Philip Breedlove: Russia exploiting Ukraine cease-fire - Washington Times: “Russia is blatantly attempting to change the rules and principles that have been the foundation of European security for decades,” he added. “The challenge posed by a resurgent Russia is global, not regional, and enduring, not temporary.” | China-Russia alliance challenges U.S., Western-dominated world order - Washington Times
- Get link
- X
- Other Apps
Philip Breedlove: Russia exploiting Ukraine cease-fire - Washington Times:
“Russia is blatantly attempting to change the rules and principles that have been the foundation of European security for decades,” he added. “The challenge posed by a resurgent Russia is global, not regional, and enduring, not temporary.”
Gen. Breedlove told lawmakers the current situation in eastern Ukraine remains “volatile” and “fragile” roughly two months after the signing of a February cease-fire. “Russian forces used the opportunities provided by the recent lull in fighting to reset and reposition while protecting their gains,” the general said.
“We have seen a period of what I would call ‘resetting’ and preparing, training and equipping to have the capacity to again take an offensive,” he said, although he stressed it is difficult to predict Moscow’s next move because of limitations on U.S. surveillance in the region.
China-Russia alliance challenges U.S., Western-dominated world order - Washington Times
BBC News |
Great patriotic war, again
The Economist ON MAY 9th 150 Russian military aircraft will streak across the Moscow sky, 16,000 troops will march through Red Square and three intercontinental ballistic missiles will be put on display, all in celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Soviet Union ... Russia beat Hitler with tanks. Now it's showing off the tank of the future.Washington Post (blog) Russia unveils new Armata tank for WW2 victory paradeBBC News Russia's Latest Armata T-14 Tank Unveiled Ahead Of World War II Victory ParadeInternational Business Times Economic Times all 99 news articles » |
USA TODAY |
Kim Jong Un cancels Russia trip
USA TODAY Kim Jong Un canceled plans to visit Russia in the coming weeks, citing internal issues in North Korea, according to a statement from the Kremlin on Thursday. The highly anticipated trip would have been Kim's first official foreign visit since taking ... Kim Jong Un's visit to Moscow is off, Russian official saysCNN |
North Korea's Kim Jong Un Won't Be Visiting Moscow, Russia SaysNBCNews.com
Moscow is a no-go for Kim Jong-un as he cancels planned visit to RussiaThe Guardian
The Independent-Wall Street Journal-Telegraph.co.uk
all 274 news articles »
Reuters |
Chinese and Russian Navies to Hold Joint Drills in Mediterranean
New York Times With Russia's isolation from the West over the crisis in Ukraine, and with China's concern about a more intimate American-Japanese alliance, it suits President Xi Jinping of China and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to advertise their friendship ... China, Russia to hold first joint Mediterranean naval drills in MayReuters China-Russia alliance challenges U.S., Western-dominated world orderWashington Times China-Russia |
CBS News-
Voice of America
all 148 news articles »
The Globe and Mail |
U.S. Commander: Russia Seems Set for New Offensive in Ukraine
U.S. News & World Report WASHINGTON (AP) — The top U.S. commander for NATO said Thursday that America needs better intelligence on the ground in Ukraine, but that it appears Russian forces have used a recent lull in fighting to reposition for another offensive. Gen. Ukraine minister dismisses Russian concerns, praises Canada's militaryThe Globe and Mail all 721 news articles » |
Reuters |
Russia may be readying for new Ukraine offensive: NATO commander
Reuters WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Russia's military may be taking advantage of a recent lull in fighting in eastern Ukraine to lay the groundwork for a new military offensive, NATO's top commander told the U.S. Congress on Thursday. U.S. Air Force General Philip ... US, other Western leaders to snub Russia's Victory Day paradeUSA TODAY |
U.S. Commander: Russia Seems Set for New Offensive in UkraineU.S. News & World Report
US commander: Russia appears to be repositioning for a new offensive in UkraineFox News
all 731 news articles »
Washington Times |
Philip Breedlove: Russia exploiting Ukraine cease-fire
Washington Times Russia-backed rebels take positions on the outskirts of Donetsk, Ukraine in April. Air Force Gen. Philip M. Breedlove said that Russia and pro-Russia separatist forces exploited the cease-fire to “reset and reposition themselves” in eastern Ukraine ... |
Why NATO is terrified of RussiaRT (blog)
NATO General Sees Threat of Rebel Offensive in Ukraine Wall Street Journal
NATO Commander: Russia May Be Preparing New Ukraine OffensiveVoice of America
ValueWalk-The Moscow Times-Press TV
all 56 news articles »
Next Page of Stories
Loading...
Page 2
Engadget |
Russia launches its third 'world's quietest' submarine
Engadget Russian defense contractor Admiralty Shipyards launched the latest of its ultra-modern Varshavyanka-class diesel-electric submarines earlier this week. Dubbed the Krasnodar, this sub is the third of six its class. These vessels are primarily designed ... |
Engadget |
Russia launches its third 'world's quietest' submarine
Engadget Russian defense contractor Admiralty Shipyards launched the latest of its ultra-modern Varshavyanka-class diesel-electric submarines earlier this week. Dubbed the Krasnodar, this sub is the third of six its class. These vessels are primarily designed ... |
Washington Times |
China-Russia alliance challenges U.S., Western-dominated world order
Washington Times Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping are said to have a budding “bromance.” Their nations plan joint naval exercises in the Mediterranean and cooperation in China's proposed development bank. (Associated Press) more >. Chinese and Russian Navies to Hold Joint Drills in MediterraneanNew York Times China, Russia to hold first joint Mediterranean naval drills in MayReuters China-Russia navies to hold first Mediterranean joint drillsYahoo News CBS News -Voice of America all 155 news articles » |
- Svetlana Lokhova, 34, says gruelling legal battle was 'waste of three years'
- Won case against bank Sberbank - where she won aggravated damages as judge found drug allegations were false - but called it a 'hollow victory'
- Said she had gone through 'hell' with it and had taken its toll on her health
- Has now cautioned other victims thinking of pursuing a similar claim
Published: 13:04 EST, 30 April 2015 | Updated: 18:32 EST, 30 April 2015
Copy link to paste in your message
In her first interview since the ruling, Miss Lokhova says her huge pay-out – including £3.14million for lost earnings, £44,000 for hurt feelings and £15,000 in aggravated damages – has been a hollow victory
A banker dubbed 'Crazy Miss Cokehead' by her bosses claims her £3million was not worth the gruelling legal battle and the toll on her health.
Cambridge University graduate Svetlana Lokhova, 34, was driven to a breakdown by a 'vicious' campaign of sexual harassment by bullying male colleagues.
She won her case against Russian investment bank Sberbank after judges accepted she was unfairly forced to leave her £750,000-a-year role in London.
But Miss Lokhova says her huge pay-out – including £3.14million for lost earnings, £44,000 for hurt feelings and £15,000 in aggravated damages – has been a hollow victory.
Speaking for the first time since the ruling at the Central London Employment Tribunal, she said most of the compensation would go to the taxman and her legal team.
Asked if her fraught three-and-a-half legal battle and millions of pounds spent on legal bills had been worth it, she told the BBC: 'Of course it wasn't worth it.
'People who think you come out of court as a – that's just not true.
'Everyone loses out.
'What a waste of three years of my life, a waste of health, a waste of money.'
The Russian shipping broker's daughter said 'hell' would be a nice way of describing what she had been through, adding: 'The effect that it had on my life is absolutely terrible and it's very difficult to feel victorious.
'It's actually very, very sad. Sad for everyone, there is no victory in this.
Miss Lokhova began working on the equity sales desk at the bank in 2011, but immediately noticed a 'strange' atmosphere and heard reports that bosses were calling her 'derogatory names' behind her back.
Copy link to paste in your message
Svetlana Lokhova won her case against bank Sberbank after judges accepted she was unfairly forced to leave her £750,000-a-year role in London
Six months into her new post, she was placed on sick leave by her doctor after the 'toxic atmosphere' became too much to bear.
But it was only when her lawyer contacted the company to ask them to hand over written communication about her that she learned the extent of the bullying.
Her direct boss David Longmuir had sent emails to colleagues and clients in major investment banks calling her names like 'Miss Bonkers', 'Crazy Miss Cokehead' and a 'schizo nightmare'.
She said I just remember opening the first page and everything just going blank and me just bursting into tears and dropping the file.
'My whole career flashed in front of me, and to have somebody just basically just take it away from me like this, I just couldn't understand.'
Copy link to paste in your message
Miss Lokhova worked in Sberbank's Fleet Street office (pictured) where she claimed she was victimised before being unfairly dismissed
In 2012, the bank conducted a disciplinary hearing against Miss Lokhova's boss Mr Longmuir.
The hearing apparently lasted just five minutes and he accepted his comments were unacceptable. He was later given a £168,000 pay off by the bank.
A year later, her case for sex discrimination, harassment and victimisation proved a bruising experience when she was wrongly accused of being a drug user.
She voluntarily took a drugs test, which proved negative, saying: 'I've never taken any drugs in my life'.
But it took another 18 months before she was finally awarded £3.2million damages, which included a for 'aggravated damages' because judges said the bank accused her of using drugs, knowing it was not true.
Miss Lokhova says she will never be able to work in finance again and that almost all of her will go on legal bills.
Copy link to paste in your message
Six months into her new post, she was placed on sick leave by her doctor after the 'toxic atmosphere' became too much to bear.
The Moscow-born banker told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'I am one of the lucky ones in the sense that I obviously had some personal wealth because I have been in banking for a very long time.
'I then obviously borrowed heavily from friends but, even now, I am left with a situation where lawyers have charge over my houses, so everything is basically going to go to lawyers.'
The case follows another high-profile sex discrimination claim after an executive said she was denied millions of pounds in bonuses when she fell pregnant.
Sonia Pereiro-Mendez, 37, received an out-of-court settlement this month from investment bank Goldman Sachs after claiming she was subjected to sexist comments and cheated out of her fair share of pay and bonuses.
Before she could give evidence, the mother-of-two reached an agreement with the bank believed to be worth in excess of £1million.
A spokesperson for Sberbank said: 'Sberbank CIB has appealed the Employment Tribunal's decision and cannot therefore comment on specifics, save for noting its view that the judgment itself contains numerous legal and factual errors.
The firm continues to believe that the incidents under consideration were isolated and are unrepresentative of its working environment.
Sberbank CIB and its management are committed to equal opportunities, will continue to have due regard to all lessons to be learnt and have long-since taken steps to prevent such a situation from arising in the future.'
Share or comment on this article
Read the whole story
· · · · · · · · · · ·
NEWS
James Comey: No evidence of terrorist movements on border
MCALLEN, Texas - Two years into his 10-year tenure as the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, James B. Comey paid his first visit to the agency's field office in deep South Texas, one of the busiest in the nation.
"What a beautiful place to live. You're very lucky," Comey said.
He said even so, the FBI and its local, state and federal partners in law enforcement have their hands full with cases of public corruption, cartel-related kidnappings and more.
However, he discounted fears and rumors about terrorism on both sides of the border.
"I do not see any indication of terrorists using the southwest border to cross with the assistance of the cartels or otherwise," Comey said.
He also said he has no evidence of any terrorist training camps on either side of the border.
"That's just false," he said.
He said groups like ISIL may have the desire, but not the means to stage an "outside-in attack."
Comey said ISIL instead uses the Internet and social media to spread its beliefs and recruit members worldwide. However, the FBI director said the agency and its Mexican counterparts are monitoring any movements in that regard.
Also, given the recent riots in Baltimore, Comey voiced his frustration with the lack of specific data on violent encounters between police and civilians.
"I cannot tell you ... how many people were shot by police in the U.S. in the last week, last month or last year," Comey said.
He said, "That tells me that every conversation we're having in this country about policing and race, policing and violence, is uninformed."
The FBI director said the government cannot force local law enforcement agencies to submit each case to the agency's National Incident Based Reporting System.
He said being a voluntary process, many local law enforcement agencies don't have the funds to do what's needed.
But the FBI director said he is hoping Congress can help with the situation.
Copyright 2015 by KSAT - All rights reserved.
Read the whole story
· ·
German police have stopped an Islamist terror attack, possibly targeting a cycling race attended by thousands every year in Frankfurt.
Officers arrested a couple with suspected militant links after the husband was spotted buying large amounts of bomb-making chemicals, Frankfurt's chief prosecutor Albrecht Schreiber told a news conference.
They found a functioning pipe bomb, an assault rifle, 100 rounds of ammunition, three litres of hydrogen peroxide, and other chemicals used for explosives in their home in Oberursel, near Frankfurt, he said.
The 35-year-old man held has dual Turkish-German citizenship and a criminal record, said police. His Turkish wife, 34, was also arrested.
Police search woodland outside Oberursel in connection with the arrests
Two young children found in their home are being cared for by social services.
Police said they decided to detain the man after he bought large amounts of chemicals used in explosives under a false name.
He was also seen walking along the route of Frankfurt's May Day cycling race, which attracts thousands of participants and spectators every year.
"Suspicions were heightened in recent days by the fact that the accused (man) was observed in the area where tomorrow's cycling race will take place," Mr Schreiber told reporters.
"The result of the raid shows that our suspicions were confirmed."
He added: "I want to emphasise that an attack was prevented, but it will have to be seen whether a concrete attack against tomorrow's cycle race was planned."
State police chief Stefan Mueller was asked whether the pair were planning an attack similar to the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, which killed three and injured more than 260 spectators.
He said: "Clearly since the Boston Marathon these security concerns have been part of the considerations of how to deal with that (danger) before every marathon race in Germany - and that is also valid for cycle races."
German newspaper Die Welt quoted security sources as saying the husband and wife have links to Salafist militants in Frankfurt as well as the al Qaeda terror network.
Salafists advocate a puritanical form of Islam and are growing in number in Germany, as are the number of potential recruits for Islamic State (IS), says the country's BfV domestic intelligence agency.
Some 450 people from Germany have travelled to Syria and Iraq to join jihadist forces, BfV estimates.
Read the whole story
· · ·
Retired FBI supervisor Robert Fitzpatrick was arraigned Thursday at John Joseph Moakley Federal Courthouse for lying under oath during the 2013 James J. “Whitey” Bulger trial to help Bulger’s defense and enhance his own credibility as a witness. The former FBI agent pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The federal indictment, filed on Tuesday, charges the 75-year-old Fitzpatrick with six counts of perjury and six counts of obstruction of justice. Fitzpatrick, who now lives in Charlestown, Rhode Island, worked for the FBI from 1965 to 1986. He worked in the Boston division of the FBI and supervised the organized crime department in the late 1980s.
Bulger was an informant to Fitzpatrick’s organized crime division in Boston from 1975 to 1990, according to the indictment. In November 2013, Bulger was sentenced by a federal judge to two life sentences plus five years in prison.
The indictment says Fitzpatrick under oath made “false material declarations designed to aid Bulger’s defense” during his testimony on July 29 and 30, 2013 and testified falsely about his accomplishments to enhance his own credibility as a former FBI official.
According to Kevin Cullen’s account of the trial at the time for The Boston Globe, at one point in the 2013 cross-examination, prosecutor Brian Kelly asked Fitzpatrick: “It’s fair to say that you’re a man who likes to make up stories?”
Fitzpatrick’s attorney, Robert M. Goldstein, said after the hearing that his client “adamantly maintains his innocence and looks forward to challenging the government’s accusations as soon as possible.”
At the courthouse on Thursday afternoon, federal prosecutors said the government is not seeking detention of Fitzpatrick, and Judge Donald Cabell released the defendant on a $50,000 bond. But Fitzpatrick must abide by travel restrictions and surrender his passport. The retired FBI agent must also surrender all three of his guns. He’ll next appear in court on June 10.
The indictment
Many of Fitzpatrick’s claims have also served as the basis for his public profile since the case. In April 2001, he was the subject of “The FBI and the Mob” segment on 60 Minutes where he described himself as a the agent who tried to end the FBI’s relationship with Bulger. His 2011 book, Betrayal, Whitey Bulger and the FBI Agent Who Fought To Bring Him Down, makes similar claims.
The indictment falsifies the claims that he has made publicly for more than a decade: “From approximately 1998 through the present, the defendant Fitzpatrick has falsely held himself out as a whistleblower who tried to end the FBI’s relationship with Bulger.”
The following is a list of the testimony Fitzpatrick is being indicted for. For each of these claims, he has been charged both with perjury and obstruction of justice.
Charge 1: Fitzpatrick claimed that he met with the assistant director of the FBI and received special instructions for his job and assignment to Boston.
Here is Fitzpatrick’s testimony:
“I was given a sit-down by, I think, Roy McKinnon, I remember his name, and he basically told me they had problems up in Boston, major problems. He wasn’t specific, really didn’t outline the entire problem, but he said they were significant, and my job was to come...”
According to the indictment, Fitzpatrick’s transfer to Boston was a “routine reassignment and he received no special instructions from Assistant Director McKinnon.”
Charge 2: Fitzpatrick testified that Bulger told him that he was not an FBI informant. According to the testimony, Fitzpatrick said: “At one point, he even said he wasn’t an informant. He said, I’m not an informant.”
According to the indictment, Bulger “never denied to the defendant Robert Fitzpatrick that Bulger was an informant.”
Charge 3: Also, with regard to “closing” Bulger as an informant (referring to closing his file or terminating his role as an informant), the indictment tears apart Fitzpatrick’s testimony.
“Well, there were some who didn’t like the fact that I was making that proposal, to close Bulger,” Fitzpatrick testified.
The indictment says “Fitzpatrick never advocated that [Bulger] be closed as an FBI informant.”
Charge 4: In reference to his demotion, when he was moved to Rhode Island, Fitzpatrick testified it was “absolutely not true” that he was “reduced in grade from a 15 to a 13 because of charges related to an investigation into a shooting incident.”
The indictment says that Fitzpatrick lied about his demotion. Fitzpatrick resigned from the FBI shortly after an “adverse personnel action” that resulted in a demotion and reassignment to the Providence, Rhode Island field office of the FBI. He was demoted because he falsified reports about his investigation into a shooting incident, not because he was facing retaliation from other agents for speaking up about corruption, which is what he testified. He resigned in 1986.
Charge 5: Fitzpatrick is also charged with perjury for saying in his 2013 testimony that he arrested Gennaro “Jerry” Angiulo (a New England mob boss in the Mafia).
The testimony:
Fitzpatrick. “I did arrest Angiulo.”
Q: Okay. That’s your testimony under oath, sir?
Fitzpatrick: Yes.
Q: Sir, isn’t it a fact that the case agent on Angiulo was Ed Quinn?
Fitzpatrick: Yeah, he was a ride-along with me. I was the ASAC in charge. I went to the table and put the arrest right on Angiulo.
Q: That’s a total bald-face lie, isn’t it?
Fitzpatrick: No, it’s not.
Charge 6: The indictment also charges Fitzpatrick with perjury for his claims that he found the gun that killed Martin Luther King Jr. when he was assasinated on April 4, 1968. The prosecution charges that Fitzpatrick was not the first officer at the scene to recover the weapon.
The testimony:
Q: Now, in addition to claiming credit for the Anguilo arrest, haven’t you in fact pretended that you were the one who found the rifle that killed Martin Luther King? Haven’t you made that claim in the past?
Fitzpatrick: I found the rifle when I was at the scene. I was the first FBI agent at the scene, and I found a rifle coming down the stairs, having just missed James Earl Ray, the shooter. The rifle was in the alcove, and there’s a report to that.
[...]
Q: Isn’t it true that three Memphis police officers found the rifle that was used to kill Martin Luther King, not Bob Fitzpatrick?
Fitspatrick: I found the rifle along with them. They could have been there, Captain Zach was there, Captain Zachary, but I’m the one that took the rifle ...
Read the whole story
· · · · ·
Next Page of Stories
Loading...
Page 2
Posted
The French government says it is investigating claims that its peacekeepers sexually abused children in the Central African Republic.
It said the abuse was alleged by around 10 children and reportedly took place at a centre for internally displaced people near the airport of the capital Bangui between December 2013 and June 2014.
A report in Britain's The Guardian newspaper said children as young as nine were involved, and that some were abused while searching desperately for food or money.
The regular sex abuse by peacekeeping personnel uncovered here and the United Nations' appalling disregard for victims are stomach-turning.AIDS-Free World co-director Paula Donovan
France's defence ministry said prosecutors had "immediately" opened a case into the abuse after receiving the news last year, and that police investigators had travelled to the Central African Republic on August 1 to look into the case.
"The defence ministry has taken and will take the necessary measures to allow the truth to be found," it said in a statement.
"If the facts are proven, the strongest penalties will be imposed on those responsible for what would be an intolerable attack on soldiers' values."
France sent troops to the Central African Republic in December 2013 as the country became engulfed in violence following a coup in March that toppled longtime leader Francois Bozize.
UN spokesman Farhan Haq confirmed that its rights investigators had conducted a probe last year following "serious allegations" of child abuse and sexual exploitation by French troops.
The internal report was commissioned by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and passed on The Guardian via advocacy group Aids-Free World.
"The regular sex abuse by peacekeeping personnel uncovered here and the United Nations' appalling disregard for victims are stomach-turning, but the awful truth is that this isn't uncommon," Paula Donovan, co-director of Aids-Free World, told The Guardian.
"The UN's instinctive response to sexual violence in its ranks — ignore, deny, cover up, dissemble — must be subjected to a truly independent commission of inquiry with total access."
The UN aid worker, Swedish national Anders Kompass, is based in Geneva and leaked the report to French authorities because his bosses had failed to take action, The Guardian reported.
He has been suspended and faces dismissal for breaching protocol, the paper said.
Mr Kompass is said to have passed on the confidential document before it was presented to senior OHCHR officials.
"This constitutes a serious breach of protocol, which, as is well known to all OHCHR officials, requires redaction of any information that could endanger victims, witnesses and investigators," UN spokesman Farhan Haq.
Since December 2013, violence has displaced nearly 900,000 people in the Central African Republic, including more than 460,000 who have become refugees — 10 per cent of the population.
AFP
Read the whole story
· · ·
FBI's role, previously undisclosed, runs counter to US longstanding public opposition to paying ransoms
A still of American doctor Warren Weinstein from a December 2013 video. PHOTO: AFP
WASHINGTON: The FBI facilitated a 2012 ransom payment of $250,000 to al Qaeda from the family of a kidnapped US aid worker later killed in a drone strike, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s role, previously undisclosed, runs counter to Washington’s longstanding public opposition to paying ransoms to secure the release of hostages.
An FBI spokesperson said she was unable to comment on the matter due to “an ongoing investigation.”
But ABC News reported at the weekend that a National Counterterrorism Center advisory group, acting on White House orders, is expected to recommend that US officials stop prosecuting families of American hostages who communicate with kidnappers abroad or raise funds and pay ransoms.
Warren Weinstein was snatched by al Qaeda in Pakistan in 2011 and killed with fellow hostage and Italian aid worker Giovanni Lo Porta in a CIA drone strike in January targeting a suspected hideout of the terror group in Pakistan’s tribal areas.
The Journal said the FBI vetted a Pakistani middleman used by the Weinstein family to transport the $250,000 ransom payment and provided additional intelligence for an exchange.
The Pakistani intermediary told the newspaper that the ransom was transferred to kidnappers in 2012 in $100 bills in Peshawar, but Weinstein was never released.
White House spokesperson Josh Earnest emphasised Wednesday that the US government does not “make concessions to terrorists.”
“The policy that’s been in place throughout the six years of the Obama administration, and that was in place during the previous administration as well, is one that continues to be in place right now,” he said.
US officials told the newspaper that FBI agents did not directly authorise or approve ransom payments, which would have violated US hostage policy, and instead provided the information in part to protect the family.
A family spokesperson said over the weekend that Weinstein’s relatives “took the advice of those in government who deal with such issues on a regular basis and were disappointed that their efforts were not ultimately successful.”
According to The Wall Street Journal, the FBI indicated to the family that a ransom payment was probably the best of several unattractive options to try to secure Weinstein’s release.
But the FBI also warned the family that al Qaeda might not release Weinstein even after receiving the money.
Because US law enforcement and spy agencies did not have credible intelligence about Weinstein’s location in Pakistan at any given point, a rescue mission was not a realistic option, officials told the newspaper.
Read the whole story
· · · ·
GOP presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz answers questions posed by Javier Palomarez, president and CEO of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. (Cliff Owen, AP)
After days of tensions in Baltimore, GOP presidential hopeful Ted Cruz said President Obama has “inflamed” racial tensions.
“President Obama, when he was elected, could have been a unifying leader,” the Texas senator said at a U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce forum Wednesday. “He has made decisions that I think have inflamed racial tensions.”
Baltimore was trying to right itself Wednesday, following violence that erupted earlier in the week after the funeral of Freddie Gray, a black man who suffered a spinal cord injury while in police custody. Obama has condemned the rioting and vowed there will be a thorough investigation of the circumstances surrounding Gray’s death.
Cruz cited a remark made by Vice President Biden during the 2012 presidential campaign that Mitt Romney and the GOP are “going to put y’all back in chains.” The Romney campaign seized on the comment as a “new low,” while the Obama campaign said the context of Biden’s comment was meant to convey the risks of letting Wall Street operate unregulated under Republicans.
When asked to give an example of how Obama has inflamed racial tensions, Cruz said: “He has not used his role as president to bring us together. He has exacerbated racial misunderstanding and racial tension.”
Cruz cited Obama’s facilitation in 2009 of what’s known as the “beer summit,” in which the president brought together Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates and Sgt. James Crowley of the Cambridge, Mass., police force, at the White House after a racially charged dispute.
For more than an hour, Cruz answered a variety of questions about energy independence, the economy, and appealing to Hispanic voters that were posed by Hispanic Chamber President and CEO Javier Palomarez. The organization, which represents 3.2 million Hispanic business owners, hopes to have similar sessions with other presidential candidates.
On the subject of immigration, Cruz repeated criticisms of the Senate bill that would have tightened border security and granted a path to citizenship to undocumented immigrants already in the United States.
Cruz charged that Obama and Democrats “treat immigration as a political cudgel to scare Hispanics” into voting for them. He said it would be better if Republicans and Democrats would focus on areas of agreement — such as increasing tech worker visas or boosting the border patrol. “We don’t have to solve every issue all at once,” he said.
Pablo Manriquez, director of Hispanic media for the Democratic National Committee, pushed back on Cruz’s claims.
“For millions of people seeking a better life in America, this isn’t about politics,” Manriquez said, standing by Obama’s executive actions on immigration and a comprehensive approach to overhauling the nation’s complex immigration system.
“Republicans like Ted Cruz are the ones playing politics with the future of these families by obstructing commonsense policies that keep families together and refusing to pass immigration reform,” he said.
Read the whole story
· · ·
 TIME |
Cruz Walks a Careful Line on Immigration Reform
TIME Texas Senator and Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz cast himself as a supporter of immigration reform on Wednesday, while criticizing Democrats for killing prospects of a bipartisan deal by insisting on a pathway to citizenship for undocumented ... and more » |
 USA TODAY |
Ted Cruz charges Obama has 'inflamed racial tensions'
USA TODAY GOP presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz answers questions posed by Javier Palomarez, president and CEO of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. (Cliff Owen, AP). After days of tensions in Baltimore, GOP presidential hopeful Ted Cruz said President ... Cruz: I Am a 'Proponent of Immigration Reform'The Weekly Standard (blog) all 29 |
Cruz to Hispanics: Economy Matters More Than ImmigrationBloomberg
Fox News-SunHerald.com
all 18 news articles »
Graham said yesterday that she doesn't want her son to be another Freddie Gray, and today she appeared on ABC World News Tonight with her incredibly embarrassed son. He said his mom cares a lot about him and it was ...
BBC News |
Russia beefs up anti-piracy laws
BBC News Russia is beefing up the law it uses to tackle online piracy. The law was introduced in mid-2013 and gave the authorities the power to tell internet companies to cut off access to sites found to be pirating media. As first enacted, the law only applied ... and more » |
USA TODAY |
Boeing, SpaceX seek to end ISS reliance on Russia
USA TODAY CAPE CANAVERAL — A failed resupply mission this week has again highlighted the International Space Station reliance on a single Russian spacecraft to fly astronauts up and down from orbit. If problems forced an extended grounding of Russia's Soyuz ... Russia's Lost Cargo Ship Will Fall To Earth In Two WeeksPopular Science US Air Force tracks spinning Russia's space capsule as orbit dropsCBC.ca How Fast, Big and Costly is the International Space Station?NBCNews.com Engadget all 167 news articles » |
CNNMoney |
American billionaire: Why I'm investing in Russia
CNNMoney Despite all that, billionaire David Bonderman believes there's lots to like about Russia, a market that his private equity firm has been investing significantly in over the past several years. Bonderman is especially attracted by the fact that Russian ... and more » |
RT |
China, Russia to hold first-ever Mediterranean naval exercise
RT Russia and China have previously held joint naval exercises in the Pacific in waters they both have direct access to. The Mediterranean Sea Cooperation-2015 drill would focus on navigation safety, at-sea replenishment, escort missions and live fire ... Chinese and Russian Navies to Hold Joint Drills in MediterraneanNew York Times China, Russia to hold first joint Mediterranean naval drills in MayReuters China-Russia navies to hold first Mediterranean joint drillsYahoo News CBS News all 153 news articles » |
Telegraph.co.uk |
Kim Jong-un snubs Russia after being refused 'special treatment'
Telegraph.co.uk The North Korean leader's snub to Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, apparently came as a surprise to Moscow, which only hours earlier had indicated that preparations for Mr Kim's first overseas visit since he inherited the country in December 2011 ... Kim Jong Un cancels Russia tripUSA TODAY Kim Jong Un's visit to Moscow is off, Russian official saysCNN |
Kim Jong-un snubs Vladimir Putin and cancels planned visit for Russia WWII ...The Independent
NBCNews.com-The Guardian
-Wall Street Journal
all 290 news articles »
BBC News |
Great patriotic war, again
The Economist ON MAY 9th 150 Russian military aircraft will streak across the Moscow sky, 16,000 troops will march through Red Square and three intercontinental ballistic missiles will be put on display, all in celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Soviet Union ... Russia beat Hitler with tanks. Now it's showing off the tank of the future.Washington Post (blog) Russia unveils new Armata tank for WW2 victory paradeBBC News Russia's Latest Armata T-14 Tank Unveiled Ahead Of World War II Victory ParadeInternational Business Times Economic Times all 99 news articles » |
- Get link
- X
- Other Apps
Comments
Post a Comment