San Francisco (AFP) – Amazon will suspend Parler, the tech giant confirmed Saturday, sending the social media network offline after it was banned by Apple and Google for allowing “threats of violence” in the wake of a deadly riot at the US Capitol. The Parler social network has become a haven for conservatives who say
Amazon pushes Parler offline after Capitol attack Read More »
USA
Washington (AFP) – A former US defense secretary has called on President-elect Joe Biden to reform the system that gives sole control of the nation’s nuclear arsenal to the president, calling it “outdated, unnecessary and extremely dangerous.” The call from William Perry came the same day US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke with the nation’s
Biden urged to renounce sole control of US nuclear weapons Read More »
USA
Jewish elected officials, reflecting partisan divisions in the country, are split over the validity of Joe Biden’s election as President, whether Donald Trump is culpable for the mob that attacked and ransacked the Capitol building resulting in five deaths, and what, if anything, should be done about Trump in the days remaining before his term ends, and Biden’s begins, on Wednesday, January 20th. [Donald H. Harrison]
Jewish members of Congress divided on Trump Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Middle East, San Diego County, USA
New York (AFP) – Friends, family and advisors to Donald Trump have been bitterly complaining that Twitter’s ban of the president after his supporters stormed the US Capitol amounts to an assault on free speech by radical leftists. Ironically, given the enormous influence of the platform, they have aired their grievances first of all on
Short on alternatives, fans trash Twitter’s Trump ban – on Twitter Read More »
USA
CHICAGO — Facing increasing calls for her resignation after citing Adolf Hitler in a recent speech, newly inaugurated Downstate Illinois U.S. Rep. Mary Miller apologized Friday and said she regretted using the reference while blaming others for “intentionally trying to twist my words.” Miller, only days into office, received condemnation from Republicans and Democrats alike
President-elect Joe Biden on Friday said Sens. Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz are part of the “big lie” about election fraud and invoked Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels, but stopped short of calling on the two senators to resign. Hawley, a Missouri Republican, faces a wave of condemnation for supporting a bid to block certification of
Biden likens Hawley to Nazi propagandist Goebbels. ‘Shameful,’ says Missouri senator Read More »
International, USA
ATLANTA — Republican David Perdue conceded to Democrat Jon Ossoff on Friday, ending Georgia’s runoffs for control of the U.S. Senate days after his campaign floated potential legal action to contest his narrow defeat. In a statement, Perdue said he wanted to “congratulate the Democratic Party and my opponent for this runoff win,” although he
David Perdue concedes to Jon Ossoff, ending Georgia Senate runoffs Read More »
USA
Gal Gadot cried the first time she saw ‘Wonder Woman 1984’. The 35-year-old actress was so transported by the film – in which she plays Diana Prince and her titular alter ego – that she didn’t even think about her own involvement. She told HELLO! magazine: “I can’t tell you about the moment in the
Gal Gadot cried watching Wonder Woman 1984 Read More »
Middle East, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
A top US envoy visited contested Western Sahara on Saturday, after Washington recognised Morocco’s sovereignty there in exchange for Rabat normalising ties with Israel. Western Sahara is a disputed and divided former Spanish colony, mostly under Morocco’s control, where tensions with the pro-independence Polisario Front have simmered since the 1970s. Last year Morocco joined the
US envoy visits Western Sahara after Morocco-Israel deal Read More »
International, Middle East, USA
Washington (AFP) – US Senator Lisa Murkowski on Friday became the chamber’s first Republican to publicly call for Donald Trump’s resignation, saying the president has “caused enough damage” to the nation. The Alaska lawmaker also questioned her future as a Republican, warning that if her party remains in thrall of Trump despite his inciting a
Senate Republican calls for Trump resignation: report Read More »
USA
Twitter permanently banned President Donald Trump late Friday, saying that allowing him to keep posting will heighten the risk of “further incitement of violence.” The extraordinary action comes as Trump remains under intense fire for inciting the bloody assault on the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday that killed five people, including a police officer. Twitter suspended
Trump permanently banned from Twitter Read More »
USAAnger and optimism are mixed in the national dialogue over the events at the nation’s Capitol on January 6th. The anger is expressed in response to the attack on the Capitol in which five people died, including a Capitol policeman whose head was bashed in by someone wielding a fire extinguisher, and a rioter from San Diego who was shot by a policeman inside the Capitol building. The optimism stems from the hopes that positive steps toward healing the nation’s divisions will be taken during President-elect Joe Biden’s incoming administration aided by Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress. [Donald H. Harrison]
National Dialogue Mixes Anger and Optimism Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, San Diego County, USA
Morocco’s prime minister has pushed back against critics, who have accused him of betraying the Palestinian cause by signing a normalisation agreement with the US and Israel on 22 December. During a meeting with his Justice and Development Party, PM Saad Eddine El Othmani said that he understands the criticism but rejects anyone who questions
Wilmington (United States) (AFP) – US President-elect Joe Biden said Friday that he had been considering nominating Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders as his labor secretary but eventually decided not to do so because it could have put the fragile Democratic Senate majority at risk. “I did give serious consideration of nominating my friend Bernie Sanders
Biden says he considered nominating Sanders as labor secretary Read More »
USA