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from Asia Times Online
If it's a trade war with China he would rather have, the new president will find himself on the back foot from day one. Despite a belligerent campaign posture against China, what if Trump hopped on an American Silk Road?
As the UK readies to depart the EU, they will be negotiating trade relations with China from a position of weakness.
The Asian giant's area of national interest is no longer confined to its continental region – a fact that has serious geopolitical implications.
As Trump moves in, memory mixes with desire in Russia
Given the current state of relations between the US and Russia, it can only get better under Trump.
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from Associated Press
Officials say the Obama administration in its waning hours defied Republican opposition and quietly released $221 million to the Palestinian Authority that GOP members of Congress had been blocking. A State Department official and several congressional aides said the outgoing administration formally notified Congress it would spend the money Friday morning. The official said former Secretary of State John Kerry had informed some lawmakers of the move shortly before he left the State Department for the last time Thursday. The aides said written notification dated Jan. 20 was sent to Congress just hours before Donald Trump took the oath of office.
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from Breitbart
Report: Obama Gave $221 Million to Palestinians in Last Hours
The Associated Press reported Monday that former President Barack Obama released $221 million in U.S. funding for the Palestinian Authority on the morning of Friday, January 20 — just hours before he was to leave office. This was not the first time Obama had granted funding to the Palestinian Authority despite Congress’s wishes. In 2012, for example, he unblocked nearly $200 million that had been frozen in response to Palestinians’ unilateral actions at the United Nations, using a legal waiver included in the Palestinian Accountability Act.
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from CFACT
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]
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Editorial: What Trump got right on Day 1: The jobs agenda
If you focused on Monday morning, his first business day in the White House, Trump did what he promised as a candidate: to put the emphasis on creating jobs and boosting wages. He met with a group of high-powered CEOs to gather ideas on how to expand the U.S. manufacturing economy. He talked about the influence of tax rates on job creation. And, as expected, he withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a proposed trade deal with 11 other nations, because he doesn't think it will protect American workers.
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from Competitive Enterprise Institute
Should free trade supporters celebrate Trump's moves to end the failed Trans-Pacific Partnership experiment and perhaps pull the plug on NAFTA? The Trans-Pacific Partnership is an example of why free trade came to have such a bad reputation with the American public. Rather than a simple agreement to lower tariffs for mutual benefit, it morphed into a massive international regulatory regime over 5,000 pages long. It was weighed down by numerous non-trade provisions aimed at appeasing non-trade special interests. To be sure, there may be worthy environmental and labor issues worth addressing through international agreements, but these should be considered in separate treaties and have no business being part of trade negotiations.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership is an example of why free trade came to have such a bad reputation with the American public. Rather than a simple agreement to lower tariffs for mutual benefit, it morphed into a massive international regulatory regime over 5000 pages long. It was weighed down by numerous non-trade provisions aimed at appeasing non-trade special interests.
Last Thursday, the outgoing Obama Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) released its long-awaited guidance document on the deployment of vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communications. Deploying V2I may prove beneficial in the future. Unfortunately, just like the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) deeply flawed proposal to mandate vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications for all new light-duty vehicles, FHWA’s V2I guidance document assumes the reliance on a specific communications protocol known as dedicated short-range communications (DSRC).
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from EUobserver
Pope warns populism could lead to 'saviours' like Hitler
The pontiff warned that as people seek charismatic leaders in times of crisis, democracy can destroy itself, citing 1930s Germany.
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Pope warns populism could lead to 'saviours' like Hitler
The pontiff warned that as people seek charismatic leaders in times of crisis, democracy can destroy itself, citing 1930s Germany.
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from First Things
A letter from a fiercely feminist, pro-life student to her friends and classmates at the Women’s March: “You purport to oppose the self-centeredness of our president, but yesterday, when you paraded around with signs saying ‘My Body, My Choice,’ you were doing nothing more than proclaiming your own self-centeredness to the world.
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from The Heritage Foundation
Trump Reinstates Policy Protecting Taxpayer Dollars From International Abortion Activity
In one of his first official actions, President Donald Trump reinstated the life-affirming Mexico City policy, ensuring that American taxpayers do not fund international organizations that perform or promote abortion overseas.
Trump Targets 3 Agencies With Ambitious Budget Cuts
President Donald Trump’s reported plan to gut federal spending by $10.5 trillion over the next decade includes eliminating three iconic agencies defended as cultural mainstays by many Democrats. The next administration is working on plans to eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and privatize the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Combined, the three departments cost around $741 million in 2016, making up a small part of a host of budget reforms needed to cut more than $1 trillion a year from the federal budget.
Obama’s Nuclear Legacy Leaves America and Allies Less Safe
In the real world in which we live, the safest world is not the one without nuclear weapons. The safest world is the one where deterrence works.
8 Reasons Why Obamacare Should Be Repealed
As the debate over repealing Obamacare intensifies, it’s important to remember the law’s most glaring failures.
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from The Hill
McCain: Trump's withdrawal from TPP a 'serious mistake'
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) blasted President Trump on Monday, warning that his decision to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will spark a wave of negative consequences. “President Trump’s decision to formally withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a serious mistake that will have lasting consequences for America’s economy and our strategic position in the Asia-Pacific region," McCain said in a statement. Trump signed an executive action on Monday withdrawing from the trade deal, a key pillar of the Obama administration's second term. The decision drew quick praise from Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), who broke with Obama over the agreement. But McCain argued that it is the "wrong decision" and will increase China's economic influence in the region.
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from Huffington Post
[Information from this site may be unreliable.]
EPA Freezes Grants, Tells Employees Not To Talk About It, Sources Say
The Environmental Protection Agency has frozen its grant programs, according to sources there. EPA staff has been instructed to freeze all its grants ― an extensive program that includes funding for research, redevelopment of former industrial sites, air quality monitoring and education, among other things ― and told not to discuss this order with anyone outside the agency, according to a Hill source with knowledge of the situation. It’s unclear whether the freeze is temporary or indefinite.
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EPA Freezes Grants, Tells Employees Not To Talk About It, Sources Say
The Environmental Protection Agency has frozen its grant programs, according to sources there. EPA staff has been instructed to freeze all its grants ― an extensive program that includes funding for research, redevelopment of former industrial sites, air quality monitoring and education, among other things ― and told not to discuss this order with anyone outside the agency, according to a Hill source with knowledge of the situation. It’s unclear whether the freeze is temporary or indefinite.
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from Indian Country Today Media Network
Breaking: White House Implies DAPL, Keystone XL, Are On
White House Secretary Sean Spicer says DAPL and Keystone XL are 'good for America'
Republican Native Americans Jockey for Trump Administration Posts
Carlyle Begay, Jerry Ward, Jana McKeag, Carl Artman & Gavin Clarkson surface as early contenders
China says it is ready to assume “world leadership”, slams western democracy as “flawed”
The Chinese comments came after Trump in his inauguration speech said his administration would focus on an “America first” approach to foreign policy.
Breaking: White House Implies DAPL, Keystone XL, Are On
White House Secretary Sean Spicer says DAPL and Keystone XL are 'good for America'
Republican Native Americans Jockey for Trump Administration Posts
Carlyle Begay, Jerry Ward, Jana McKeag, Carl Artman & Gavin Clarkson surface as early contenders
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from Intellihub
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]
China says it is ready to assume “world leadership”, slams western democracy as “flawed”
The Chinese comments came after Trump in his inauguration speech said his administration would focus on an “America first” approach to foreign policy.
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from The Library of Congress
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from Los Angeles Times
U.S. judge finds that Aetna deceived the public about its reasons for quitting Obamacare
Aetna claimed this summer that it was pulling out of all but four of the 15 states where it was providing Obamacare individual insurance because of a business decision — it was simply losing too much money on the Obamacare exchanges. Now a federal judge has ruled that that was a rank falsehood. In fact, says Judge John D. Bates, Aetna made its decision at least partially in response to a federal antitrust lawsuit blocking its proposed $34-billion merger with Humana. Aetna threatened federal officials with the pullout before the lawsuit was filed, and followed through on its threat once it was filed. Bates made the observations in the course of a ruling he issued Monday blocking the merger.
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from On Pasture
The average temperature on earth has always had its ups and downs. Changes in the tilt of the earth’s axis, volcanic activity, changes in solar activity and more have all helped make the planet warmer and colder over time. During the Paleocene Earth was so warm that crocodiles swam above the Arctic Circle. Just 20,000 years ago, it was so cold that thick glaciers covered Canada and about half of the United States.
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from The Rebel
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from Redoubt News
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]
Report: Obama Gave $221 Million to Palestinians in Last Hours
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]
Report: Obama Gave $221 Million to Palestinians in Last Hours
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from The Washington Post
The first days inside Trump’s White House: Fury, tumult and a reboot
The president has transported the turbulence and competing factions of his campaign to the White House.
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from The Weekly Standard
Republicans: Schumer Broke His Word on Pompeo Confirmation
When President Donald Trump visited the CIA Saturday, he had hoped that CIA Director Mike Pompeo would accompany him. But when Trump arrived at the Langley, Virginia, headquarters of the Agency, he was instead accompanied by Congressman Mike Pompeo.
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from WND (World Net Daily)
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]
PLANNED PARENTHOOD: 'WE DON'T OFFER PRENATAL CARE'
Stunning undercover-video admission: 'I know it's kind of deceiving'
PLANNED PARENTHOOD: 'WE DON'T OFFER PRENATAL CARE'
Stunning undercover-video admission: 'I know it's kind of deceiving'
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