Ukraine's Yatsenyuk resigns

Yatsenyuk resigns 2 months after narrowly dodging no-confidence vote

RT,

10 April, 2016

After weeks of political crisis in Kiev, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk has announced his long-expected resignation.

Yatsenyuk made his decision public on Sunday in a televised address, saying he would formally submit his resignation to parliament on Tuesday.

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Arseniy Yatsenyuk‏@Yatsenyuk_AP

I thank the colleagues who’ve acted honestly and selflessly. The last 2 Govs were unique. They were the first manifestations of New Ukraine

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6:37 AM - 10 Apr 2016

The prime minister has been a highly unpopular figure in Ukraine with his approval ratings languishing in the single-digit range. The public blames him for a ruined economy and the failure to implement reforms he had promised when taking office following the February 2014 coup.

The final stages of his tenure were marred by an ugly political scandal when his economy minister, Aivaras Abromavicius, announced his resignation over alleged corruption in the Ukrainian government.

As the crisis unfolded, the ruling coalition in the Ukrainian parliament collapsed. Under Ukrainian law, President Petro Poroshenko can call an early election if a new coalition isn’t formed, but opinion polls say his own party would lose seats in that case as well.

Poroshenko tried to resolve the debacle in the cabinet by calling on Yatsenyuk to resign, but he refused to do so. An attempt to fire him through a parliament vote failed in what was a major embarrassment for the president.

Yatsenyuk said the ongoing political crisis in Ukraine “was created artificially” and has become personal for politicians.

He added that his government was “the best in the history of Ukraine” and a “manifestation of the new Ukraine.”

The outgoing PM said that he now has goals that are broader than the authority a mere head of government.

“New electoral law. Constitutional reform. Judicial reform. Coalition control over the direction of the new government. International support of Ukraine. Ukraine’s membership in the European Union and NATO. This is only a part of my program,” he said.

According to Yatsenyuk, parliament speaker Vladimir Groysman will be Ukraine’s next PM.

Despite his resignation, Yatsenyuk said that his party, the People’s Front, will stay in the ruling coalition. "The People's Front will remain a coalition member as today it is the only possible way to defend the country," he said after announcing his decision to step down, as quoted by TASS.

Yatsenyuk added that he was optimistic about his party’s political prospects, despite the lack of popular support. "We love our country and ratings are things that come and go," he said.

Poroshenko told Ukrainian TV on Sunday that he will not dissolve the current parliament. “I respect the Ukrainian parliament. I want no confrontation with either the parliament or the government. I have no other parliament for you and will have none whatsoever,” he was quoted as saying by TASS.

Gilbert Doctorow of Russia Insider pointed out that Yatsenyuk’s resignation occurred shortly after Ukraine’s association agreement with the EU had been rejected in a Dutch referendum.

“This raised the feeling of crisis within the Ukrainian political elites and made [Yatsenyuk’s] departure something essential so they would have a sacrificial lamb and they would appear before Europeans in particular, and IMF as well, to be making some progress in putting their house in order,” he told RT.

Doctorow said that Kiev is keenly aware of what its European partners are saying about Ukraine’s EU aspirations. “The Ukraine is not going to join the EU any time soon, in fact, not in the next 20-30 years, which in political terms [means] never,” he said, adding that this was very damaging to the Ukrainian leadership’s image at home.

The Donald Trump phenomenon

"Trump Voters Are Not Just Angry - They Want Revenge"

Zero Hedge,

27 December, 2015

Outraged by what Donald Trump says? You are not alone. No high-polling presidential candidate in the modern era has so intrepidly drawn the ire of so many within the American electorate. And there remains no end in иsight.

Yet in rendering one voting bloc utterly apoplectic, he has appealed viscerally to another. The balance of middle ground politics is not, shall we say, Mr Trump’s bailiwick. But America is no longer a middle ground country. We are already scared by our division — and it is getting worse.

The simple truth is, the more provocative his language, the deeper and more passionate his support. He is no dummy; there is a method to his proverbial madness. Mr Trump says — to the growing legions who will listen — what tens of millions of Americans are already thinking. Respect or revile him, the man has hit a vein.

I spent three hours in a deep dialogue focus group with 29 Trump supporters. The phenomenon of “The Donald” is rooted in a psyche far deeper and more consequential than next November’s presidential election. His support denotes an abiding distrust in — and disrespect for — the governing elite. These individuals do not like being told by Washington or Wall Street what is best for them, do not like the direction America is headed in, and disdain President Barack Obama and his (perceived) circle of self-righteous, tone-deaf governing partisans.

Trump voters are not just angry — they want revenge.

Mr Trump has adroitly filled the vacuum of vitriol, establishing himself as the bold, brash, take-no-prisoners megaphone for the frustrated masses. They see him as the antidote to all that Mr Obama has made wrong with America. So to understand why millions love Mr Trump so much, you have to take a step back and listen to why they hate Mr Obama so much.

Here, my Trump voter focus group was particularly illuminating. Some still believe the president is not Christian. Many believe he does not love America. And just about all of them think he does not reflect the values the country was built upon. Indeed, within this growing faction, Mr Trump has licence to say just about anything. As we have seen repeatedly, the more outrageous the accusation, the more receptive the ear.

Mr Trump delights in unleashing harsh attacks on Jeb Bush, the Republican establishment and the “mainstream media”. His childlike joy in ridiculing his critics is tantamount to healing balm for the millions who have felt silenced, ignored and even scorned by the governing and media elite for so long. Is it any wonder that his declaration of war against “political correctness” is his most potent and predictable applause line?

Straight-talking candidates are nothing new in American politics. From Ross Perot in 1992 to John McCain in 2000, from Howard Dean in 2004 to Sarah Palin in 2008, they rise like a rocket on the fuel of their seemingly fresh and unencumbered aversion to traditional politics. They purport to say what they mean and mean what they say — bucking established electoral trends and ruffling established political feathers. Then they crash. The media turn sour. The message grows stale. The electorate gets bored.

Mr Trump is different. The media attacks on him have been fast and furious. Yet he has defied electoral gravity because the blows are delivered by an institution that is distrusted and an elite political and business establishment that is detested.

Meanwhile, voters consistently tell pollsters like me that negative attacks do not work; they hate the ad hominem assaults. Mr Trump? He dines out on them. As his devotees see it, it is not Mr Trump going negative. It is him telling the truth. And when he fights back, he’s throwing punches on their behalf. He said something outrageous? “He’s simply raising an important issue nobody else has the courage to talk about.” He insulted someone? “That’s just him campaigning. He won’t do that as president.” He changed his position? “That was a long time ago. Everyone’s entitled to change their mind.” He doesn’t have many policy specifics? “He doesn’t need them. He’ll surround himself with smart people.” They will justify any action, explain away any contradiction, and dismiss any criticism because they are so personally and passionately invested in him.

And here is the prediction that will furrow brows on both sides of the Atlantic. Mr Trump’s supporters today will be Mr Trump’s supporters next November if he is still a candidate — no matter what party banner he runs under. Half will follow him out of the Republican Party if he breaks his promise and declares as an independent. For better or worse, his supporters will follow him to the ends of the Earth — or to the White House. Whichever comes first.

US House passes TPP fast track bill

US House passes standalone fast track bill giving president more authority in TPP talks

RT

18 June, 2015

The US House has passed Trade Promotion Authority bill that boost presidential authority in negotiating trade deals. This version of the legislation is not linked to any other bill.

It was passed around noon today with a vote of 218-208.

The sister legislation to the TPA, the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), would provide assistance to workers who lose jobs as a consequence of the trade deals and foreign competition. It was easily defeated in the House last week. Initially lawmakers were set to vote once again on the TAA this week, but on Thursday they agreed to vote again on standalone TPA. Though the TPA and the TAA were passed the Senate, the TPA will now return to the Senate in its standalone form.

Obama has requested “fast-track” authority to negotiate the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTiP) deals. Republican lawmakers back both initiatives, but the President’s own party is opposed.

The vote was split along partisan lines, with Republicans overwhelmingly voting in favor at 190-50, and Democrats being strongly against with a 28-158.

The sister legislation to the TPA, the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), would provide assistance to workers who lose jobs as a consequence of the trade deals and foreign competition. It was easily defeated in the House last week. Initially lawmakers were set to vote once again on the TAA this week, but on Thursday they agreed to vote again on standalone TPA. Though the TPA and the TAA were passed the Senate, the TPA will now return to the Senate in its standalone form favored by Republicans.

The TPP, which seems to be close to coming into existences, covers countries which together comprise 40 percent of the global economy. President Obama has promoted the deal as a way of solidifying the economic relating between the United States fast-growing Asian countries.

Republicans in the House of Representatives sought to resurrect Barack Obama’s trade agenda and plans for a Pacific Rim free trade zone, joining with a small band of pro-trade Democrats to vote to grant the president the “fast-track” authority he needs to conclude such pacts – meaning that the president will be empowered to ask Congress for a simple yes-or-no vote on trade agreements without any debate or amendments.

“This is a vote to re-establish America’s credibility,” said Representative Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin), the former Vice Presidential candidate that ran against the Obama who has now has been championing the President’s favored the legislation in the House.

Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-California) had different thoughts on the matter, despite being a top Democrat and traditional ally to the President. She said that she and members of the party were against the TPP, not against the president himself.

“This has been a longstanding dispute within the Democratic party having nothing to do with the president but everything to do with our bosses, our constituents,” she said.

"It’s hard to imagine #TPP passing muster when we consider values other than economic growth." http://t.co/mlXRNOILk5pic.twitter.com/3q7G1qkKDu

— Feminist Majority (@FemMajority) June 16, 2015

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) is a vocal critic of the deal because of a provision called Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS). The provision would mediate disputes between foreign investors and a government, which Warren believes will inhibit regulation and pose a threat to American sovereignty.

ISDS is designed to address the problem of uneven national economic policies in an interconnected global economy. Foreign investors have to deal with the risk of having their investments seized if and when a new government comes to power and decides to nationalize the businesses of foreign industries. While this isn’t a risk in a stable company with a strong judicial system like the United States, it is a genuine risk in other countries without such stability. ISDS is an arbitration process that uses sanctions to put pressure on governments who have unfairly seized property.

That means that ISDS would allow foreign investors to make complaints against the United States, which is a point that many take issue with. Warren argues that the agreement could “tilt the playing field in the United States further in favor of big multinational corporations.”

Many opponents of the TPP worry that multinational corporations could argue that environmental, financial and minimum wage regulations could qualify for a dispute under ISDS, potentially costing the United States expensive damages.

Also controversial are secretly negotiated provisions called the “Healthcare Annex,” which was only seen by the public when they were published by WikiLeaks.

The secret TPP negotiations showed that an addition to the do has been seeking to regulate state schemes for medicines and medical devices. According to WikiLeaks, it “forces healthcare authorities to give big pharmaceutical companies more information about national decisions on public access to medicine."

Legal privileges such as patents are instituted in to encourage research and development to encourage pharmaceutical company to develop new drugs without worrying about someone immediately copying them. These privileges expire eventually, allowing generic versions of the drugs to come to market.

Nearly every leaked TPP document has shown the Obama administration pushing a pro-pharmaceutical company agenda @C3glz @Gion_Gion

— Call me Ishmael (@fqxjv) June 12, 2015

"The TPP has been lobbied by large pharmaceutical company to include these provisions to further delay the introduction of generic drugs.

The leaked TPP document "shows that the pact could expose Medicare to pharmaceutical company attacks and constrain future policy reforms, including the ability of the US government to curb rising and unsustainable drug prices," consumer rights advocacy group Public Citizen said in a statement.

NZ politics

This made me laugh so much I was unable to read it out aloud

Murray McCully rushed to hospital in Tel Aviv with leg burns

BREAKING NEWS

Off the Record,

3 June, 2015

News has just reached us that beleaguered Foreign Affairs & Trade Minister Murray McCully has been rushed to hospital in Tel Aviv after an 'incendiary incident' shocked delegates at Middle East peace talks in the Israeli capital.

According to eyewitnesses, McCully's trousers suddenly and spontaneously erupted into flames while he was listening and nodding to things other more important people were saying.

"One minute it looked like he was about to nod off," said the Spanish peace envoy, Juan Momento, "The next his pants were on fire."

Amidst wild speculation that ISIS has targeted Mr. McCully in a terrorist attack, The Department of Foreign Affairs has issued an interim statement to calm nerves.

"We're currently working closely with Israeli police to establish what's happened," the spokesperson said. "The situation is still quite confused. At the moment there is no evidence that it's a terrorist attack. In fact, we have no idea how this could possibly have happened."

However, TV One Political Reporter, Heather du Plessis-Allan, has pointed out that Mr. McCully's lower garments appear to have erupted into flame at almost the exact same moment her latest report on his litany of lies broke in New Zealand. 

The report reveals email evidence showing McCully has lied through his teeth about an alleged law suit by Saudi businessmen.

Not surprisingly, Labour Party spokesperson for Trade & Export Growth, David Parker is in a bullish mood. "Liar, liar," he said. "Pants on fire."

‘Labour is in disarray and is unelectable, Andrew Little is more of a disaster than his predecessor, National and John Key are doing well and so is the economy.’

This is the story that these presstitutes want the people to believe.

If ever the situation reverses itself and the fascists that run the National party really feel threatened they will use other, less subtle tactics, I am sure.

NZ ‘journalists’ show their real colours

AUDIO: LABOUR ELECTION REPORT REVEALS A PARTY 'ROTTEN TO THE CORE' - PADDY GOWER

To hear the audio GO HERE

Opposition dismisses 'bluff' over sheep

The Prime Minister's warning to opposition parties that the Saudi flying sheep debacle is about to blow up in their faces is being dismissed by them as a desperate political bluff.