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TENSIONS BETWEEN US AND NORTH KOREA REACH BOILING POINT
Tensions between the United States and North Korea have reached boiling point after peaceful measures to contain the rogue communist state prove ineffective.
Over the course of 2017, the rogue communist state has been taking steps towards the creation of a nuclear weapon capable of hitting the continental United States and has tested nineteen missiles, including two fired over mainland Japan.
Recent tests indicate that North Korea has developed a nuclear device capable of striking the United States but it is unclear at this time whether the rogue nation is capable of miniaturising a nuclear warhead onto a missile capable of delivering such a payload.
Speaking at the White House on Friday, United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, stated that the United Nations Security Council was fast running out of peaceful options for dealing with North Korea. “There’s not a whole lot the security council is going to be able to do from here”, Haley commented. Haley continued:
“If you look at the resolutions that have passed over the last two months, the two of them, they cut thirty percent of their oil, they banned all the labourers, they based ninety percent of the exports, they banned joint ventures. In the words of North Korea, we’ve strangled their economic situation at this point.”
White House National Security Advisor, H.R. McMaster, stated that while it would be preferable to use economic sanctions against North Korea, the likelihood of military action was becoming increasingly more likey:
“We’ve been kicking the can down the road, and we’re out of road. So for those who have said and commenting about the lack of a military option, there is a military option.”
TERRORIST ATTACK IN LONDON
Terrorists have detonated a bomb on the eastbound district line train at the Parsons Green Tube in West London.
Eyewitnesses reported hearing loud bangs coming from a bucket, possibly an improvised explosive device, located towards the rear of the train around 8am, British time. One eyewitness told Sky News that they reported seeing a “white builder’s bucket” with a “foiled carrier back” (possibly a Lidl supermarket carrier bag). This bucket has also been described as having “wires hanging from it and a strong smell of chemicals… a chemical smell more than a burning smell.”
One witness told BBC 5:
“I heard a really loud explosion – when I looked back there appeared to be a bag but I don’t know if it’s associated with it. I saw people with minor injuries, burnings to the face, arms, legs, multiple casualties in that way. People were helping each other.”
Another witness said:
“There were a lot of people limping and covered in blood. One guy I saw, his face was covered in blood – I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Police and ambulances were on the scene within minutes of the blast. The explosion and subsequent stampede caused injuries to twenty-two people. Fortunately, no one has been killed and none of the injuries have been described as life-threatening or critical.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack through their Amaq News Agency on Friday evening. British Prime Minister, Theresa May, has raised the UK’s terror threat level from severe to critical.
British Prime Minister, Theresa May, has raised the UK’s terror threat level from severe to critical. May offered her thoughts to “those injured Parsons Green emergency services who are responding bravely to this terrorist incident.” Scotland Yard, meanwhile, has confirmed that they are treating the incident as a terrorist attack.
Over in the US, the Trump administration stated that President Trump’s:
“Sympathies and prayers for those injured in the terrorist attack today in London. The president pledged to continue close collaboration with the United Kingdom to stop attacks worldwide targeting innocent civilians and to combat extremism.”
President Trump stated in a speech at Joint Base Andrew that he expressed:
“America’s deepest sympathy as well as our absolute commitment to eradicating the terrorists from our planet.”
HILLARY CLINTON BLAMES EVERYONE BUT HERSELF FOR HER 2016 ELECTION DEFEAT
Hillary Clinton has released her 2016 election memoir, What Happened. Throughout the five-hundred-and-twelve page book, Clinton manages to blame everyone and everything else but herself for her defeat at the 2016 Presidential election.
Of course, there are the chief left-wing villains: Clinton, like most feminists, blames ‘sexism’ and ‘misogyny’ for her defeat by a “flagrantly sexist candidate.” At one point, Clinton even claims that she cannot give “absolution” to young women who failed to vote in the election.
Next, there’s the alleged collusion between President Trump and the Russians, whom Clinton blames for “weaponising information, negative stories” about her. Not even former President Barack Obama escapes her ire: he committed the grave sin of not addressing the so-called Russia hacking in a national television address.
Then, there’s the email scandal. You know, the one where Clinton used a private server to handle thousands of confidential documents? Clinton told CBS News:
“I watched how analysts who I have a great deal of respect for, like Nate Silver, burrowed into all the data and said that ‘but for that Comey letter, she would have won’.”
White House Press Secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, has slammed Clinton’s book for being filled with “inaccuracies” and has accused Clinton of failing to accept the blame for her own election defeat. Huckabee commented:
“I think probably the biggest one is any place within the book where she lays the blame for the loss on anyone but herself.”
Huckabee went on to criticise Clinton for accusing President Trump of not being a President for all Americans:
“That type of misunderstanding of who this President is, and frankly a misunderstanding of what he’s been doing, is exactly one of the reasons that Hillary Clinton is not the President and is instead pushing a book with a lot of false narratives and a lot of, I think, false accusations and placing blame on a lot of other people instead of accepting it herself.”
George Neumayr of The Spectator attributes Clinton’s election defeat to her status as a modern incarnation of Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth:
“She is a failed Lady Macbeth, but a Lady Macbeth who wants us to feel sorry for her, what with her chardonnay-chugging and alternate nostril breathing after the election. She writes: ‘If you’ve never done alternate nostril breathing, it’s worth a try.… It may sound silly, but it works for me. It wasn’t all yoga and breathing: I also drank my share of chardonnay’.”
If Hillary Clinton is looking for someone to blame she should start by taking a long, hard look at herself. Throughout her campaign, Clinton came across as cold, calculating, and malevolent. She showed signs of narcissism, an astounding incapability of self-reflection, and a proclivity to blame everyone else but herself for her problems. Her attitude was that of arrogance and entitlement, as though the Presidency was her birthright, as though she was guaranteed to win.
REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS TO MEET AT THE WHITE HOUSE FOR TAX REFORM
President Trump and members of his administration are about to embark on a focused and deliberate campaign to win support for the President’s planned reforms to the American taxation system.
Both President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence are focused on winning the support of select members of the Democrat Party after the disastrous attempt to repeal Obamacare in July.
The White House will host a dinner on Tuesday night to be attended by Democratic Senator from North Dakota, Heidi Heitkamp, Democrat Senator from Indiana, Joe Donnelly, Democratic Senator from West Virginia, Joe Manchin, Republican Senator from Utah, Orrin Hatch, Republican Senator from South Dakota, John Thune, and Republican Senator from Pennsylvania, Pat Toomey.
In addition, Vice President Mike Pence will travel to Indiana three times over the coming weeks in an attempt to convince Donnelly, who is for reelection in 2018, in an attempt to convince him to support tax reform.
GENERAL DUNFORD SPEECH AT 9/11 ANNIVERSARY
General Joseph F. Dunford, Jr., the Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staffs, made the following address at the Pentagon:
“Mr. President, Mrs. Trump, Secretary Mattis, members of the Cabinet, distinguished guests, and most importantly, to the family and friends of the fallen, and to those gathered here who survived the attack on the Pentagon, good morning.
It’s an honour to join you as we pause to reflect [on] all those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001. At this ceremony, we are particularly mindful of the 184 who died here in the halls of the Pentagon and aboard Flight 77.
16 years ago when terrorists attacked the Pentagon, the World Trade Center, and as they attempted other attacks in Washington D.C., they did so with a sense of purpose. They were attacking symbols that reflect our way of life and our values. The terrorists believed that these attacks would shake our commitment to those values, and as President Bush said hours after the attacks, the terrorists thought they could frighten us into chaos and retreat – but they were wrong.
Instead of retreat, the tragedy of 9/11 produced in us an unyielding resolve. Instead of hopelessness, our morning turned into action, and we have strengthened our commitment to the idea that the freedom of many should never be endangered by the hatred of a few.
So this morning, as we recall the events of 911, it’s appropriate for those of us still serving to remember and honour those who died, those who continue suffering from injuries, and those left behind. But if we truly want to honour those remembered today, each of us will walk away from this ceremony with a renewed sense of commitment to our values and the cause of freedom. Each of us will walk away from this simple ceremony reminded that the war is not over, and that further sacrifice will be required; and each of us will walk away with resolve to strengthen our personal commitment to protect our family, friends, and fellow citizens from another 9/11.”
16TH ANNIVERSARY OF 9/11
President Trump has spoken today at a 9/11 commemoration at the Pentagon on Monday morning.
Sixteen years ago, Islamic terrorists hijacked four aeroplanes and used them to strike fear into the American people. At 8.46am, American Airlines Flight 11 slammed into the north tower of the World Trade Centre. Seventeen minutes later, American Airlines Flight 175 slammed into the south tower. By 10.30am, both towers had fallen.
At 9.28am, American Airlines Flight 77 struck the Pentagon and started a violent fire. A final flight, United Airlines Flight 93, crashed into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania after its passengers attempted to retake control of the aeroplane.
By the end of the day, 2,997 people lay dead.
Speaking at the Pentagon, President Trump stated:
“This is an occasion that is extraordinary and it’ll always be extraordinary. Today our entire nation grieves with you and with every family of those 2,977 innocent souls who were murdered by terrorists 16 years ago. On that day not only did the world change but we all changed. Our eyes were opened to the depths of the evil we faced.”
President Trump continued by praising the American military and vowing to hunt down those who terrorise others:
“In the years after September 11th, more than five million young men and women have joined the ranks of our great military to defend our country against barbaric forces of evil and destruction. American forces are relentlessly pursuing and destroying the enemies of all civilized people, ensuring, and these are horrible, horrible enemies, enemies like we’ve never seen before. But we’re ensuring they never again have a safe haven to launch attacks against our country. We are making plain to these savage killers that there is no dark corner beyond our reach, no sanctuary beyond our grasp, and nowhere to hide anywhere on this very large Earth.”
UPDATES ON THE NORTH KOREA SITUATION
The US State Department has stated that the international campaign to pressure North Korea into abandoning its nuclear and ballistic missiles program is working, in spite of the rogue regime’s testing of a hydrogen bomb and the firing of a missile over Japan in recent days.
Heather Nauert, a spokeswoman for the State Department, has reassured reporters that the pressure on North Korea was having an effect. Nauert stated:
“Now when you see a test that took place on Sunday, you may think, ‘Goodness, that is not working.’ But that is not the case, and here’s why. It can take a long time for a pressure campaign to work. It is not an overnight thing, it’s not a big, sexy military option. This is handled very, very differently. “
Nauert continued:
“We will continue to push forward with this campaign. We are having success. This all will take time.”
President Trump has stressed that all options are on the table in dealing with North Korea. However, the President has stated that a military strike on the rogue communist state would be a “very sad day for North Korea.” The President stated at a press conference with the emir of Kuwait:
“We would have to look at all of the details, all of the facts, but we’ve had presidents for 25 years now, they’ve been talking, talking, talking, and the day after an agreement is reached, new work begins in North Korea, continuation on nuclear. I’m not negotiating with you. Maybe we’ll have a chance to negotiate with somebody else, but I don’t put my negotiations on the table, unlike past administrations. I don’t talk about them. But I can tell you that North Korea’s behaving badly, and it’s got to stop.”
TRUMP TO REPEAL DACA
President Donald Trump has officially ended the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, policy.
President Trump had criticised DACA during his 2016 Presidential campaign. In an official statement, President Trump stated:
“As President, my highest duty is to defend the American people and the Constitution of the United States of America. At the same time, I do not favour punishing children, most of whom are now adults, for the actions of their parents. But we must also recognize that we are a nation of opportunity because we are a nation of laws.”
Trump continued:
“The legislative branch, not the executive branch, writes these laws — this is the bedrock of our Constitutional system, which I took a solemn oath to preserve, protect, and defend. In June of 2012, President Obama bypassed Congress to give work permits, social security numbers, and federal benefits to approximately 800,000 illegal immigrants currently between the ages of 15 and 36. The typical recipients of this executive amnesty, known as DACA, are in their twenties. Legislation offering these same benefits had been introduced in Congress on numerous occasions and rejected each time.”
President Trump reportedly plans to give US Congress six months to pass legislation that would address the hundreds of thousands of DACA immigrants. According to the Daily Beast, there are approximately eight-hundred-thousand immigrants that benefit from the DACA policy. All of these people could feasibly be deported.
DACA, which was created by an executive action in 2012, was started by Former President Obama, to protect illegal immigrants who had arrived in the United States as children. The policy has been in legal limbo for years with ten Republican-led states threatening to sue over the alleged unconstitutionality of the policy.
Under DACA, applicants are required to prove they have immigrated to the United States illegally, must pay a US$495.00 application fee, and renew their deferment every two years. Once the applicant has been accepted, they are eligible for social security cards, welfare benefits, and are eligible for work and study permits.
Former President Obama has released a statement accusing President Trump of casting a shadow on some of America’s “best and brightest young people.” Former President Obama stated on Facebook:
“Some 800,000 young people stepped forward, met rigorous requirements, and went through background checks. And America grew stronger as a result. But today, that shadow has been cast over some of our best and brightest young people once again.”
Former President Obama continued:
“To target these young people is wrong – because they have done nothing wrong. It is self-defeating – because they want to start new businesses, staff our labs, serve in our military, and otherwise contribute to the country we love. And it is cruel.”
Predictably, the left has vowed to increase “resistance” against President Trump. Similarly, Democrats have accused President Trump of racism. New York Attorney General, Eric Schneiderman, has claimed he will sue to protect DACA immigrants living in New York. Schneiderman stated:
“President Trump’s decision to end the DACA program would be cruel, gratuitous, and devastating to tens of thousands of New Yorkers—and I will sue to protect them. Dreamers are Americans in every way.”
Left-wing documentary filmmaker, Michael Moore, stated on twitter:
“To the streets! Find out where the DACA protest is where u live and SHOW UP! If we are ever to be a decent country, this is your moment.”
Karine Jean-Pierre of MoveOn.org has claimed that President Trump’s decision only serves to advance the “white supremacy agenda.” Similarly, Modern Family producer, Danny Zuker, showing true left-wing tolerance to different opinions, told Christians: “if you support [Donald Trump’s] decision to end DACA your Christianity is bulls***. But on the other hand f*** you.”
Some Republicans, including Republican Congressman from Wisconsin, Paul Ryan, have urged President Trump to hold off rescinding DACA so a legislative agenda can be achieved. Ryan stated:
“The president’s announcement does not revoke permits immediately, and it is important that those affected have clarity on how this interim period will be carried out. At the heart of this issue are young people who came to this country through no fault of their own, and for many of them it’s the only country they know.”
Republican Senator from Oklahoma, James Lankford, and Republican Senator from Arizona, John McCain, meanwhile have argued that children should not be punished for the actions of their parents.
In the end, rescinding DACA and other disastrous Obama-era immigration policies will be important steps in allowing the United States to reclaim control over its borders and immigration.
NORTH KOREA TESTS HYDROGEN BOMB
South Korean officials have confirmed that a blast at a North Korean nuclear testing site was caused by the detonation of a hydrogen bomb.
According to the South Korean newswire service, Yonhap, officials observed a 5.7 magnitude seismic event near the Punngye-ri nuclear testing site at about 12.30pm, local time. Tremors could even be felt in north east China.
North Korean state television announced the test to be ‘a perfect success’ and even published photographs of Kim Jong Un directing the test. North Korea’s state newspaper, Rodogon Sinmun, reported on Sunday:
“All components of the H-bomb were homemade and all the processes ranging from the production of weapons-grade nuclear materials to precision processing of components and their assembling were put on the Juche basis, thus enabling the country to produce powerful nuclear weapons as many as it wants.”
The United Nations has issued a statement, passed by all fifteen members, condemned North Korea and has accused them of “deliberately undermining regional peace and stability and [having] caused grave security concerns around the world.”
Donald Turk, President of the European Council, released a statement condemning North Korea:
“The EU stands ready to sharpen its policy of sanctions and invites North Korea to restart dialogue on its programmes without condition. We call on the UN Security Council to adopt further U.N. sanctions and show stronger resolve to achieve a peaceful denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.”
British Prime Minister, Teresa May, stated:
“The international community has universally condemned this test and must come together to continue to increase the pressure on North Korea’s leaders to stop their destabilizing actions.”
French President, Emmanuel Macron, stated:
“The international community needs to deal with this latest provocation with the greatest firmness, so that North Korea will restart dialogue without conditions and proceed with the complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantling of its nuclear and ballistic weapons programs.”
President Donald Trump tweeted:
“North Korea has conducted a major Nuclear Test. Their words and actions continue to be very hostile and dangerous to the United States.”
President Trump continued:
“North Korea is a rogue nation which has become a great threat and embarrassment to China, which is trying to help but with little success.”
US Defence Secretary, Jim Mattis, has met with President Trump and Vice President, Mike Pence, to discuss the situation. Outside the White House, Mattis made a brief statement:
“We have many military options, and the President wanted to be briefed on each of them.”
Mattis continued:
“We made clear that we have the ability to defend ourselves and our allies, South Korea and Japan, from any attack, and our commitments among our allies are ironclad. Any threat to the United States or its territories, including Guam, or our allies will be met with a massive military response – a response both effective and overwhelming.”
Mattis continued:
“Kim Jong-un should take heed the United Nations Security Council’s unified voice. All members unanimously agreed on the threat North Korea poses, and they remain unanimous in their commitment to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, because we are not looking to the total annihilation of a country, namely North Korea.”
Republican Senator from Missouri, Roy Blunt, told NBC’s Meet the Press that nearby countries should do everything in their power to force North Korea to ease tensions. According to Blunt, the rogue communist state has been a topic of discussion in Senate Intelligence Committee meetings. Blunt said:
“In the intel committee that I serve on, I think it doesn’t disclose anything to say in that in the last year this has probably been the number one topic month after month – what was happening there, what are we going to do about it – and I hope the neighbourhood understands how critical this is.”
Blunt went on to refer to Kim Jong Un as “spoiled and reckless”:
“You’ve got a leader who is both spoiled and reckless. Spoiled and reckless is not a unique thing to find in the world today, but it is unique with somebody who has control of what may now be hydrogen weapons.”
The US is strongly considering issuing further trade sanctions to cut off North Korea. These sanctions may include Chinese banks and businesses doing trade with North Korea. US Treasury Secretary, Steve Mnuchin, said in an interview on Fox News on Sunday:
“We are going to strongly consider everything at this point and, again, I will draft a package for [President Trump’s’ strong consideration that would go as far as cutting off all trade and other business.”
PRESIDENT TRUMP PUTS TAX REFORM ON THE TABLE
President Trump has chosen Springfield, Missouri, to outline his planned tax reforms for the United States.
President Trump’s speech, which used overarching themes, outlined the four principles which would guide the reforms. First, a tax code that is easy and simple to understand. Second, a tax rate that would allow businesses to remain globally competitive. Third, tax relief for middle-class families. Fourth, tax breaks for corporate profits repatriated abroad.
During his speech, President Trump stated:
“We’re here today to launch our plans to bring back Main Street by reducing the crumbling burden on our companies and on our workers. The foundation of our job creation agenda is to fundamentally reform our tax code for the first time in more than 30 years.”
President Trump went on to note that tax reform would help small business and encourage economic growth at all levels. He commented that ninety-percent of taxpayers required help filing their taxes and that the current system only benefited those who could afford good tax lawyers and accountants.
President Trump also implored the US Congress, in particular, the Democrats, not to blow their chance at tax reform. President Trump said:
“This is our once in a generation opportunity to deliver real tax reform for everyday, hardworking Americans. This is our opportunity to deliver real tax reform for Americans. I am fully committed to working with Congress to get this job done.”
Speaking to Democrats, President Trump said:
“Put the partisan posturing behind us and come together as Americans, to create the 21st-century tax code that our people deserve. What could possibly be more bipartisan than helping people keep more of what they earn?”
Whilst it is believed tax reform will increase employment among Americans, Republican Senator from Kentucky, Rand Paul, has expressed concern about overhauling the tax code without first lowering revenue. In an op-ed for CNN, Paul stated:
“Tax reform can be simple, but I’m afraid those who are in charge will make it unnecessarily complicated.”
Despite this, there have been concerns over the effects of tax cuts on the Federal budget deficit and Federal debt levels. Furthermore, there is also concern that the White House may have a difficult time selling their tax reforms to the American people. Cliff Simms, the White House Director of Message Strategy, dismissed this, saying:
“I think that the media underestimates the economic understanding of the American worker out there — middle-class, rural, blue-collar folks in Michigan and Ohio and Pennsylvania and other states around the country who have watched the tax code, the tax system as it is today play a huge role in their factories closing and being shipped overseas. They totally understand competitiveness and totally understand how this is going to — in the President’s words — help us win again.”
