On September 14, 2016, days before the premiere of Oliver Stone’s hagiographic movie Snowden, Human Rights Watch, the American Civil Liberties Union and Amnesty International launched a well-funded campaign, with full-page ads in The New York Times, imploring President Barack Obama to pardon Edward Snowden, a former contract worker at the National Security Agency, for […]
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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, USAWASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s hesitation in hiring immigration hard-liner Kris Kobach reflects the next president’s indecision on how to approach the biggest issue of his presidential campaign. As a candidate, Trump promised to build a wall on the southern border, deport 11 million immigrants who are in the United States illegally, ban all Muslims from
Is Kris Kobach’s immigration policy too much even for Trump? Read More »
USAPresident Obama has issued 145 “midnight” regulations with a cost of more than $21 billion since the election of Donald Trump, the most by a lame-duck president in a generation, a study has found. The conservative American Action Forum said Thursday that Mr. Obama’s rules, issued from Nov. 8 through Dec. 31 of last year,
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USAWhile Donald Trump struggles to land big names (or any names) to perform at his inauguration on January 20, the Obamas have corralled a host of A-listers for their final party at the White House, which will take place Friday night. Related: Obama to deliver farewell address from Chicago January 10 The White House has
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USASince Election Day, scholars and curators of Jewish history have consistently issued one message: Watch out By Ben Sales Participants in an anti-hate rally at a Brooklyn park named for the late Beastie Boys member Adam Yauch after it was defaced with swastikas, Nov. 20, 2016. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images) NEW YORK — In the two
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USAPresident Obama said Thursday that he’s leaving the country in great shape for President-elect Donald Trump, and his few regrets include his inability to enact gun control and immigration reform. In his “exit memo” to the nation, Mr. Obama said the U.S. has added more than 15 million jobs, lowered the poverty rate, provided health
Former Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj, who was tried for war crimes at the Hague, reportedly was arrested Wednesday in France en route to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration due to a 1999 Serbian arrest warrant. Kosovo, a partially recognized state from the former Yugoslavia, shares strong diplomatic relations with France. Kosovo Minister of Justice
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International, USAThe president of Alabama’s oldest private historically black college announced Thursday that the decision for the school’s marching band to perform at Donald Trump’s inauguration will stand despite several days of backlash. The Talladega Marching Tornadoes initially accepted an invitation this week to march in the parade at the Jan. 20 event, but a surge
The secretary’s latest remarks beg the question: at a time when Israelis and Palestinians are clearly unable to strike a grand deal, why not put ideology aside, jettison the administration’s all-or-nothing approach, and lay out more modest parameters on settlements, incitement, and other concrete issues? In the waning days of the Obama administration, Secretary of
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International, Middle East, USAWASHINGTON — Three U.S. spy chiefs testified publicly for the first time Thursday that the Kremlin’s most senior leaders approved a Russian intelligence operation aimed at interfering in the U.S. presidential race, a conclusion that President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly challenged. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper was joined by Adm. Michael Rogers, head of
A group of 13 Senate Democratic Caucus members said Thursday that they are ready to work with Republicans on changes to Obamacare, but objected to the quick pace GOP leaders are pushing to repeal the law entirely. Proclaiming themselves “moderate Senate Democrats,” the 13 – including Sen. Angus King, who is an independent but who
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USABy Alon Ben-Meir NEW YORK–Recent developments in connection with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict demonstrated the huge gap between the Israeli government and the international community’s position about the settlements in the occupied territories and the prospect of a two-state solution. United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334, followed by Secretary of State John Kerry’s speech condemning the
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Alon Ben-Meir, International, Middle East, USABy David Anderson The Moderate Voice NEW YORK — I live in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York, a trendy slice of South Manhattan which defines “gentrification”: expensive wine and cheese stores, fru-fru patisseries, Google and Twitter’s East Coast headquarters on 17th. There’s the High Line, the new Whitney Art Museum, and Chelsea Market, so
Mass Psychosis in Manhattan. Again Read More »
USAHaim Saban, a Hollywood producer and Democratic Party megadonor, has lashed out at President Obama over the administration’s decision to abstain from a recent U.N. resolution condemning Israel, Variety magazine reported Wednesday. “As a longstanding Democrat who has supported and defended President Obama on his treatment of Israel throughout his presidency, I am deeply disturbed
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Middle East, USA