A lawyer for former U.S. Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch is calling for an investigation after materials released Tuesday night as part of the impeachment inquiry suggested she was under surveillance by individuals linked to President Trump‘s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani.
That detail was among a trove of documents provided by Giuliani associate Lev Parnas that were made public by the House Intelligence Committee late Tuesday.
House impeachment investigators turned over shocking evidence from Lev Parnas, the Rudy Giuliani associate who is awaiting trial on campaign finance charges. The emails, text messages and documents appear to show the president’s connection to Parnas and the general Ukraine plot.
A four-day-long tribal meeting among the Brazilian Indigenous leaders has begun in the Amazon to protest far-right President Jair Bolsonaro‘s push to open their reservations for commercial mining and agriculture.
Das Dreierbündnis will auf Gesetzesvorhaben verzichten, bei denen die Minderheitsregierung auf Stimmen der AfD angewiesen ist.
Sierakowski urteilt mit Blick auf die damaligen Weltmachtprognosen und die aktuelle Lage: „Europa war nicht erfolgreich, und es wird das auch nicht sein.“
Critics of the corporate media as well as supporters and staffers of Sen. Bernie Sanders‘ campaign blasted the moderators of the CNN/Des Moines Register Democratic presidential debate Tuesday night for employing centrist talking points and demonstrating a bias against Sanders in how they framed questions.
Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) are calling on their Senate colleagues to support a proposed resolution aimed at reining in President Trump‘s war powers against Iran.
Aus einigen der einst kleinen Firmen, die in der Gegend Gold förderten, sind mittlerweile weltweit agierende Unternehmen geworden. Zwei Namen kennt jeder. In Perth prangen sie unübersehbar an den beiden größten Skyscrapern der Stadt: Rio Tinto und BHP.
Turkey‘s ruling party on Wednesday called on Egypt to immediately release Anadolu Agency employees who were detained in a police raid Tuesday evening on the agency‘s Cairo office.
Ein Albtraum für jeden Imkerbetrieb: Familie Seusing aus Biesenthal muss tonnenweise Honig wegen zu hoher Glyphosatbelastung entsorgen. Der Betrieb steht vor dem Aus. Jetzt wollen sie der Landwirtschaftsministerin ein letztes „Geschenk“ machen.
Insgesamt müsse das Paar vier Tonnen Honig vernichten, der Schaden soll sich nach Angaben des Bündnisses auf 60.000 Euro belaufen. Die Imker werfen Landwirtschaftsministerin Julia Klöckner (CDU) vor, zu wenig für den Schutz von Bienen und der ökologischen Artenvielfalt zu tun.
Folgen für die Beamten hatten die gefällten Urteile bisher nicht, disziplinarrechtliche Konsequenzen wurden bisher keine gezogen.
Siemens hat einen 15 Milliarden Dollar schweren Auftrag für die Entwicklung der Stromversorgung im Irak.
Whistleblower des Militärs packen aus. Observiert wurden hochrangige Personen aus Justiz und Politik. Verwicklung von Ex-Präsident Uribe vermutet
Putin hatte zuvor in seiner Rede zur Lage der Nation eine Reihe von Verfassungsänderungen angekündigt. Darin schlug er eine Verfassungsänderung vor, um dem Ministerpräsidenten und den Kabinettsmitgliedern mehr Macht zu geben. Putin selbst kann nach Ende seiner Amtszeit 2024 nicht noch einmal als Präsident kandidieren.
The 22-year House veteran is renowned across the Capitol for her resolute approach to holding to account all occupants of the White House: Clinton‘s bombing in Yugoslavia, Bush’s surge in Iraq, Obama’s airstrikes in Syria and, most recently, Trump’s drone targeting of an Iranian leader.
And for that dogged persistence — even in the face of death threats that once required her to have a 24-hour security detail — Lee was celebrated by her caucus this week.
The legislation introduced by Rep. Lee, H.R. 2456, would sunset the 2002 authorization for the use of military force in Iraq, originally intended to enable operations against the regime of Saddam Hussein. Seventeen years after his removal from power, this AUMF has continued to be used by administrations to justify the use of American military force in Iraq. Rep. Khanna’s bill, H.R. 5543, prohibits the use of Federal funds for military action in or against Iran unless Congress specifically authorizes it or declares war or such actions are undertaken consistent with the War Powers Resolution of 1973.
The first measure from Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) would repeal the 2002 authorization of military force for the Iraq War that has been used as justification for military action against Iran. The other, authored by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), would prohibit the use of federal funds for military action in or against Iran unless authorized by Congress.
(1) Congress has the sole power to declare war under article I, section 8, clause 11 of the United States Constitution.
(2) Congress has not yet declared war upon, nor enacted a specific statutory authorization for use of military force against, the Islamic Republic of Iran. The 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (Public Law 107–40; 50 U.S.C. 1541 note) against the perpetrators of the 9/11 attack and the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 (Public Law 107–243; 50 U.S.C. 1541 note) do not serve as a specific statutory authorization for war against Iran, and neither authorize any such action.
Kaine filed a draft of his resolution the day after the Iranian commander, Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, was killed in a U.S. drone strike, and he has been working with Republicans to amend the measure so they would support it. As a result, the updated, bipartisan version removes all references to Trump and his administration’s statements and policies regarding Iran.
The resolution, which would give Mr. Trump a 30-day deadline to come to Congress for authorization for military action in Iran, would still need to be passed by the House. And it would be unlikely to overcome a veto from the president.
Mr. Kaine introduced the measure, which invokes the War Powers Act of 1973, as a privileged joint resolution, which allows him to force a vote on the measure and win over the support of a simple majority of senators.
(18.04.2014)
Barbara Lee: Allein für alle. Nun ja – nicht ganz.
(…)
Das militärische Ermächtigungsgesetz A.U.M.F. ist bis heute, neben der klassischen Kriegslobby, auch rechtliches Alibi der weltweit wie ein Krebsgeschwür wuchernden Lobby von totaler Spionage, explizit gegen die Bevölkerungen in den kriegführenden Ländern. Mit Händen und Füßen strampelnd wehren sich überall auf der Welt im Windschatten des planetar geführten Krieges u.a. durch geraubte Daten von Milliarden Menschen über das bespitzelte Internet fettgefressene und aufgedunsene Apparate im Polizei-, Spionage- und Militärsektor vor der ganz normalen parlamentarischen Demokratie, die nicht mehr faktischem Kriegszustand und dessen „Interpreten“ von Verfassung und Recht ausgesetzt ist. Dagegen ist den Lügnern in Kriegslobby und Repression wie immer jedes Mittel Recht.
Nach immer neuen Budgets und Einnahmequellen hechelnd und in bald 13 Jahren Krieg nach Millionen von Toten in den Schlachtfeldern, Kerkern und Folterkellern der eroberten Gebiete Afrikas und Asien von Zynismus zerfressen, bemühen sich die Kriegsgewinnler um immer neue, ihre Existenz sichernde Kriege und Spannungsfälle – und damit neue Freiheiten für Ausbeutung und Repression, die stets Seit an Seit gehen (müssen).
Incredibly, Americans will vote this year in the fifth straight presidential election haunted by the Iraq war — proof of the trauma seared on the nation‘s psyche.
At CNN‘s Democratic debate last night in Iowa, candidates exhumed the decision to topple Saddam Hussein, prompted by fears Donald Trump could plunge the US into another Middle East war — with Iran.
The United States has about 5,000 troops in Iraq leading the fight against ISIS. There are also about 800 U.S. troops fighting ISIS in Syria. Meanwhile, about 14,000 U.S. troops are in Afghanistan helping Afghan forces fight the Taliban and conducting counterterrorism operations against groups such as ISIS.
Outside of combat zones, the United States has also deployed about 14,000 more troops throughout the Middle East since the summer in an effort to deter Iran.
Tensions between the U.S. and Iran—high since Mr. Trump ordered the killing earlier this month of Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani—prompted a deeper discussion of foreign affairs than in the previous six debates.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) appears to refuse to shake Sen. Bernie Sanders‘ (I-VT) hand following the CNN/Des Moines Register Iowa Democratic debate.
Warren was indeed a registered Republican until the mid-1990s. She said her research as a legal scholar into the root causes of household bankruptcy reshaped her worldview. As a Democrat, she defeated Republican Sen. Scott Brown in 2012 in her first run for office.
The two sides also discussed the work of the NATO mission in Iraq, and how to continue cooperation between the two sides in the light of the Iraqi government’s decision to require member states in the international coalition against Daesh to withdraw their forces present in Iraq, noting the importance of increased communication in order to develop a new program of action that accommodates the developments in the situation in Iraq and the region.
Democrats on the debate stage tonight agree: it’s time for the US Congress to exercise its power anew to either authorize or deny the use of military force around the world.
The conversation is rooted in a 2001 vote, taken only a few days after the 9/11 attacks, that has been used now for nearly two decades by both Republican and Democratic administrations as the legal backing to continue the amorphous “War on Terror.”
Despite its historical consequences, the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force, or AUMF, runs only 60 words:
“That the President is authorized to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons, in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States by such nations, organizations or persons.”
It was one vague paragraph, but according to a May 2016 report from the Congressional Research Service, there had been „37 relevant occurrences of an official record, disclosed publicly, of presidential reference to the 2001 AUMF in connection with initiating or continuing military or related action.“
CNN and The Des Moines Register host the last Democratic debate before the Iowa caucuses.
Senate Democrats hoping to rein in President Trump’s ability to wage war against Iran secured majority support Tuesday for Sen. Tim Kaine’s (D-Va.) war powers resolution, but the timing of the measure is now in flux.
In a procedural snafu, Democrats won’t be able to force a vote on the measure until Tuesday at the earliest — the same day the Senate is expected to start Trump’s impeachment trial.
There was no immediate Israeli comment. Israel has carried out dozens of airstrikes on Syria over the past years but it rarely comments on what it targets.
Israel is widely believed to have been behind airstrikes mainly targeting Iranian and Hezbollah forces in Syria that have joined the country’s war fighting alongside the government.
“Nasrallah has not stopped attacking Netanyahu or threatening Israel. As his distress grows, his eloquence increases,” Katz wrote in two separate Hebrew and Arabic-language tweets.
“In the meantime, [Nasrallah] is forced to go down another floor into the bunker in the face of warnings from his Iranian patrons about the possibility of his liquidation. If he challenges Israel – that won’t help him either,” Katz warned.
The immediate theater of friction with Iran isn’t its nuclear program but Soleimani’s legacy of military entrenchment in Syria.
On this score, despite the apparent lull in incidents in recent weeks, Military Intelligence thinks an opportunity has been created to accelerate the pace of attacks against Iran and its allies. And it has urged Israel to seize this opportunity despite its assessment that Iran and Hezbollah will respond militarily if any of their people are killed.
On Tuesday, the three European signatories to the Iran deal — France, Britain and Germany — formally triggered the dispute mechanism, which accuses Iran of violating the agreement and could lead to the restoration of the anti-Iran UN sanctions that had been lifted by the JCPOA.
Tehran has particularly been disappointed with the European trio’s failure to protect its business interests under the deal after the United States‘ withdrawal.
After patiently watching for more than a year and seeing no clear action from the other signatories of the nuclear deal, Iran invoked Articles 26 and 36 of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to let go of some of the limitations put on its nuclear work.
Yet even if we absolve Iowans of responsibility for how the field has culled itself thus far, for the remaining contenders Scher’s headline take — that “Iowa Matters Less Than Ever in 2020” — might turn out to be completely wrong. Indeed, with three weeks to go before the caucus, it’s quite easy to see several scenarios in which Iowa could turn out to be crucial or decisive.