قال سفير الهند لدى تركيا، سانجاي بهاتاشاريا، اليوم الأربعاء، إن حجم التجارة بين البلدين يبلغ حاليا 8.5 مليارات دولار، وأن الجانبين يسعيان لرفع هذا الرقم إلى 10 مليار دولار في الفترة المقبلة.
في أعقاب الاحتجاجات المناهضة لروسيا في جورجيا، وفرض الرئيس الروسي فلاديمير بوتين حظرا على تيسيير الرحلات الجوية إليها، حول السياح الروس حجوزاتهم من جورجيا إلى تركيا.
نظمت مؤسسات حكومية ومدنية تركية، الثلاثاء، رحلة ترفيهية شملت زيارات لمواقع تاريخية وقاعات ألعاب في ولاية هطاي التركية، لـ 80 يتيما سوريا من منطقة عفرين.
تولَّى السلطان العثماني سليم الثالث السُّلطة بعد وفاة عمِّه عبد الحميد الأوَّل عام 1203هـ/1788م وبدأت مرحلةٌ جديدةٌ من مراحل الحرب بين الدَّولة العثمانيَّة، وأعدائها، شرع في إحياء الرُّوح المعنويَّة في نفوس جنده، واعتمد على تاريخ الدَّولة العثمانيَّة، وما قامت به من أعمالٍ بطوليَّة، ففي مراسم توليه عرش الدَّولة قام السُّلطان بإِلقاء خطبةٍ حماسيَّة أمام قادة الدَّولة أشار فيها بما حقَّقته الجيوش العثمانيَّة من انتصاراتٍ في الماضي على أعدائها
IN THIS EDITION: Everyone from Carpe Donktum to Shari Redstone, David Beckham to Savannah Guthrie, Taylor Swift to Tucker Carlson. Plus my new look at the Florida Climate Reporting Network, and the premiere episode of CNN's movies podcast...
Trump's validation of the fringe
Oliver Darcy emails:Some of the right-wing media universe's biggest stars are set to descend on the White House on Thursday. Trump has invited far-right internet personalities and trolls, many of whom push conspiracy theories, lies, and misinformation, for a "social media summit." It will likely become a forum for airing claims -- often unfounded -- of social media bias. Trump is scheduled to speak at 3:45 p.m. ET.
Newsrooms will likely be skeptical of covering the summit, as it does not appear a serious discussion about issues facing Big Tech will take place. But I think the summit is worth covering for a different reason. I'd even argue it's being under covered right now. The invitations extended to extremist figures are perhaps the clearest example yet of Trump working to legitimize fringe political allies. It's irresponsible and even perhaps dangerous for the White House to validate some of these people. And it's all happening ahead of the 2020 campaign. THAT deserves coverage, and should be conveyed to readers and viewers on Thursday...
Expected attendees include...
Darcy emails: Jim Hoft, the publisher of the right-wing Gateway Pundit blog; Bill Mitchell, a radio host who has promoted the extremist QAnon conspiracy theory on Twitter; Carpe Donktum, an anonymous troll who won a contest put on by InfoWars for an anti-media meme; Ali Alexander, an activist who attempted to smear Kamala Harris by saying she is not an "American black" following the first Democratic debates; James O'Keefe, the guerrilla journalist; Charlie Kirk, the founder of the right-wing student group Turning Point USA; and Benny Johnson, the journalist-turned-activist who was fired for plagiarism by BuzzFeed and demoted at the Independent Journal Review for violating company standards...
--> As Jason Farkas said on Twitter, "RTs are not endorsements. Inviting trolls to the White House, however, is..."
Artist who drew anti-Semitic cartoon disinvited
Darcy emails: At least one of the individuals invited proved to be too far off in the fringe even for the White House. An administration official told Jake Tapper on Wednesday that the White House had rescinded its invitation to artist Ben Garrison, who had drawn a cartoon widely condemned as anti-Semitic.
Garrison said in a statement that he had spoken to the White House on Tuesday and they had concluded his "presence at the social media summit would be a media distraction." Garrison said he was "asked to remain silent about the whole thing," but then the White House informed media about his invitation being rescinded, which he said "disappointed" him and prompted him to speak out about the allegations of anti-Semitism, which he strongly denied.
White House mum
Darcy adds: The White House has repeatedly declined to release information about the summit to the public. I asked a spokesperson on Wednesday for basic info, such as a list of expected attendees or an agenda. The spokesperson declined to provide such information. The latest information we have came Tuesday from spokesman Judd Deere who said Trump wanted to engage with "digital leaders" on the issue of alleged social media bias...
"We're not sure what to expect"
Darcy continues: It's not just the press and public being left in the dark. Those invited to attend have also been provided zero information. They haven't even received guidance on what is expected of them.
I spoke to one person who plans to attend. That person told me, "We're not sure what to expect. We're not sure if it's going to even be about policy." The person added, "All I know is there is going to be a bunch of people in a room talking about social media...You know the president will be there so it could go in a number of different directions."
Roose's column
Darcy emails one more:Kevin Roose had an excellent piece on Trump's Thursday event. He noted that "for today's right-wing trolls" there is a "bigger prize" than simply scoring some "retweets and Reddit upvotes." Today, being a troll with a pro-Trump political bent might earn you a "red-carpet visit to the White House." Roose, noted that, "It is ironic, of course, to complain about being persecuted from the cushy perch of a White House summit." Stelter taking over here... Oliver, thank you for getting this edition of the newsletter started... FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE
-- A story that should be getting more attention IMHO: A State Department intelligence analyst "has resigned in protest after the White House blocked portions of his written testimony to a congressional panel to exclude data and evidence on climate change and its threat to national security, State Department officials said..." (WSJ)
-- Robert Foster, a Republican running for governor in Mississippi who "denied a female reporter's request to accompany him on a campaign trip unless she brought along a male colleague" is defending his "moral stance" and "Christian beliefs" on Twitter, using the controversy to rally support for his campaign... (CNN, Twitter)
-- No. 1 on Forbes' new list of "the world's highest-paid celebrities:" Taylor Swift with $185 million in earnings. Kylie Jenner comes in at No. 2 with $170 million. Two other notable names on the top 100 list: Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity... (Forbes)
New Jeffrey Epstein accuser comes forward
NBC's Savannah Guthrie landed an emotional interview with a new Epstein accuser, Jennifer Araoz, who said Epstein raped her when she was a teenager. Her account was sickening and, as CNN's Alanne Orjoux noted, "similar to the stories of other women who have come forward." Epstein's attorney has not responded to multiple calls requesting comment...
Multiple projects in the works...
"There's already a whole new crop of Jeffrey Epstein media in the pipeline," VF's Joe Pompeoreported Wednesday.
James Patterson and John Connolly's 2016 book "Filthy Rich" is "being adapted into a documentary series for Netflix. That's in addition to an Epstein documentary by filmmaker Barry Avrich that was already reported to be in the works. NBC's Dateline has recently been exploring an Epstein story as well, someone familiar with the reporting told me. Surely there will be additional Epstein books, and maybe even a podcast or two..."
"For an hour on Wednesday afternoon," the NYT's James Poniewozikwrote, "cable news became the White House human resources office." The Labor Secretary "parried and deflected questions from journalists, in the process making the meta-argument that the Viewer-in-Chief should not cancel him."
The presser was panned on social media, but maybe it did the trick with Trump: Per CNN's Jim Acosta and Pamela Brown, the White House believes Acosta handled himself well at the news conference... A W.H. official said Trump remains supportive of Acosta and the posture in the W.H. is to fight the controversy...
Fox's framing
While prime time programs on CNN and MSNBC focused on Acosta, Sean Hannity went with his usual "media mob" framing. His show went with banners such as these: "Liberal media makes desperate attempt to link President Trump with Jeffrey Epstein" and "Liberal media on defense over Epstein charges."
Hannity praised Trump for kicking Epstein out of Mar a Lago and strongly hinted that Bill Clinton committed Epstein-like crimes, at one point noting that Monica Lewinsky was "young..." A little while later, when the 10pm shows on CNN and MSNBC led with Acosta's presser and Epstein's alleged actions, Laura Ingraham's show was all about "LIBERALS ENABLING LAWLESSNESS."
Ilhan Omar wants advertisers to shun Tucker's show
On Twitter and in a Q&A with reporters on Wednesday, Ilhan Omar said Fox is giving a "nightly platform" to white supremacist rhetoric in the form of "Tucker Carlson Tonight." She repeated her assertion that Carlson is a "racist fool" -- reacting to his claims that she hates America and that immigrants like her "undermine" the country.
"Advertisers should not be underwriting hate speech," she tweeted.
One of her colleagues in Congress, Katie Hill, said Omar "deserves an apology" and "Tucker deserves to be fired." Fox delivered on neither of those things (of course)...
"Omar is trying to take this show off the air"
Omar's advertiser call-out gave Carlson an opening to say, on his Wednesday show, that she "is trying to take this show off the air. Shut us up. Silence us. We want to reassure you that's not going to happen. Why? Because we work at Fox News, and they've got our back, and we're thankful for that."
Carlson opened his show with a long anti-Omar commentary, summarizing his original point this way: "Americans like immigrants. But immigrants have got to like us back. That is essential. Otherwise, the country falls apart." He denied the charges of racism and said "we're against racism, adamantly..."
🔌 I'll have more about this on "CNN Tonight with Don Lemon" in the 11pm hour...
FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO
-- "An immigration appeals panel has reopened the case of a detained Spanish-language reporter facing deportation after he was arrested while covering an immigration rally in Tennessee." Manuel Duran is from El Salvador... ICE "has said Duran was taken into custody because he had a pending deportation order from 2007 after failing to appear for a court hearing..." (AP)
-- "Human rights lawyer Amal Clooney accused world leaders Wednesday of failing to protect journalists and decried their 'collective shrug' over the slaying of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi..." (AP)
-- WaPo is out with a new "follow the money" story titled "in the aftermath of Khashoggi's killing, Saudi influence machine whirs on in Washington..." (WaPo)
New global media defense fund
Hadas Gold with some news from the Global Media Freedom Conference in London: "The United Kingdom and Canada are together giving more than $4 million to a new global media defense fund. The fund, which will be administered by UNESCO, will be used to support, train and provide legal help for journalists around the world." Details here...
Judge orders power company to respond to WSJ report "paragraph by paragraph"
Did you see the WSJ's big report on Wednesday morning? "PG&E Knew for Years Its Lines Could Spark Wildfires, and Didn't Fix Them."
Now the fallout: Later in the day a federal judge with oversight of the matter "ordered PG&E Corp. to respond, 'on a paragraph-by-paragraph basis,'" to the WSJ reporting, Katherine Bluntwrites. Blunt co-bylined the original scoop. The judge says he wants a "fresh, forthright statement owning up to the true extent of the Wall Street Journal report" by July 31...
>> PG&E's main statement right now: "Although we don't agree with or support the Journal's conclusions, we have acknowledged that the devastation of the 2017 and 2018 wildfires made clear that we must do more to combat the threat of wildfires and extreme weather while hardening our systems."
CBS/Viacom merger talks are "active"
"I never talk," CBS and Viacom vice chair Shari Redstone told FOX Business' Lydia Moynihan on the sidelines of this week's Allen & Co conference in Sun Valley.
"Now, as Shari is hobnobbing with the moguls in Sun Valley, the new CBS acting chief Joe Ianniello and Viacom CEO Robert Bakish are actively engaged in merger negotiations back in New York," Moynihan and Charlie Gasparinowrote Wednesday. "No announcements are expected this week on the deal, but the progress in the talks is said to be real: Management is engaged in discussions on deal price and the management structure of the new company."
--> Don Day writes about the local impact of the Allen & Co conference: Annual spotlight on Sun Valley helps Idaho's economy in ways large and small..." (Boise Dev)
NYT Sports' Special section
Print readers will notice a special Sports section in the Times on Thursday morning... Normally Sports only has its own section on Sundays and Mondays... But this edition is a keepsake-worthy look at the Women's World Cup victory and Wednesday's parade in NYC...
Watching VidCon
Kaya Yurieff emails from L.A.: VidCon is officially underway. Now in its tenth year, this is the largest gathering for online video creators, bringing together Internet celebrities like YouTube stars, their fans, and industry execs from all the top social media platforms. This year is TikTok's first time in attendance, and a few of their top creators will be here too.
I'm on the ground searching for screaming teen fans, internet famous animals such as Nala the Cat (4.1 million Instagram followers), and people taking photos in front of social media friendly backdrops (Invisalign, yes as in the teeth brand, has a big rainbow slide, and Giphy has a station at which you can turn yourself into a custom GIF). I'm expecting lots of presentations about monetization and how creators can earn money beyond YouTube ads. YouTube's Chief Product Officer Neal Mohan is giving the keynote on Thursday afternoon... FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE
-- "Fox News chief national correspondent Ed Henry and his sister, Colleen, are making good progress in their recoveries after liver donation surgeries, their family said Wednesday..." (Fox)
-- A day in the life of "Nightly News" exec producer Jenn Suozzo, via her alma mater's magazine... "The former dancer says she directs each episode as if it were a ballet..." (UConn)
-- And speaking of the "Nightly News," Lester Holt will receive the 2019 Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism from ASU this fall... (AP)
On this week's "Reliable" podcast: The Florida Climate Reporting Network
Some of Florida's biggest news outlets are banding together to form the Florida Climate Reporting Network. Have you heard about it yet? On Wednesday I spoke with two of the editors spearheading the new collaboration: Mark Katches, executive editor of the Tampa Bay Times, and Julie Anderson, EIC of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and the Orlando Sentinel.
Alex Harris of the Miami Herald also joined us and spoke about her experience as the only full-time climate change reporter among the six participating newsrooms in the network. "People keep saying we're ground zero down here" in Florida, she said, so "we should kind of act like it right?"
NatGeo Society to "add its network" of journalists to local newsrooms covering climate
Katie Pellico writes: Two new reporting collaborations were announced Wednesday that will bring National Geographic Society's illustrious resources to more than 10 local newsrooms covering the Delaware River Watershed and the Ohio Watershed, according to this report from Poynter's Kristen Hare. Hare explains that the two projects, "part of a $650,000 project from The Lenfest Institute, The National Geographic Society and the William Penn Foundation," will link NatGeo's "network of visual journalists, technologists and scientific experts" with ongoing local reporting...
-- NiemanLab's Christine Schmidt checked in on CALmatters. Four years after its launch as a "policy-focused reporting machine for California," Schmidt says it is "growing out of its startup stage..." (NiemanLab)
-- Related: "The News Project's publishing platform goes live with its first customer, CALmatters..." (TechCrunch)
-- As first reported by The Information, WarnerMedia ad sales chief Donna Speciale is leaving the company... Two of her top deputies, Dan Riess and Frank Sgrizzi, are also exiting... (AdWeek)
-- Gerhard Zeiler says he will "lead ad sales as interim president, working with a three-person operational team" -- Amit Chaturvedi, Katrina Cukaj and Joe Hogan... (Variety)
-- "Disney Television Studios has named Jonnie Davis president of ABC Studios, amid a restructuring in the wake of the Disney-Fox merger that has resulted in the displacement of current head Patrick Moran and ABC Studios EVP Howard Davine..." (Variety)
David Beckham sets up a content studio
"David Beckham, one of the world's most famous soccer players, is now making a run at Hollywood," Todd Spanglerreported Wednesday. "Beckham's newly formed Studio 99 content studio will develop documentaries, TV shows and other formats, and also will undertake commercial work as a creative agency for brand partners." Some of the documentaries are already in the works. One of them will be co-produced with Uninterrupted, the company co-founded by LeBron James and business partner Maverick Carter. WME is representing Beckham... "The agency, along with Beckham and his business team, have held conversations with global streaming platforms and media partners about Studio 99's initial development slate and potential co-productions..."
Holzhauer will be back in November...
"James Holzhauer, whose lucrative two-month run as Jeopardy! champion goosed the veteran game show's ratings in the spring, will face off against Emma Boettcher — the woman who ended his streak — and 13 others in its annual Tournament of Champions," Deadline's Erik Pedersen writes. The 10-day event "airs November 4-15 in syndication..."
New CNN podcast: "Lisa, Sandra and Kristen Go to the Movies"
Episode one is out now! Lisa France, Sandra Gonzalez and Kristen Meinzer are sitting down with actors, directors, screenwriters, costume designers for discussions about movie moments from throughout the decades. The podcast is pegged to CNN's new TV series "The Movies," which is airing Sundays at 9pm this summer...
>> On episode one, the trio speaks with Ruth Carter about dressing Wakanda's royal family... FOR THE RECORD, PART FIVE
Brian Lowry emails: "Love Island" didn't get much love Nielsen-wise, premiering to a let's-just-be-friends 2.7 million viewers. CBS notes the show generated buzz on Twitter, but unless that translates to a bigger audience, with the show (based on a UK format) scheduled to play five nights a week, it could be a long month...
The power of "Friends"
Megan Thomas emails: This, by Michael Schulman for the New Yorker, is one of the best stories I've read about the ongoing fascination with "Friends." Title: "The revealing reasons people visit the 'Friends' building."
Key quote: "Loneliness is a massive problem in big cities. So, I mean, maybe you feel like they are your friends, as well, which is really sad to say..."
New York City welcomed back the World Cup-winning- U.S. Women's National Team with a rowdy ticker-tape parade Wednesday. Adoring fans packed Lower Manhattan's Canyon of Heros where chants of "equal pay" became the rallying cry of the day. During the festivities, U.S. Soccer Federation President Carlos Cordeiro said "all female athletes" deserve to be fairly compensated, and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation that expands the state's equal pay laws to "prohibit unequal pay on the basis of a protected class for all substantially similar work."
Headlines from around the world
Alex Acosta refused to resign as Labor Secretary but defended his handling of a plea deal for Jeffrey Epstein when he was a U.S. attorney.
Kim Darroch resigned as U.K. ambassador to the U.S. after tensions with the White House escalated over his leaked comments critical of Trump.
A migrant mother, whose daughter died after being detained by ICE, gave emotional testimony during a "Kids in Cages" hearing.
The National Hurricane Centerissued a warning for Tropical Storm Barry in the Gulf of Mexico that's expected to strengthen as it approaches land.
Angela Merkelwas seen visibly shaking in public for the third time in a month. She later said she was "very well" and there's "no need to worry."
Data of the day
If you ever get to retire...Nebraska is the best place to hang your hat, a new study said, because of its high marks in affordability and wellness. Maryland ranked last.
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Don't miss this
"We lost an engine."A Delta flight was forced to make an emergency landing when one of the plane's engines failed
Press freedom under Trump. In a fiery speech, Amal Clooney blasted Trump for making journalists more vulnerable to abuse.
No goats were harmed.Washington wildlife officials are airlifting mountain goats to the Cascades to boost native populations.
Before you go
In praise of her "badass" team. Megan Rapinoe celebrated the "pink hair, tattoos, dreadlocks, white girls, black girls, straight girls, gay girls, and everything in between" at the NYC parade.
Thanks for reading! Watch your inbox for our next newsletter tomorrow. Until then, share TicToc Tonight with your friends! -Andrew Mach
The S&P 500 topped 3,000 Wednesday for the first time as Wall Street became more certain that the Fed would cut interest rates this month, a move U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly demanded. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, testifying before Congress, said bad news from around the world outweighed good news at home. But when asked what he would say if Trump told him to pack up and leave, Powell answered that he would tell him "no." —David E. Rovella
Here are today's top stories
Embattled Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta, a former prosecutor, sought to defuse calls for his resignation over a 2007 plea deal offered to fund manager Jeffrey Epstein, who now faces sex trafficking charges in New York. At a press conference, Acosta didn't directly answer a question about whether Epstein got a better deal due to his wealth or influence.
When Walmart paid $16 billion for control of India's e-commerce pioneer Flipkart last year, the American retail giant got a little-noticed digital payments subsidiary as part of the deal. Now the business is emerging as one of the country's top startups.
Federal agencies have five weeks to rip out Chinese-made surveillance cameras in order to comply with a ban imposed by Congress. But thousands of the devices are still in place and chances are most won't be removed before the deadline.
There's at least one thing Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Trump adviser Larry Kudlow agree on.
Buying a house on the water? By the time your 30-year mortgage expires, you could be facing as many as 135 days of high-tide flooding, depending on where you live.
What's Joe Weisenthal thinking about? The Bloomberg news director says that it seems like every day we're greeted with some new, odd fact from the world of bonds, whether it's emerging markets floating century bonds, Italy seeing massive demand for 50-year paper or yields on European junk debt going into negative territory.
Here's how rapidly the U.S. housing market has cooled: Buyers are now about four times less likely to face a bidding war than they were just a year ago. In June, 12% of them faced competition compared with 52% a year earlier. While San Francisco is the most competitive market, the share of listings that got multiple offers fell to 28% from 65%.
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Federal Labour Minister Patty Hajdu said Wednesday that Ontario Premier Doug Ford failed to deliver on a promised contract for the facility in her hometown that could have saved jobs.
“This is not something to be proud and to be cheering about, especially when there are thousands of Indigenous Canadians that don’t even have clean water to bathe in, let alone drink.”
Jazwant Dhillon faced charges of sexual assault, showing sexually explicit images to a child, and two counts of sexual interference. But the case was thrown out because police appear to have forgotten about a key piece of evidence, causing unreasonable delays.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says the salad bags with best-before dates of July 17 are being recalled in six provinces — Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
UNAIDED is a HuffPost Canada series that examines the effects of recent funding cuts to Ontario’s legal aid system and the impacts on the vulnerable people who rely on it to navigate our complicated justice system.
HuffPost is now part of Verizon Media Group. On May 25, 2018, we introduced a new privacy policy, which explains how your data is used and shared. Learn more.
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The now-former British ambassador to the U.S. told his bosses, in what he assumed was secrecy, that President Donald Trump and his administration are "dysfunctional," "inept," "incompetent" and "insecure." His candid assessment is shared by many other diplomats and sentient humanoids around the world, including White House staff, as Bloomberg's editorial board notes. But it was leaked, embarrassing Darroch and triggering Trump to have a Twitter fit. That led to Darroch's exit and put another dent in the U.S.-U.K. "special relationship."
The episode sends a message to current and future employees of the British government, writes Therese Raphael: Play along with Brexit and its key U.S. supporter, Trump, or get shoved under a red double-decker bus. The leaking of Darroch's memos played all too well into the hands of Brexiteers, who considered him euro-friendly. And chief Brexiteer and future Prime Minister Boris Johnson took Trump's side in the spat. But this also exposes just how a Brexited U.K., far from taking its fate into its own hands, must bow and scrape before Trump in order to survive alone in a harsh world.
Try telling that to Johnson and other Brexit die-hards, though. In their delusions of grandeur, they have one very bad thing in common with their former colony India, writes Pankaj Mishra: Both are sleep-walking toward self-destruction, led by demagogues who refuse to face the truth.
Further British Reading: The U.K. economy had a decent quarter, but don't be fooled; it's still weak, and a no-deal Brexit will make it far weaker. – Ferdinando Giugliano
RIP Fed Rate-Hike Campaign, 2015-18
In congressional testimony today, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said he wouldn't quit even if Trump pushed him. But he also made Trump, and financial markets, very happy by all but hand-engraving a promise to cut interest rates later this month, writes Brian Chappatta. This is what markets expected and what Trump has demanded. Now the two big questions are whether the Fed can stop at just one rate cut, and how it can maintain political independence in such an environment.
Powell's words sent stocks to new record highs and sank bond yields. This will only make the market even thirstier for sweet, sweet yield. The latest example is a 48-year Italian bond yielding less than 3%, writes Marcus Ashworth. Fingers crossed on getting paid back, or finding a better deal. On the other hand, a recent string of meh Treasury auctions suggests appetite for U.S. debt does have limits, notes Robert Burgess. Good thing the government doesn't need to borrow much. Oh, wait ...
So Netflix Inc. is losing "Friends" to HBO Max, a new streaming service run by AT&T Inc., which might cost you $17 a month. Netflix will also eventually lose "The Office" to NBCUniversal's new streaming service, owned by Comcast Corp., which will cost some additional amount of money per month. Netflix continues to charge $13 a month for what's still on its roster, including "Stranger Things." Meanwhile Walt Disney Co. is launching a Disney+ streaming service that will cost another $7 a month. And these are just the biggest services we could reasonably fit into this paragraph. Are you not entertained and/or confused and/or broke? Tara Lachapelle suggests this foolishness will strain the patience and loyalty of consumers who simply want a) content and b) value.
"Wouldn't it be great if there were a way to just package all these services together in a single monthly subscription?" Tara asks. "We could call it Cable Max."
Senior Fellow Michael Knights outlines the potential repercussions of the UAE's drawdown in Yemen. Based on personal observation of UAE forces, Knights contends that the UAE served as an effective stabilization force,and that their withdrawal is likely to endanger ongoing UN negotiations and the fragile stability of southern Yemen.
Algerian journalist Ahmed Marwane argues that the recent anti-corruption efforts in Algeria are necessary but selective effort to crack down on endemic corruption linked to the Bouteflika era. He emphasizes that without an independently elected government, Algerians will continue to suspect that anti-corruption efforts are merely a political tool for the current government.
Ahwazi Arab activist Rahim Hamid describes the discriminatory elements of the recent announcement by Iran's Ministry of Education to test Persian proficiency at the preschool level. Hamid claims that this initiative will target non-Persian ethnic minorities in Iran and link them with the Ministry's efforts to identify disability in schoolchildren.
Kurdish student Mera Jasm Bakr suggests that Gorran's role in the developing coalition government of the KRG signals the decline of populist rhetoric in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. He argues that opposition parties must learn to make more circumspect promises in their rhetoric and focus on working with the KRG's major parties in order to develop effective reforms.
As always, we welcome your feedback and participation. Please write to us at editor@fikraforum.org.
Warm regards,
David Pollock Director, Fikra Forum
يبرز مايكل نايتس، زميل برنامج "ليفر"، الخطوط العريضة للتداعيات المحتملة للانسحاب الإماراتي من اليمن. فبناءً على المتابعة الشخصية لقوات دولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة، يرى نايتس أن الإمارات العربية كانت بمثابة قوة فعالة لتحقيق الاستقرار، وأن انسحابها من المرجح أن يعرض مفاوضات الأمم المتحدة حول الاستقرار الهش في جنوب اليمن للخطر.
يرى الصحفي الجزائري أحمد مروانى أن الجهود الأخيرة لمكافحة الفساد في الجزائر والتي تهدف إلى القضاء على الفساد المستشري والمرتبط بحقبة بوتفليقة كانت ضرورية، لكنها انتقائية. كما يؤكد أنه بدون وجود حكومة منتخبة بشكل مستقل، فإن الجزائريين سوف يستمرون في الشك في أن جهود مكافحة الفساد ما هي إلا مجرد أداة سياسية للحكومة الحالية.
يصف الناشط العربي الأحوازي رحيم حميد العناصر التمييزية للإعلان الأخير الصادر عن وزارة التعليم الإيرانية لاختبار الجدارة والكفاءة في اللغة الفارسية في مرحلة ما قبل المدرسة، والتي تضمنت قانون يستهدف الأقليات العرقية غير الفارسية في إيران ويربطها بجهود الوزارة لتحديد الإعاقة بين طلاب المدارس.
ترى الطالبة الكردية ميرا جاسم بكر إلى أن دور كوران في تشكيل الحكومة الائتلافية فى إقليم كردستان، يشير إلى تراجع الخطاب الشعبي في إقليم كردستان العراق. وفى هذا الصدد، ترى بكر أن أحزاب المعارضة يجب أن تتعلم كيفية تقديم وعود أكثر حذراً في خطابها، مع التركيز على العمل مع الأحزاب الرئيسية لحكومة إقليم كردستان من أجل تطوير إصلاحات فعالة.
وكما هو الحال دائماً، نشجع مشاركاتكم في هذه النقاشات المستمرة. يرجى الكتابة لنا على البريد الألكتروني editor@fikraforum.org.
NEWS ALERT: House Democrats delete tweets showing Obama-era photo of migrant detention facility
The Democratic-led House Oversight and Reform Committee deleted tweets this week that used Obama-era photos of border detention facilities in an effort to slam President ...
The Democratic-led House Oversight and Reform Committee deleted tweets this week that used Obama-era photos of border detention facilities in an effort to slam President Trump's treatment of illegal immigrants.
Labor Secretary Alex Acosta vigorously defended his handling of a 2008 plea deal with billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, saying "facts are being overlooked" as critics question whether he was too lenient as Epstein faced allegations he sexually abused underage girls.
In a news conference, the embattled official said he welcomed new charges against Epstein from New York prosecutors and said abuse victims' statements are handled differently now.
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The largest gathering of conservatives each summer takes place in Denver, Colorado.
Western Conservative Summit July 12-13, 2019 Colorado Convention Center Details and Tickets
The Western Conservative Summit is two days of stellar speakers, informative workshops, and an enormous exhibit hall all to advance America's constitutional principles. Our 2019 theme is Defending Religious Freedom and America's First Amendment.
This year, we will host over 50 conservative speakers, over 25 workshops, and over 60 exhibitors.
We invite you to join us as a VIP attendee and supporter of the Western Conservative Summit. The VIP Summit Pass offers an up-close and personal view of the event, including reserved seating in the front half of the ballroom, back-stage passes to the VIP lounge, special photo opportunities with main speakers, a seat at the William L. Armstrong Awards Dinner and more!
A video showing a Connecticut minor league hockey coach telling his team to respect the national anthem or "grab your gear and get the f---k out" has gone viral.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi chided progressives in a closed-door meeting, calling on them to address their intra-party grievances privately rather than blasting their centrist colleagues on Twitter.
"So, again, you got a complaint? You come and talk to me about it," Pelosi told Democrats, according to a source in the room. "But do not tweet about our members and expect us to think that that is just ok."
Pelosi's comments came during the first full caucus meeting since a major blow up over emergency border funding last month between progressive and moderate lawmakers as well as a recent spat with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and her freshman allies.
Read more: https://politi.co/30rDmEd
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Social media giant Facebook has once again surpassed Orwellian forecasts! This time, they are saying it’s acceptable to post death threats against reporter Paul Joseph Watson because he’s a “dangerous” individual! Earlier this year, Facebook censored any content that mentioned me, Alex Jones, unless it explicitly condemned me! When will the leaders on the right understand this is just the beginning! Don’t miss this urgent Wednesday LIVE BROADCAST to hear the latest on this as it develops! Also, tune in if your worried about the tropical storm heading towards the southern US!
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THERE'S A DEAL TO BE HAD BETWEEN THE U.S. AND IRAN by Dennis Ross
Atlantic July 10, 2019
If Tehran agrees to extend the JCPOA's sunset provisions and curtail its activity in Syria and Lebanon, Washington may be willing to lift the nuclear sanctions and create a special-purpose vehicle.
Iran is now incrementally walking away from the limits imposed on it in the nuclear deal—the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA—exceeding the 300 kilograms of low enriched uranium it can have on hand and now enriching above the 3.67 percent allowed under the terms of the understanding. Don’t be surprised if it either starts to install its advanced centrifuges or begins to operate more than the 5,061 older centrifuges it is permitted for enrichment. Iran is not racing to produce weapons-grade material, but make no mistake, it is shrinking the time it will need to have a breakout capability.
The Trump administration’s decision to end the waivers it had given eight countries to continue to buy Iranian oil, in late April, put the Iranians in a real bind. The country’s oil exports plummeted from roughly a million barrels a day to roughly 300,000. The resulting loss of revenue added dramatically to the already significant economic pressures caused by the American reimposition of sanctions—and the reality that multinational corporations felt the need to respect the sanctions lest they lose the ability to do business in the United States or get financing from American banks.
Iran is now answering the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” policy by placing maximum pressure on Donald Trump. Reducing its breakout time—and emphasizing the Trump administration’s inability to restrain it—is one way that Iran is raising the pressure. Tehran is also ramping up its threatening actions in the region. Saudi civilian airfields, oil pipelines, and petroleum pumping stations are being targeted every few days by the Houthis from Yemen with Iranian-provided drones and missiles; six ships on two different occasions have been sabotaged with limpet mines south of the Strait of Hormuz; bases in Iraq where American forces are located have been hit by rockets fired by Shia militias armed and trained by the Iranians; Israeli security officials tell me that Islamic jihad—likewise supported by Iran—is trying hard to provoke a conflict with Israel in Gaza; and, of course, an American drone was shot down by the Iranians.
A week before the White House decision on the waivers, the State Department was informing countries that they would be continued. The State Department favored keeping the waivers because it understood it was getting the best of both worlds: Iran was under pressure, with its economy reeling, and yet the Iranians were abiding by their obligations in the JCPOA—something that relieved the administration of figuring out what to do if the Iranians actually walked away and began to reduce their breakout time.
Rescinding the waivers persuaded the Iranians that they must show Trump, the Europeans, and our friends in the region that they, too, could impose a price and were not simply going to acquiesce to U.S. pressure. Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, in a speech on May 29, declared that the U.S. was trying to pressure the Islamic Republic to return to the negotiating table in a weakened condition. He said that would not happen; instead, he said, Iran would apply its “leverage”—and it is clearly doing so.
Each side seems to be operating on the assumption that mounting pressure will force the other side to blink. The danger, of course, is a miscalculation that produces a conflict even if neither side wants it. Assuming conflict can be avoided, Iran’s president, foreign minister, and deputy foreign minister are saying they will reverse their breaches of the JCPOA if the U.S. comes back to the deal or the Europeans deliver economic benefits. Neither prospect seems likely—and yet, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has agreed to consider French President Emmanuel Macron’s call for negotiations.
Can the Europeans successfully mediate between the Iranians and Trump? They might start by brokering an understanding in which the Iranians come back into compliance and help de-escalate in the region in return for the Trump administration reconstituting the waivers rescinded in April.
The Trump administration has no real answer to Iranian maximum pressure and clearly does not want conflict. That might be enough to persuade Trump to accept such an understanding. In Japan, Trump conveyed his basic instinct on Iran, saying he was not interested in regime change, just “no nukes.” Trump’s only real criterion is doing better than Barack Obama, and that probably means extending the sunset provision on the limits on Iranian enrichment for another 10 to 15 years, out to 2040 or 2045. But the Iranians won’t make such a concession for nothing; they would likely demand the end not just of the sanctions imposed to constrict Iran’s nuclear activity, but of the broader array of sanctions.
American sanctions imposed on Iran as a result of its support for terror and its violations of human rights cannot and should not be lifted, given Iran’s ongoing acts and policies. Moreover, JCPOA 2.0 is likely to be no more sustainable than its first version if Iran does not change its behavior in the region. No grand bargain, magically overcoming all U.S.-Iranian differences, lies within the realm of possibility.
There is, however, a realistic and achievable compromise to be had. Iran could agree to an extension of the sunset provisions for 10 to 15 years, as well as to limit rockets, missiles, and military infrastructure in Syria and Lebanon, reducing the prospect of a wider regional war between Israel and Iran. In return, the U.S. would lift the nuclear sanctions and create a special-purpose vehicle, which would allow American and international firms to do business in Iran so long as they complied with a strict set of rules. It wouldn’t offer everything either side wants, but it would produce more for each side than the current impasse.
For now, however, Iran appears to prefer to escalate the pressure it is applying to the U.S. Unless the supreme leader comes to fear that the U.S. will act militarily or that economic pressures are placing domestic peace at risk, he is unlikely to accept a deal anytime soon. And that, ironically, means the risk of a conflict that neither side actually wants remains high—high enough to motivate the Europeans to do all they can to persuade each side to de-escalate and broker a new understanding.
Dennis Ross is the counselor and William Davidson Distinguished Fellow at The Washington Institute.
THE WASHINGTON INSTITUTE FOR NEAR EAST POLICY 1111 19TH STREET NW, SUITE 500 WASHINGTON, DC 20036 202-452-0650 202-223-5364 (fax) www.washingtoninstitute.org Copyright 2019. All rights reserved.
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