BRICS is there and they want to displace the dollar among other things and of course Russian and China wouldn't go for it. Where does Russia rank in economies, should they even be in the G20? Many EU countries have larger economies than Russia FFS. I would think being a member is predicated on their impact on the global economy and Russia has been largely frozen out of it and will be for a long time.
www.airforcetimes.com
thehill.com
www.politico.com
thehill.com
China wants to make nice with America, or so they say and cracking down on this shit might do a lot for their efforts... The economy is on the rocks and there are other serious economic and social problems, so an invasion of Tiawan is off the table and beyond their current means any way.DOJ unveils fentanyl cases against Chinese companies and nationals
The Justice Department (DOJ) on Tuesday announced eight indictments against Chinese companies and nationals in cases involving fentanyl and the precursor chemicals used to produce the deadly drug.
The indictments charge China-based companies and their employees with crimes relating to fentanyl and methamphetamine production, the distribution of synthetic opioids and sales of the chemicals used to make them.
“We know that the global fentanyl supply chain, which ends with the deaths of Americans, often starts with chemical companies in China,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. “The United States government is focused on breaking apart every link in that chain, getting fentanyl out of our communities, and bringing those who put it there to justice.”
The indictments are in addition to prosecutions announced in June against China-based chemical manufacturing companies and officials in the People’s Republic of China.
The new charges include eight indictments against Chinese companies and 12 against Chinese nationals, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco announced Tuesday.
“As alleged in today’s indictments, the defendants used a range of trafficking tactics to ply their deadly trade and cover their tracks – from blatant online advertising and encrypted messaging apps to fake shipping schemes and bitcoin payments,” Monaco said.
Monaco said Drug Enforcement Agency employees went undercover, posing as drug traffickers to identify shippers, while employees at the Department of Homeland Security surged resources to stop the shipments. The FBI and IRS tracked crypto payments and postal employees exposed a plan to deliver the ingredients, she added.
Monaco also thanked the efforts of Mexican prosecutors who worked with the U.S. to track shipments of the chemicals.
“This was a whole-of-government effort,” Monaco said. “When we work together – sharing information, combining resources, and relentlessly pursuing justice – we can have a tremendous impact on those who would do us harm.”
Fentanyl is the deadliest drug threat facing the U.S. It is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine. A dose as small as two milligrams can kill a grown adult, the DOJ said in its release.
Monaco called on the private sector to step up, too. Social media companies need to police their platforms to avert harm from cyber criminals, she said.
“It must be all hands on deck,” Monaco said.
DOJ unveils fentanyl cases against Chinese companies and nationals
The Justice Department (DOJ) on Tuesday announced eight indictments against Chinese companies and nationals in cases involving fentanyl and the precursor chemicals used to produce the deadly drug. …
Or Xi can attack Taiwan in order to distract his subjects.
How's that working out for Vlad?
Compared to Taiwan and its semiconductor industries, Ukraine does not compare in terms of vital national interests for all advanced countries including America.
So far he has nobody marching in the streets against it.
Ukraine is vital in that if Russia takes it the neighbouring countries would be in danger.
Nobody except Progie and he's dead. It's not the people marching in the streets he has to worry about, it the bomb, drone, bullet to the head, or being tossed out a window.
Did they give the comedy writers a raise as a result of the strike. With the current bunch of republicans, the comedy writes itself really, they don't need to work hard at all!Ah, welcome back Stephen!
It could have been a sticking point in the negotiations, they can reduce the work force, they might want to lay writers off because the work is so easy lately...
thehill.com
They already have it in one convenient package.Fox News asks judge to compel Soros to produce documents as part of Smartmatic lawsuit
Fox News is asking a judge in New York to compel billionaire George Soros to comply with a subpoena and produce documents as the network seeks to defend itself from claims of defamation brought by voting systems company Smartmatic.
In a new court filing, Fox’s lawyers assert the network is “entitled to all evidence that is relevant to Smartmatic’s claims and Fox’s defenses, including evidence bearing on the full extent of Smartmatic’s entanglement with the Soros Group.”
Smartmatic sued Fox in 2021 for $2.7 billion, accusing the cable news giant of maliciously giving Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani, former President Trump’s one-time attorneys, a platform to air false claims about the 2020 presidential election.
As part of its process of legal discovery, Fox is seeking to depose Mark Malloch Brown, who is the president of the Soros-backed Open Society Foundation and served as chairman of Smartmatic’s parent company.
“The Soros Group cannot refuse to disclose relevant evidence in their possession merely because one aspect of their connection to Smartmatic is already publicly known,” Fox argued in its legal filing.
A representative for Smartmatic did not return a request for comment on Fox’s motion.
After Fox issued subpoenas to Soros and his organization for documents related to the case earlier this summer, Soros and the Open Society Foundation issued a series of objections with the court, arguing Fox’s requests are “not relevant to the claims or defenses of any party” in the case.
“Mr. Soros objects to the Subpoena in its entirety on the grounds that its service is an abuse of process that constitutes harassment of a non-party,” an attorney for Soros wrote as part of the objection. “The Complaint in this Action cites, within its hundreds of pages, only a handful of vague allusions, made by Fox personnel or their guests, to a purported ‘connection’ between Smartmatic and Mr. Soros. This handful of stray, imprecise remarks does not provide grounds for the broad requests served on Mr. Soros, a private non-party to this Action.”
Soros, a progressive billionaire, is a frequent target of the political right, with conservative commentators and Republican elected officials often accusing him of using his wealth to influence U.S. elections and Democratic policy.
Fox earlier this year agreed to pay $787 million to Dominion Voting Systems to settle claims it brought against the network stemming from false statements made on its airwaves about election fraud and its software.
The network has so far unsuccessfully moved to have the Smartmatic case dismissed, with a trial not expected in the matter for months.
Fox News asks judge to compel Soros to produce documents as part of Smartmatic lawsuit
Fox News is asking a judge in New York to compel billionaire George Soros to comply with a subpoena and produce documents as the network seeks to defend itself from claims of defamation brought by …
"conservative commentators and Republican elected officials often accusing him of using his wealth to influence U.S. elections and Democratic policy"
Really? And the Right does not have people that use their wealth to shape politics? Like maybe the Fox network?
thehill.com
It doesn't matter what the majority wants, it's what the republican extremists and Trump wants, they wield the death threats and primary votes.Could you imagine?
Most approve of bipartisan majority running House: survey
Most voters approve of moderate Republicans working with Democrats to form a bipartisan majority to run the House, according to a new survey.
A YouGov Blue poll found 63 percent of voters say moderate Republicans should work with Democrats to form a bipartisan governing coalition, while 37 percent said moderate Republicans should only work with GOP colleagues to elect a Speaker.
Support largely split along party lines, with 93 percent of Democrats saying that moderate Republicans should work on a bipartisan solution and 70 percent of Republicans saying the House GOP should sort out the Speaker pick themselves.
Thirty percent of Republicans said moderate GOP members should work with Democrats for a bipartisan coalition, according to the YouGov poll, which was commissioned by the Democratic group The Welcome Party.
The survey was conducted among 1,186 voters Oct. 11-13 as Republicans scrambled to put forward new Speaker nominees. It has a margin of error of 3 percentage points. The survey comes as the House approaches two weeks without a Speaker after eight Republicans sided with Democrats to oust Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) from the position. House Republicans have since been in disarray as they struggle to find a Speaker nominee who can secure enough floor votes.
Their first Speaker nominee, Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), dropped out as dozens of Republicans resisted supporting him. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) won the GOP’s second Speakership nod in a 124-81 vote on Friday, but when asked if they would support Jordan’s nomination on the floor, the GOP conference vote was 152-55 — well short of the necessary 217 votes on the floor.
House Republicans are planning on holding a vote on the House floor on Tuesday, though it is unclear how many holdouts Jordan will win over ahead of that vote.
In the last House floor votes for Speaker in January, McCarthy won the gavel after 15 rounds of voting, eventually overcoming opposition from a small group of Republicans.
Some members of Congress have floated a bipartisan solution for the Speakership as questions begin to swirl over whether Congress can avoid a government shutdown in the coming weeks and whether it can approve more aid to Israel in its ongoing war with militant group Hamas.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said Sunday that there are “informal conversations” taking place for a bipartisan governing coalition. When asked why the formal conversations have not happened yet, Jeffries said it is up to the House Republicans.
“We have made clear, publicly and privately, that we are ready, willing and able to enter into a bipartisan governing coalition that puts the American people first and solves problems for hardworking American taxpayers,” he said.
Republican Rep. Mike Turner (Ohio) also suggested Sunday that if House Republicans cannot elect a Speaker soon, a “deal will have to be done” with Democrats in order to get the chamber running again.
Most approve of bipartisan majority running House: Survey
Most voters approve of moderate Republicans working with Democrats to form a bipartisan majority to run the House, according to a new survey. A YouGov Blue poll found 63 percent of voters say …
