FRIDAY 9/13/24
Biden and Starmer – Should Ukraine be allowed to use weapons from the West deeper into Russia? Predictably, Russian leader/dictator Vladimir Putin is playing the “nuke” card and warns this would put NATO at direct conflict with Moscow.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (above) meets with President Biden in Washington Friday to discuss Kyiv’s request (per AP). Ukraine renewed its plea during a visit to Kyiv by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
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African Nations to UN Security Council? – The United States supports creation of two new seats for African nations on the United Nations’ powerful Security Council, Linda Thomas Greenfield, the US ambassador to the UN told NPR’s Morning EditionFriday.
Under the proposal, which UN leaders will consider during High Level Week in New York next week, one of the seats will be rotated among Africa’s small island developing states and would give the two nations power to vote on economic sanctions, arms embargoes and approval of use of force. The two African states would join the US, Great Britain, France, China and Russia on the Security Council.
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No Third Debate – By now you’ve heard that Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris has called for another debate with Republican nominee Donald J. Trump, who insists he “won” last Tuesday’s matchup on ABC and will not participate.
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Your Pets are Safe – As ex-President Trump repeated the false story while he was on the campaign trail in Nevada, about Haitian immigrants eating Springfield citizens’ pets, the Ohio town’s mayor, Rob Rue told The New York Times in an interview, “We are hurting.”
Bomb threats following Trump’s initial repeat of the anti-immigration conspiracy theory caused Springfield to evacuate its city hall, two schools and the state motor vehicle agency’s local office, according to the NYT. Rue said the email threats were a “hateful response to immigration in our town.” One Haitian immigrant in Springfield told NPR Thursday that her country’s culture treats pets as family members.
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Not the Best Person – Republican supporters including Sen. Lindsey Graham (SC) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA) are trying to warn presidential candidate Donald J. Trump about his association with racist provocateur Laura Loomer.
Loomer was spotted disembarking off Trump’s airplane in Philadelphia ahead of last Tuesday’s Harris-Trump debate.
Loomer accompanied Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, at a 9/11 ceremony Wednesday before heading to Shanksville, Pennsylvania with Trump on his plane afterward. This is significant because in 2023, Loomer posted a video on X-Twitter calling the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks “an inside job,” according to The Washington Post.
Racist? A few days ago, Loomer wrote that if Vice President Harris wins the November 5 election, the White House “will smell like curry & White House speeches will be facilitated via a call center.”
Graham, one of the first Republican senators to become a fervid Trump supporter, said Thursday in an interview; “The history of statements by Ms. Loomer are beyond disturbing. I hope this problem gets resolved. I think we should be talking about things that people are concerned about, and this issue, I think, doesn’t help the cause.”
--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa