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Xi Declares "New Era" in China -- President Xi Jinping of the People's Republic of China opened the Chinese Communist Party's congress today with a rousing speech declaring a "new era" in which China will take center stage in the world. It will play an important role in the history of humanity because socialism with Chinese characteristics has made China a great power. Or so he said. In truth, the PRC is led by a gang of bandits who, like Marxists everywhere, betray all of their principles in order to retain power. China is recovering from a couple of centuries of dysfunction, but for the most part, China is as China was. [18 October]
ISIS Capital Raqqa Falls, but ISIS Won't Die -- Raqqa, Syria, has served the demonic Islamic State in Syria and Iraq since the monstrous polity was born in early 2014. Earlier today, the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces announced victory over ISIS in Raqqa. There will be mopping up of sleeper cells, but the major fighting is over. That, however, doesn't mean that ISIS is at an end. It will know shift shape from a proto-state to a hazy concept that will inspire weak-minded individuals to engage in terrorism. ISIS is beaten to be sure, but it is not defeated. That will take a different kind of fight. [17 October]
Trump Decertifies Iran Nuclear Deal -- Donald Trump decertified the Iran nuclear deal over the week-end. He did this despite the fact that the deal is working as expected. He has falsely and ignorantly claimed that the deal is not in America's national interests and that it is the worst, most one-sided deal ever negotiated. However, decertification doesn't mean withdrawal, and the president is acting to keep the US in the arrangement despite his decertification. He said, "I am directing my administration to work closely with Congress and our allies to address the deal's many flaws." This is what comes of giving a game-show host the final say in foreign policy. [16 October]
Trump Attacks Obamacare, Owns Problem Now -- It is a well-established fact in Washington that Donald Trump is dedicating his presidency to the eradication of everything Barack Obama achieved in his two terms. Chief among these is the Affordable Care Act, colloquially known as Obamacare. Yesterday, he did two things that will undermine the ACA system. Rather than repeal and replace, Mr. Trump has opted to destroy the current system and leave nothing in its place. As a result, though, any problems with America's healthcare system now will be blamed on him and the Republicans because their "fix" didn't fix things. [13 October]
UK, EU in Brexit Bill Deadlock -- The clock is ticking on the negotiations needed to successfully extricate the UK from the European Union. Article 50, which provides for such a departure, gives the two sides 2 years to settle up, and that means less than 18 months remain since Britain gave notice at the end of March. As of today, there is a deadlock on the payments the UK will have to make, the so-called Brexit bill. The EU Summit next week is critical. If there is not enough progress on the Brexit bill, the summit will be unable to tell the EU negotiator to move ahead with the rest of the talks. Britain needs to settle quickly or risk a no-deal exit. [12 October]
© Copyright 2017 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.
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