© AFP / Alexei Vladykin
After days of angry protests, dozens of arrests and scuffles with riot police, the Kremlin has reassured people no major construction will be taking place in a park in the Siberian city of Ekaterinburg.

After speaking to the company in charge, the president's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that nothing but the reconstructed historic church will be erected in the park.

"The information that the church will be part of big construction plans and that there will be other buildings and centres, is not correct," he said, adding that the works would only involve the renovation of the church.

The city government plans to rebuild St. Catherine's Cathedral, which was demolished in 1930 by the communists. But the decision has been met with protests from citizens, who wish to keep one of the city's few green spaces untouched.
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Russian Flag

Hungary to turn to Russian gas supplies if Exxon refuses to invest in Black Sea mega-project


RT
Thu, 16 May 2019 16:39 UTC
budapest
© Getty Images / Westend61
Budapest will resume massive purchases of Russian natural gas if US oil giant Exxon Mobil doesn't invest in a vast Black Sea offshore project, according to Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto.

The top official warned that Hungary may sign another deal with Russia if Exxon fails to resolve the issue by September.

"Exxon Mobil can be the game changer in the energy supply of Europe," Szijjarto said in an interview with Reuters. "But they should finally make their final investment decision."

The project is focused on gas deposits in the Romanian part of the Black Sea, which represent great potential for diversification of energy supplies for Central and Eastern Europe, according to London-based consultancy Deloitte. Once tapped, the reserves could reportedly generate $26 billion in revenue for the Romanian exchequer over the next two decades.
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USA

How Trump's executive order blocking 'risky technology transactions' could affect Huawei

Arjun Kharpal
CNBC
Thu, 16 May 2019 03:26 UTC
Huawei 5G
Huawei claimed Thursday that attempts to restrict the Chinese tech giant from doing business stateside will cause the U.S. to fall behind in the development of next-generation mobile networks - and could raise "other serious legal issues."

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that gives the government authority to block transactions that involve information or communications technology that "poses an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States."

According to the executive order, the technology that could be blocked will be that which is "designed, developed, manufactured, or supplied, by persons owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of a foreign adversary."

Battle for 5G

While Huawei isn't named in the policy, the U.S. has long-accused the Chinese telecoms equipment maker of being closely-linked to China's ruling Communist Party. Washington has also alleged that Huawei's telecom equipment poses a national security risk because it could be used by Beijing for espionage. Huawei has denied these claims.

In a statement to CNBC on Thursday, Huawei said that further moves to block it from the U.S. market could have a damaging impact on America's 5G development.

Comment: The one silver lining may be the delay of 5G implementation in the US; experts are ringing alarm bells over its health consequences while the wireless industry continues to suppress any negative information. As for attempting to contain China by blocking access to US technology - while it may take time, ever industrious China will find (or create) replacement suppliers for needed components. US firms will be left out in the cold because Washington doesn't comprehend the concept of win-win negotiations.

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Bad Guys

French serial killer anesthesiologist accused of poisoning over 50 patients just to revive them and impress colleagues


RT
Thu, 16 May 2019 10:15 UTC
Dr. Frederic Pechier serial killer France

Pechier is already under “judicial supervision,” having been charged in May 2017 with poisoning seven other patients, two of whom died, between 2008 and 2017. All of the victims were otherwise healthy before they mysteriously suffered cardiac arrest, and investigators later found potassium levels five times the lethal dose in their blood.
A French doctor has been arrested on suspicion of poisoning over 50 patients in order to impress his colleagues by stepping in at the last moment to "save" them, according to prosecutors who likened him to a "pyromaniac fireman."

Anesthesiologist Frederic Pechier has been taken into custody in connection with 42 "serious adverse events," including 20 deaths that happened on his watch during the 17 years he worked at clinics and hospitals in Besancon, eastern France. He was already indicted in seven other cases, two of which involved fatalities, in 2017.

Prosecutors claim Pechier tampered with anesthesia pouches used by colleagues for otherwise routine operations. This caused patients to have cardiac arrests, giving the doctor a chance to swoop in at the last minute and rescue them, gaining him the respect of his fellow doctors and the admiration of his victims, it is alleged. If true, the scheme appears to have worked - his peers reportedly considered him a "brilliant" anesthesiologist.
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Snowflake

Snowflake logic: Ohio high school eliminates valedictorian and salutatorian honors to 'reduce competitive culture'


Fox News
Fri, 10 May 2019 19:10 UTC
Mason High School graduation
© Mason schools/WXIX
The change comes after a year-long study and focus groups with students, staff, and families.
Beginning with the Class of 2020, Mason High School students will no longer vie for valedictorian and salutatorian distinctions.

After a year-long study and focus groups with students, staff, and families, MHS officials made the announcement as part of an effort to improve students' mental wellness.

"We are moving to a recognition system eliminating valedictorian and salutatorian honors, and shifting to recognizing students who have achieved outstanding academic success through a multitude of pathways. The recognition system will reward our students for genuine academic success based on their academic accomplishments. This will help reduce the overall competitive culture at MHS to allow students to focus on exploring learning opportunities that are of interest to them," said Mason High School Principal Bobby Dodd.

Students graduating in the class of 2020 and beyond will continue to be recognized for their academic performance using the Latin honors system. Mason High School students with a GPA of 4.00 and above will be designated summa cum laude. MHS Students with a GPA between 3.75 and 3.99 will be designated magna cum laude. MHS students with a GPA between 3.51 to 3.74 will be designated cum laude.

Comment: Pandering to students by attempting to 'reduce the culture of competitiveness' may make their high school experience less stressful but fails to prepare them for the real world where they will be tested at every opportunity to prove their competence.

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Megaphone

Transfer of Venezuelan embassy in US to 'fake government' would be an 'act of war' - Max Blumenthal


RT
Wed, 15 May 2019 18:10 UTC
collectivos
© Reuters / Carlos Barria
The US risks setting the stage for war if peace activists are evicted from the Venezuelan embassy in Washington and representatives of US-backed Juan Guaido move in, investigative journalist Max Blumenthal told RT.

"It could be considered an act of war for them [US authorities] to allow the parallel government, which is unrecognized, which controls no institutions of government and is essentially a fake government" to take over the diplomatic premises, Blumenthal told RT after US authorities tried to raid and evict the so-called 'Embassy Civilian Protection Collective' on Monday, before allowing activists to stay.
If the US tracks on this embassy, which is sovereign Venezuelan territory under international law, it is an act of war that could potentially be reciprocated against.
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Attention

Russian journalist remains in Ukrainian jail under bogus treason charges - one year ongoing


RT
Wed, 15 May 2019 13:24 UTC
Kirill Vyshynsky rally
© Sputnik/Aleksey Kudenko
Rally in support of Kirill Vyshynsky in Moscow.
Exactly a year ago the head of RIA Novosti's Ukraine branch was snatched in Kiev and put in jail under a charge of high treason. Western champions of media rights have shown spectacular will to ignore the scandalous case.

Being a journalist in a nation where the government can put you in jail for unfavorable reporting is understandably risky, but at least one can hope to find international support after getting into trouble. Foreign governments and international organizations would cry foul and try to pressure the persecutors.

Well, Kirill Vyshinsky didn't get this response. On March 15, 2018 he was arrested by agents of the SBU, Ukraine's powerful national security agency, and charged with treason. Vyshinsky holds both Russian and Ukraine passports. His alleged crime was that he waged "information warfare" against Ukraine, or at least that's what the SBU said at the time. The accusation may result in a 15 year jail term.

Comment: See also:

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