MIAMI: Former president Barack Obama on Friday (Nov 2) decried as a "political stunt" Donald Trump's plan to send thousands of US soldiers to the Mexican border to block migrants from entering the country. Former president Barack Obama -- campaigning with Florida's Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum (left) and Senator Bill Nelson -- is aiming to help Democrats win crucial seats in the November 6, 2018 midterm elections AFP/RHONA WISE In a rousing speech to a Miami crowd as he campaigned for fellow Democrats ahead of next week's midterm elections, Obama said the Republican administration was "even taking our brave troops away from their families for a political stunt at the border." Trump, who has placed immigration at the heart of his party's election effort, has persistently attacked the caravan of Central American migrants, denouncing it as a potential "invasion." Trump announced earlier this week that he would send thousands of troops to the border to beef up … [Read more...] about Obama brands Trump’s border deployment plan a ‘political stunt’
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Trump considers rejoining TPP, the Pacific trade pact he once spurned
Ministers wave as they pose for the official picture before signing the rebranded 11-nation Pacific trade pact Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in Santiago, on Mar 8, 2018. (CLAUDIO REYES/AFP) President Donald Trump has directed senior aides to explore rejoining the 11-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership if a "better deal" can be reached, the White House said on Thursday (Apr 12). The decision, which was welcomed by lawmakers from agricultural states, could mark an abrupt about-face for a president who had campaigned against the deal and swiftly withdrew from it after taking office last year. But the White House was quick to point out that Trump's decision, rather than a flip-flop, was consistent with earlier statements. "Last year, the President kept his promise to end the TPP deal ... because it was unfair to American workers and farmers," Deputy White House Press Secretary Lindsay Walters said in a statement. However, he "has consistently … [Read more...] about Trump considers rejoining TPP, the Pacific trade pact he once spurned
Trump considers re-joining Pacific trade pact he once spurned
President Donald Trump has directed senior aides to explore re-joining the 11-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership if a "better deal" can be reached, the White House said Thursday. The decision, which was welcomed by lawmakers from agricultural states, could mark an abrupt about-face for a president who had campaigned against the deal and swiftly withdrew from it after taking office last year. But the White House was quick to point out that Trump's decision, rather than a flip-flop, was consistent with earlier statements. "Last year, the President kept his promise to end the TPP deal... because it was unfair to American workers and farmers," Deputy White House Press Secretary Lindsay Walters said in a statement. However, he "has consistently said he would be open to a substantially better deal, including in his speech in Davos earlier this year." To that end, he has asked U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and top economic adviser Larry Kudlow "to take another look at whether or … [Read more...] about Trump considers re-joining Pacific trade pact he once spurned
Trump says DACA deal for young immigrants is off
President Donald Trump said on Sunday that there will be no deal to legalize the status of young adult immigrants called Dreamers and he said the U.S.-Mexico border is becoming more dangerous. After tweeting a “Happy Easter” message on Twitter, he said: “Border Patrol Agents are not allowed to properly do their job at the Border because of ridiculous liberal (Democrat) laws like Catch & Release. Getting more dangerous. “‘Caravans’ coming. Republicans must go to Nuclear Option to pass tough laws NOW. NO MORE DACA DEAL!” he wrote, adding a threat to kill the North American Free Trade Agreement which is being renegotiated with Mexico and Canada. DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, is a program created in 2012 under Democratic former President Barack Obama that Trump sought to rescind last autumn. Designed for people brought to the United States as children by parents who were undocumented immigrants, the program shielded them from … [Read more...] about Trump says DACA deal for young immigrants is off
Martin Luther King Jr: the dream, the man, the legacy
Towards the end of his life, Martin Luther King Jr. lamented that his dream had "turned into a nightmare." The US civil rights leader was a weary man when he was cut down by an assassin's bullet at the age of 39 on the balcony of a motel in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968. He was also a controversial man - unlike the iconic figure celebrated today with a national holiday and an imposing granite memorial in Washington. "He's become frozen in time - not as the man he was in 1968, but in the image of August 1963 when he gives the 'I Have a Dream' speech," said David Farber, a history professor at the University of Kansas. "It's easy for Americans to forget how polarizing a figure King actually was in the 1960s," Farber said. "He'd become a really radical figure in the United States - an outspoken opponent of American foreign policy, demanding that justice extend not just to African-Americans but to all poor Americans." A seminal moment came in April 1967, when King made a speech in … [Read more...] about Martin Luther King Jr: the dream, the man, the legacy