sunnykerr

If common sense prevailed, Theresa May would put Brexit to a new vote. What I don't know, is if the EU would "let her" do it. Presumably, if the UK voted again, and this time voted against Brexit, it would make everyone's life much, much easier. The problem is, I don't think the UK Conservatives (Theresa May's party) want to give up on Brexit and I know the EU is fed up with the UK trying to have its cake and eat it too when it comes to Brexit.

But that's just my opinion, and I've never been to Europe, so let's not pretend like I know what it's like on the ground over there.

Trump's tax returns will 'never' be seen by Democrats: chief of staff Obviously, just because Mick Mulvaney says something, it doesn't mean it's true. But, let's face it, this is hardly surprising, is it? If Trump didn't go for transparency when he was running for office, he's got no reason to start now.

Israel PM vows to annex West Bank settlements if re-elected So that's an electoral promise that can't ever happen. The settlements are already deemed illegal by the ICC, and no wonder. Trying to annex them would be flouting the Palestinians' right to self-determination. Which we've been doing since these settlements began, but still, it's all remained unofficial so far. Put the stamp of the Israeli government on that and I just have to pray the international community will have something to say about that.

canflam

Kirstjen Nielsen is resigning. Here's a link to her resignation letter for those interested: https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/07/polit...on-letter-dhs/

She could be a nice lady, but good riddance is pretty much what I have to say about this news.

sunnykerr

She may be a nice lady, but it's completely irrelevant to anyone who doesn't Nielsen personally, isn't it? Professionally, she's been nothing but a liar and a supporter of Nazi-like treatment of children. So, my sympathy for her runs short.

Of course, this is all part of Trump's apparent strategy to remove people from whatever official positions they hold so soon as they've been around long enough to start to understand what they're doing outside of following his word. You'll have heard of his near-systematic purge of the Secret Service. The man can't stand to see competence. It's probably why he was so aggressively hostile towards Hilary Clinton.

Meanwhile, Huffman, 12 other parents to plead guilty in college scheme Because she's the most famous of the lot, I've heard more reaction to Huffman's plea. People are falling over themselves to blame her for doing what she did and for proclaiming high and low their utter conviction that she's only sorry she got caught. And, obviously, what she did was wrong.

But how institutionalized is everyone that they don't realize that any parent would do just about everything for their child? That you can do something wrong and be sorry for it without releasing statements about your regret? And, lets face it, this wasn't wealth and elitism subverting the system. She wasn't born rich. Had she been born rich, her kids would have just picked whatever university they wanted to and be rolled out the red carpet. Had she been born rich, she would have given a "donation" to the school and that would have been the end of it.

It is possible to believe she made the wrong choice, over and over again in this case, and still see the situation as complicated.

There You'll Be

I'm sorry, well not sorry, but I hope there is a special place in hell, in a cage, for Kirstjen Neilsen. Torn away from her family, too.

I hadn't heard of Trump getting rid of the secret service agents. He's such a pathetically insecure man that he can't handle genuinely smart, talented, competent people.

I am sorry-but they can take all of these parents to court over a scam to get the best for their children, but they can't charge police officers murdering innocent people? Is that what we're doing now? Is that the new rule of life? I know that's an extreme comparison, but it's just insane to me. Yes, the parents were wrong, but heaven forbid they try to do good for their children-at least they have good motivation.

Canada is working to change the laws so that no refugees who have asylum claims in other countries, that have been rejected-like by the US, cannot apply for asylum in Canada. As usual, Justin Trudeau comes down on the side of rights of immigrants. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44743483 At this point, I honestly don't know what the solution is, for either of our countries, but my heart goes with officials who defend, and want to care for, refugees/migrants. I just don't know how to make it possible. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47874012

sunnykerr

A lot of international news organizations are starting to look into Trump's preference for "acting" heads of departments over actual experts. It's generally seen as troubling evidence of his inability to lead a demoratic government, with its sytem of checks and balances.

The current PLC government in Canada is not great, but it's got the most open-door policy towards refugees of any other political party liable to win a federal election. By which I mean that the NDP would probably be just as open, if not more, but they're nowhere near likely to win a federal election. And we're heading towards a federal election. From where I'm sitting, it seems to me like Trudeau is trying to appeal to Conservative voters who are anti-immigration, by making it "less easy" to get into Canada. ;shrug:

Arizona lawmakers move to repeal HIV/AIDS instruction law I can't even believe there was a law prohibiting teachers to instruct their students on HIV and AIDS. Well, I can believe it, but I can't believe it was still on the books. Finally, common sense has prevailed.

At the same time, this is terrible news: Israel's Netanyahu appears headed toward 5th term as PM

canflam

Thanks for this news. Trump says he is considering releasing migrants into sanctuary cities. Here's a link to that story: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/12/u...ry-cities.html

sunnykerr

Depending on when that story was publish, Trump has either already been told by... I forget which department... that it'd be illegal to do so. OR Trump is stupid enough to try it again so soon after he's been told it's illegal.

canflam

I think he's bluffing. That article is from yesterday. Mayor Joe Curtatone of Somerville, MA said this on Twitter about it: ''Fine by me. But does he realize that the moment after people get 'placed' they'll start moving to wherever they want to go? Every city has an open border.'' Indeed.

In other news Julian Assange was arrested in London this week & is up against U.S. hacking conspiracy charges.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...sy/3432977002/

Jen's Herald

no matter how much of the wall the trumpmare builds, i live for the day when some upstanding world leader, says 'Mr President, tear down this wall!'. oh the irony...and the wasted trillions of taxpayer dollars, building it and wrecking it. *sighs heavily*


twittertardtrumptroll, you're fired!

sunnykerr

Sweden is obviously trying to get the UK government to extradite Assage since he's accused of rape over there.

Meanwhile, Ilhan Omar: The 9/11 row embroiling the US congresswoman She's not wrong. Muslims' civil liberties are at risk.

canflam

Thanks for this news. Another thing that's odd about Trump is us use of words. Like ''coup'' for example. The Russia investigation was not & is not a ''coup''. I want to hear him give his exact definition of ''coup''. The most recent coup that I know of was a real 1 that failed in Turkey during 2016.

Also California congressman Eric Swalwell that's running for President ha an had with someone threatening him in it because Swalwell wants to ban assault weapons. Geez.

Finally, I don't know if you saw this lat week, but Betsy Devos wouldn't answer if it's her job to make sure that each student gets an education. Perhaps in any other administration this lady would be rightfully gone already, but in this 1 she fits right in.

sunnykerr

You haven't heard of a coup since Erdogan pretended there was one in Turkey so he could slaughter his opponents? I don't get U.S. media. What happened in Turkey wasn't a coup. And coups happen all the time, all over the world.

Heck, there was one in the Sudan about four days ago: Sudan coup: Military leader vows to 'uproot regime'

canflam

Well I mean, I don't read the paper ever day & yeah here in the U.S. coups I don't think they do get mentioned on cable news a lot. I was looking at a list of them that Wikipedia has & last year there was a Yemeni 1 & this year there was a Gabonese failed attempt at 1 in early January that I didn't know of. Thanks for the link.

Lori Loughlin has pleaded ''Not Guilty'' in her college admissions case. She was seen on video I believe in front of a court house last week signing autographs & taking pictures with fans. Wow. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/15/u...ot-guilty.html

sunnykerr

Matt, I'm sorry if you thought I was addressing my criticism of the U.S. media at you. I seriously was not. I've been to the United States and seen the newspapers and TV newsmedia for myself. It's a very insular media you have over there. Obviously, I'm not an expert, but my sense is that news stories have to relate directly to the United States to get any sort of attention by the newsmedia.

And, to be fair, that is a general rule of news reporting worldwide. Everyone always gives priority to "proximity," meaning you'll see more Portland-centric news stories and I'll see more Montreal-centric news stories. That's just the nature of the business.

But we do get other news. From France, the UK, from the United States and from other Canadian provinces. The U.S. media seems to focus on proximity and then crime. International stories have to be pretty big to get any play.

It's just an observation.

All that to say I wasn't surprised military coups don't get much play in the United States.

Anyway, I'm not sure who Lori Loughlin and her husband think they're kidding, but whatever. Most trials start out with a non-guilty plea.

Also, I'm kinda excited to see what this will look like: Canada joins new German-France 'alliance' that doesn't include U.S.

sunnykerr

Barcelona school removes 200 sexist children's books I admire their intention here, but I think they may have missed the teachable moment. You can talk to kids about what's wrong with a picture (or story, in this case). That way, you teach them critical thinking.

Ivanka Trump: I declined father's suggestion of World Bank job Of course she did, because of course he did. Why appoint someone with competence when you can put your daughter in that job? Trump doesn't just misunderstand finances or the economy, he doesn't understand the definition of the word nepotism either.