Majorityrights News > Category: U.S. Politics

Chinese President Xi Jinping called Rodrigo Duterte’s visit a “milestone” in ties, as he pulled out all the stops to welcome the Philippines’ leader.

Huffington Post, “Philippine President Duterte Announces ‘Separation’ From The U.S.”, 20 Oxt 2016:

BEIJING (Reuters) - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte announced his “separation” from the United States on Thursday, declaring that it had “lost” and he had realigned with China as the two agreed to resolve their South China Sea dispute through talks.

Duterte made his comments in China, where he is visiting with at least 200 business people to pave the way for what he calls a new commercial alliance as relations with longtime ally the United States deteriorate.

His trade secretary, Ramon Lopez, said $13.5 billion in deals would be signed.

Duterte’s efforts to engage China, months after a tribunal ruling in the Hague over South China Sea disputes in favor of the Philippines, marks a reversal in foreign policy since the 71-year-old former mayor took office on June 30.

“America has lost now,” Duterte told Chinese and Philippine business people at a forum in the Great Hall of the People, attended by Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli.

“I’ve realigned myself in your ideological flow and maybe I will also go to Russia to talk to (President Vladimir) Putin and tell him that there are three of us against the world ― China, Philippines and Russia. It’s the only way,” he added.

“With that, in this venue, your honors, in this venue, I announce my separation from the UnitedStates,” Duterte said to applause. “I have separated from them. So I will be dependent on you for all time. But do not worry. We will also help as you help us.”

China has pulled out all the stops to welcome Duterte, including a marching band complete with batton-twirling band master at his official welcoming ceremony outside the Great Hall of the People, which most leaders do not get

Xi told Duterte their countries are now “brothers,” who can “appropriately handle disputes,” in an apparent nod to previous standoffs over the South China Sea.

RED CARPET WELCOME

President Xi Jinping, meeting Duterte earlier in the day, called the visit a “milestone” in ties.

Xi told Duterte that China and the Philippines were brothers and they could “appropriately handle disputes,” though he did not mention the South China Sea in remarks made in front of reporters.

“I hope we can follow the wishes of the people and use this visit as an opportunity to push China-Philippines relations back on a friendly footing and fully improve things,” Xi said.

Following their meeting, during which Duterte said relations with China had entered a new “springtime”, Chinese vice foreign minister Liu Zhenmin said the South China Sea issue was not the sum total of relations.

“The two sides agreed that they will do what they agreed five years ago, that is to pursue bilateral dialogue and consultation in seeking a proper settlement of the South China Sea issue,” Liu said.

China claims most of the energy-rich South China Sea through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. Neighbours Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims.

In 2012, China seized the disputed Scarborough Shoal and denied Philippine fishermen access to its fishing grounds.

Liu said the shoal was not mentioned and he did not answer a question about whether Philippinefishermen would be allowed there. He said both countries had agreed on coastguard and fisheries cooperation, but did not give details.

Duterte’s declaration of a separation with the U.S. comes after he called President Barack Obama a “son of a bitch” and told him to “go to hell” while alluding to severing ties with the old colonial power.

SEA ROW TAKES ‘BACK SEAT’

Duterte’s tone toward Beijing is in contrast to the language he has used against the United States, after being infuriated by U.S. criticism of his bloody war on drugs.

He has called U.S. President Barack Obama a “son of a bitch” and told him to “go to hell” while alluding to severing ties with the old colonial power.

On Wednesday, to the cheers of hundreds of Filipinos in Beijing, Duterte said Philippine foreign policy was veering toward China.

“I will not go to America anymore. We will just be insulted there,” Duterte said. “So time to say goodbye my friend.”

The same day, about 1,000 anti-U.S. protesters gathered outside the U.S. embassy in Manila calling for the removal of U.S. troops from the southern island of Mindanao.

Duterte on Wednesday said the South China Sea arbitration case would “take the back seat” during talks, and that he would wait for the Chinese to bring up the issue rather than doing so himself.

Xi said issues that could not be immediately be resolved should be set aside, according to the Chinese foreign ministry.

China has welcomed the Philippines approaches, even as Duterte has vowed not to surrender any sovereignty to Beijing, which views the South China Sea Hague ruling as null and void.

China has also expressed support for his drug war, which has raised concern in Western capitals about extrajudicial killing.

Duterte’s overtures to China have been accompanied by signs of improving business ties with the world’s second largest economy.

China’s Liu said Beijing will restore Philippine agricultural exports to China and provide financing for Philippine infrastructure.

Interesting that The Huffington Post made this the caption beneath the title of its article, though there is nothing in the article that discusses Russia -

“America has lost now,” Rodrigo Duterte said, flagging closer ties with China and Russia during a visit to Beijing.

There is a strange misconception circulating among some in the west that Russia and China are good friends, some speaking as if they are practically joined at the hip.

And speaking of NOT friends, there are some interesting facts to come about the history of The US in The Philippines - a history that will explain much as to why The Philippines would be eager to declare their separatism and The US the loser.

        Trump Endorsed Hillary, said that he liked both her and Bill very much.

Time, “In 2012, as Obama was running for re-election, Trump called Clinton “terrific” again in an interview with Fox News, saying she performed well as Secretary of State.”

Trump commending Hillary’s run for office, “likes her and her husband”

Trump: Hillary Clinton I think is a terrific woman, he told Greta Van Susteren. I am biased because I have known her for years. I live in New York. She lives in New York. I really like her and her husband both a lot. I think she really works hard. I think, again, she’s given an agenda, it is not all of her, but I think she really works hard and I think she does a good job. I like her.

Van Susteren: You said she’s out at the end of this term, do you think we’re going to see her again running for office?

Trump: I think so, assuming she’s healthy, which I hope she will be, I think she probably runs after the next four years, I would imagine.

Van Susteren: Do you support her?

Trump: I don’t want to get into this because I don’t want to get myself into trouble…

Van Susteren (interrupting): That’s why I asked you, to see if you’d get into trouble.

Trump: I just like her. I like her and I like her husband. Her husband made a speech on Monday at Mar-a-Lago (Palm Beach mansion owned by Trump) and it was very well received. He’s a really good guy and she’s a really good person and woman.

Trump’s hypocrisy indicates that the 2016 election is more characteristic of two sides of the same coin - a position that racialists used to be more wryly accustomed-to prior to the largely successful effort by the Republican party to co-opt White Nationalism. Recall Gov. George Wallace’s statement oft cited by WN, that “there’s not a dime’s worth of difference between the Democrat and Republican Party.”

In additional hypocrisy - 1998: Trump calls Paula Jones “a loser”, says that “she may be responsible for bringing-down a standing President (Clinton) indirectly.”

The Slatest, “Watch Donald Trump Call Paula Jones “a Loser” in 1998 Interview”, 9 Oct 2016:

Shortly before the second presidential debate started, Donald Trump held a jaw-dropping “news conference” with three women who have accused Bill Clinton of sexual assault (and a third whose accused rapist was represented by Hillary Clinton). One of those women was Paula Jones, a former Arkansas state employee who sued Bill Clinton for sexual harassment.

Trump is now trying to portray himself as the champion for the women, yet he didn’t feel the same way in 1998. “Paula Jones is a loser, but the fact is that she may be responsible for bringing down a president indirectly,” Trump said in an interview with Chris Matthews on August 28, 1998. The interview took place mere days after Bill Clinton acknowledged he had an inappropriate relationship with Monica Lewinsky.

..and the “loser” is…

Jones had filed a lawsuit against Clinton, saying he had made inappropriate sexual advances toward her while he was governor of Arkansas. That suit was settled for $850,000 with no admission of guilt.

A bonus on what Trump used to think about Bill Clinton’s accusers is that he once pretty much said the only reason why the then-president got in trouble was because Lewinsky was ugly. “It’s sad because he would go down as a great President if he had not had this scandal,” Trump said in a 1999 interview with Maureen Dowd. “People would have been more forgiving if he’d had an affair with a really beautiful woman of sophistication. Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe were on a different level.

        ...Al Goldstein would have taken a lot less than a $850,000 pay-off.

        More, Trump has about-faced on “pro-choice versus pro-life” as well...

READ MORE...

Breitbart, ” New Bill Clinton Sexual Assault Accuser Urges Other Potential Victims To Go Public”, 20 Oct 2016:

Las Vegas — Speaking in a Breitbart News video exclusive interview, Leslie Millwee, the former local television news reporter from Arkansas who claims she was sexually assaulted by Bill Clinton in 1980, is urging other potential sexual assault victims of the former president to go public.

“I encourage anyone else that went through a similar situation that I did to come forward because these people need to be held accountable for their behavior,” Millwee stated.

Millwee was asked by this reporter whether she is afraid now that she has gone public.

She replied:

“I’m afraid because I know the moral compass and the lack of integrity that I feel the Clintons have. I think there’s been no accountability by the media for many of the illegal things that they have done. No one seems to hold them accountable for their behavior. And am I afraid they will try to do something to me? Of course I am. But I’m also willing at this point. This needs to be said…

“And Hillary is just as culpable as he is in the fact that she helped him cover this up for all those years and harass the women that were raped victims and victims of sexual harassment. So, am I afraid? A little bit. But I am more afraid not to tell the truth and not to bring this to light.”

Millwee told her story for the first time in a Breitbart News exclusive interview published on Wednesday. She claims she was assaulted by Clinton on three separate occasions in 1980.

Millwee says that on two of the alleged occasions, Clinton groped her in a small, isolated television editing room while he rubbed himself against her and reached climax.

After these alleged sexual assaults, Millwee claims, Clinton showed up at her apartment and knocked on her door for several minutes while trying to talk his way inside.  She says that Clinton departed after she purportedly refused to respond.

ANTIMEDIA, “What Everyone is Missing About the Wikileaks Podesta Emails” -  By Alice Salles 17 Oct 2016:

With WikiLeaks’ massive dump of emails tied to John Podesta, the former Chief of Staff to President Bill Clinton who now serves as Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign chairman, most news outlets focused on Podesta’s link to Mrs. Clinton, the current Democratic presidential candidate. But what few noticed is how Podesta’s emails may help us learn how President Barack Obama may have picked individuals for his top administration positions.

According to the emails published by WikiLeaks, Podesta, a former counselor to President Barack Obama who, in 2008, served as co-chair of Obama’s transition team, received an email on October 6, 2008, from Michael Froman, the current U.S. trade representative. At the time, Froman was a top executive at Citigroup.

Just a month before the election, an email from Froman with the subject “Lists” carried three attachments: A list of “African American, Latino and Asian American candidates, … plus a list of Native American, Arab/Muslim American and Disabled American candidates;” “a similar document on women;” and an outline of 31 cabinet-level positions, how they “might be put together,” and who would fill them.

In the email, Froman reassures Podesta the lists “will continue to grow, … but these are the names to date that seem to be coming up as recommended by various sources for senior level jobs.”

But looking back, it’s clear that at least the cabinet list ended up being the most valuable document, considering that most of the names “scoped out” by Citigroup’s Michael Froman went on to be picked by the Obama administration.

As explained by the New Republic:

“The cabinet list ended up being almost entirely on the money. It correctly identified Eric Holder for the Justice Department, Janet Napolitano for Homeland Security, Robert Gates for Defense, Rahm Emanuel for chief of staff, Peter Orszag for the Office of Management and Budget, Arne Duncan for Education, Eric Shinseki for Veterans Affairs, Kathleen Sebelius for Health and Human Services, Melody Barnes for the Domestic Policy Council, et al.”

While this email was sent on October 6th, the exchanges between Podesta and Froman suggest the lists had been floating around long before that, proving that, as many had long suspected, this was just the tip of the iceberg; we now know executives were pulling the strings long before Obama was even elected.

Up until that point, candidate Obama had advertised himself as an anti-corporatist candidate, promising he would arrive at the White House and rid Washington of the “revolving door curse.” Nevertheless, Obama apparently set his promise aside before he was even elected, allowing a top Citigroup executive to pick the top names of his administration long before said executive joined his transition team.

With more revelations coming from the massive WikiLeaks’ dump, this small footnote seems to be getting little attention from mainstream media. This is, perhaps, because it paints President Obama in a bad light. Regardless, it’s important to note that what many call crony capitalism is alive and well in Washington and that the Democratic candidate from 2008 — much like the Democratic candidate of 2016 — may have promised to stand firm against big corporations and their influence while in office, only to act completely differently behind the curtain.

Yes, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is a disaster. But he’s not that different from Mrs. Clinton.

And as we now know, thanks to WikiLeaks, the old batch of Democratic top leaders and cronies continue to run the show, propping up the same politicians of yesteryear whose promises have already been broken repeatedly and whose policy positions remain flexible, just waiting for the highest bidder. Will we fall for it this time?

Hillary Leaks: Pick Your Outrage

Breitbart 17 Oct 2016:

“Obama and Eric Holder Launch PAC for ‘Fairer’ Redistricting Maps”

President Barack Obama plans to team up after he leaves office with former Attorney General Eric Holder to launch a new political action committee to press for redistricting reform.

According to Politico, the National Democratic Redistricting Committee was “developed in close consultation with the White House” and that Obama himself has identified with the group.

“American voters deserve fair maps that represent our diverse communities—and we need a coordinated strategy to make that happen,” Holder said in a statement. “This unprecedented new effort will ensure Democrats have a seat at the table to create fairer maps after 2020.”

Democratic leadership in statehouses and congress is being decimated by Obama’s policies. The president routinely complains about gerrymandering, saying that is making things unfair for Democrats across the country.

In August 2015, Obama discussed at length his feelings on a system that he suggested was rigged to favor Republicans.

“I think political gerrymandering has resulted in a situation in which — with 80 percent Democratic districts or 80 percent Republican districts and no competition, that that leads to more and more polarization in Congress, and it gets harder and harder to get things done,” he said during an interview with NPR.

During his State of the Union address in 2016, Obama called for an end of the current boundaries, suggesting that the political map was rigged to favor extreme candidates.

”We have to end the practice of drawing our congressional districts so that politicians can pick their voters and not the other way around,” he said, vowing to “travel the country to push for reforms” to make it easier for people to vote.