The Japanese got the job done.

First, there was a fire.

September 10, 2019
By Elizabeth Howell

Japan called off a planned cargo ship launch (click here) to the International Space Station today (Sept. 10) after a fire erupted on the launch platform for the mission's rocket, according to press reports.

"Today’s launch is postponed because we found a fire around the hole at the deck of the mobile launcher at 3:05 a.m. JST (2:05 p.m. EDT/1805 GMT). Now we are trying to extinguish a fire," representatives with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the rocket's builder, said in a Twitter status update. 

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) was counting down toward the launch of an HTV-8 cargo ship atop an H-IIB rocket when the launchpad fire occurred at the Tanegashima Space Center, according to Aviation Week space editor Irene Klotz, who posted live updates from the launch site on Twitter.  The fire burned for about two hours before it was extinguished, and no injuries were reported, Klotz said.

The cause of the fire, and whether it caused any damage to the H-IIB rocket, have yet to be determined, Klotz added.....

Then a successful liftoff.

September 24, 2019
By Darrell Etherington

Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) (click here) has successfully launched one of its H-IIB rockets, carrying a payload of supplies, experimental materials and new replacement batteries to help power the International Space Station. The rocket, commissioned by Japan’s Aerospace Exploration Agency, took off from Japan’s Tanegashima Space Center at its scheduled instantaneous launch window of 12:05 PM EDT (1:05 AM JST), succeeding during its second try after an initial attempt was scrubbed earlier this month.

This is the eighth launch of the H-IIB, and its H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV), and it’s the second-to-last planned mission for the H-IIB before this series of MHI rocket is retired. It’s set to be replaced by the higher-capacity, lower-cost H3, which MHI hopes to fly for the first time next year.

The HTV-8 (aka “Kounotori-8”) mission will deliver a load of cargo to the ISS, separated across both a pressurized and an unpressurized cargo compartment on the HTV unpiloted spacecraft, which will dock with the ISS for unloading....

Then the astronauts got bored waiting for the supply ship so they made AstroSlime.

September 27, 2019
By Mike Whener

Earlier this week, Japanese space agency JAXA fired off a new resupply to the International Space Station. With such a busy week aboard the ISS — new crew members also arrived this week — the shipment of science experiments and supplies has somewhat flown under the radar, but now it’s crunch time, and the resupply mission is expected to arrive at the orbiting laboratory on Saturday morning.

The cargo spacecraft from Japan is carrying over four tons of supplies for the space station, including vitals like food, along with scientific hardware and experiments. In the meantime, the crew is playing with slime. Yep, slime....

Arrival.

September 28, 2019
by Tariq Malek

A robotic Japanese cargo ship (click here) successfully arrived at the International Space Station Saturday (Sept. 28) carrying more than 4 tons of supplies, including new batteries for the outpost's solar power grid.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) HTV-8 cargo ship pulled up to the space station at 7:12 a.m. EDT (1112 GMT), where it was captured by a robotic arm wielded by NASA astronaut Christina Koch inside the orbiting lab. The station and HTV-8, also known as Kounotori 8 (Kounotori means "white stork" in Japanese), were soaring 262 miles (422 kilometers) over Angola in southern Africa at the time. 

"What you all have done is a testament to what we can accomplish when international teams work together towards a common goal," Koch radioed to NASA's Mission Control in Houston and flight controllers at JAXA's Tsukuba Space Center in Japan. "We're honored to have Kounotori on board, and look forward to a successful and productive mission together."

Later today, flight controllers on Earth will use the station's robotic arm to attach HTV-8 to an Earth-facing berth on the station's U.S.-built Harmony module.                     

How serious is this?

Ukraine is at war with Russia.

The article below is from February. I think it was posted here already or something similar to it. The cannon in this picture is what stands between Russia and the people of Ukraine. What if this was an American unit in Afghanistan and the same thing happened? Does that bring any brevity to the weight of what Trump did?

TRUMP WANTS UKRAINE TO SETTLE THINGS WITH RUSSIA. 

Got that?

Why not choke off their supply of military equipment to make it happen no matter what the people of Ukraine want? Why not? He has secret files and all sorts of lame yes men surrounding him, so why not? Why not give Russia exactly what Russia wants, they gave him the presidency, it is the least he can do, right?

Ukraine has been followed closely in Western Media for I don't know how long. I don't know how many times I read the goings-on in Ukraine, but, I do know for all that reading Ukraine was never settled and they wanted more for their people than Russia could ever offer.

Donald J. Trump HAS NO RIGHT to interfere in the wars or ambitions of a nation of people demanding their freedom from communism and tyranny. He is a problem of monumental dynamics. REMEMBER THAT WORD, DYNAMICS. Because freedom is dynamic and so is tyranny. What kind of dynamic do you want in your life, your children's lives, their children's lives and the lives of all those surrounding your life. What do you want? What are you willing to fight for?

Ukraine clearly has stated 'the idea' of returning to Russian communism is not an acceptable way of life. And Trump cut off their supply of anti-tank weapons.

War is not just a faraway problem that occurs for stupid reasons. It is not a fire to be extinguished. It is a line in the sand to what a nation of people are willing to state is their claim to quality of life. War is real. War has to be respected. The way out of war is peace and Ukraine has already tried to settle a peace with Russia and Putin's "Russian People in Eastern Ukraine" broke two treaties. What is Ukraine supposed to believe, the war will end with reasonable treaties? That hasn't happened yet and MAYBE it never will because Trump is still pulling strings for Russia because he defaulted on loans backed by oligarchs in Russia.

Now. How serious is this?

February 26, 2019

The estimated death toll also includes 4,000 members of Ukrainian forces 

Kyiv - Some 13,000 people have been killed, (click here) a quarter of them civilians, and as many as 30,000 wounded in the war in eastern Ukraine since it broke out in April 2014, the United Nations says.

The estimated toll includes more than 3,300 civilian deaths, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said in a document dated February 25 and provided to RFE/RL the same day.

It comes as the simmering conflict between Russia-backed separatists and government forces approaches its sixth year, with little progress toward the implementation of a Western-brokered cease-fire and political-settlement deal known as the Minsk Accords.

"OHCHR estimates the total number of conflict-related casualties in Ukraine...at 40,000-43,000" from April 14, 2014 to January 31, 2019, the statement said, including "12,800-13,000 killed."

The estimated death toll includes 3,321 civilians, among them the 298 passengers and crew members who died when Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was shot down on July 17, 2014 en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur....

continued...

I think we need to get rid of some white guys that can't or won't get the job done.

A willingness to be corrupt with disregard for life is not allowed. The Flint Water Crisis started out of neglect, cruelty and a complete disregard for life.

September 24, 2019
By Ron Fonger

Virginia Tech Professor Marc Edwards smirks during a hearing about the Flint water crisis in front of the U.S. House Committee on Government Oversight and Reform at the Rayburn House Office Building on Tuesday, March 15, 2016 in Washington D.C.

Flint - The Virginia Tech professor (click here) who helped expose the Flint water crisis, says people with their own agendas are perpetuating a false narrative that the city still doesn’t have clean water.

Appearing on the podcast “In Depth With Dr. Bob Leonard,” Marc Edwards said Flint’s water has been comparable in quality to community water supplies across the country for years but “many people have an agenda to make it appear the water is not better when it is."

Edwards has made similar comments previously, putting him at odds with Mayor Karen Weaver and others who have suggested he downplayed the fallout of elevated lead in Flint water in 2014 and 2015 -- when the city used the Flint River as its source of drinking water.

The professor’s work with citizens helped show the river water was never properly treated to make it less corrosive to transmission pipes and home plumbing, causing lead to leach into the water system....

It seems to me there has been a lot of mishandling of the Flint water and the people affected by it. I think it is time to get rid of the people that are still not capable of caring for people and find those that can.

September 9, 2019
By Patricia Taddonio

As summer approached, (click here) Shawn McElmurry, Dr. Paul Kilgore and Dr. Marcus Zervos were growing increasingly concerned.

The three men sat on a scientific panel that was formed to look into the source of a deadly outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in Flint, Michigan. The spread of the disease coincided with the state switching the city’s drinking water supply to the Flint River — and it had gone on for more than a year before the public was notified.

Now, it was May 2016, four months since Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder announced both the existence of the outbreak and the creation of the panel, and the state health department still hadn’t officially authorized the panel to begin working, its members say.

The group knew how Legionnaires’ disease, a severe form of pneumonia caused by the waterborne legionella bacteria, operates: once the weather heated up, more people could die. So in May, they met with state health director Nick Lyon to warn him that it was urgent to step up monitoring for Legionnaires’ cases.

On left, Professor Shawn McElmurry of Wayne State University

“I remember, at one point, my colleague telling him that if he didn’t do that, people could die,” McElmurry, (click here) an engineering professor and the chair of the panel, told FRONTLINE.

“Unfortunately,” McElmurry said, “Nick Lyon’s response was that ‘They’ll have to die of something.’”

That’s just one of the troubling alleged incidents reported in new detail — or for the first time — in Flint’s Deadly Water. Based on two years of reporting, the FRONTLINE documentary premiering Sept. 10 reveals how a public health disaster that’s become known for the lead poisoning of thousands of children also spawned one of the largest outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease in U.S. history....

He was a hero to me. He was a great American. 

Real tears at this end.

Trump is guilty and Americans need to get used to that idea.

When the USA investigates in other countries it is the purview of the FBI or CIA, not Rudy Guiliani who characterizes himself as "an old country lawyer."

The fact of the matter is the conversation between Trump and the Ukraine President took place. In that conversation, the idea of having the USA Attorney General and a private "friend" of Trump's, namely Guiliani, would be in touch with him or someone on his staff to investigate Joe Biden and his Son Hunter Biden. A month went by and nothing satisfied Trump and the military aid, Javelins, were canceled to Ukraine. The Javelins were asked by the Ukraine president in the conversation where Trump demanded a favor in investigating the Bidens.

THE PROBLEM TRUMP AND HIS COHORTS FACE TODAY ISN'T ABOUT THE BIDENS AND WHETHER OR NOT THERE WAS WRONGDOING BASED IN USA LAW WHILE HUNTER BIDEN SERVED ON A UKRAINIAN ENERGY COMPANY; THE PROBLEM TRUMP IS FACING IS THE VERY FACT HE CANCELLED MILITARY EQUIPMENT TO AN ALLY CURRENTLY FIGHTING A WAR WITH RUSSIA. THE JOE AND HUNTER BIDEN INVESTIGATION IS SECOND TO THE FACT TRUMP VIOLATED LEGISLATION AND COMPROMISED AN ALLY CURRENTLY AT WAR.

Blackmail is illegal. Trump and his cohorts held military equipment to coerce Ukraine's president. End of discussion. The guilt or innocence of the Bidens doesn't matter. IT IS TRUMP'S ACTIONS THAT ARE ILLEGAL.

September 23, 2019
By Tim Hains

The president's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, (click here) alleged Monday on FBN's "Mornings With Maria" that there is a connection between the Hunter Biden/Ukraine corruption allegations and George Soros.

"There’s an FBI agent involved. The FBI agent who is investigating the allegations about dirt on the Trump campaign, she’s now working for George Soros,"...

Now, George Soros is involved. Guiliani is a political hack that cannot accept reality. Everything is because of a "Deep State." 

September 26, 2019
By Michael Burnham and David L. Stern

Kiev - A former top Ukrainian prosecutor, (click here) whose allegations were at the heart of the dirt-digging effort by Rudy Giuliani, said Thursday he believed that Hunter Biden did not run afoul of any laws in Ukraine.

“From the perspective of Ukrainian legislation, he did not violate anything,” former Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuri Lutsenko told The Washington Post in his first interview since the disclosure of a whistleblower complaint alleging pressure by Trump on Ukraine’s president, Volodymr Zelensky.

Lutsenko’s comments about Hunter Biden – which echo what he told Bloomberg News in May – were significant because President Trump and his personal attorney Giuliani have sought to stir up suspicions about both Hunter and former vice president Joe Biden’s conduct in Ukraine in recent weeks. Joe Biden is leading Trump in many opinion polls ahead of the 2020 election....

If Joe and/or Hunter Biden are found to be conducting themselves illegally that STILL doesn't excuse Trump for withholding military and/or humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

The fact Ukraine found no wrongdoing by the Bidens takes this off their plate. Therefore, it is not their problem. There should have never been an interruption in the LEGISLATED AID TO UKRAINE. There is no legitimate reason other than blackmail that carries brevity in Trump's actions.

I can understand a conversation stating, "Do me a favor, I have a couple of people that are coming to Ukraine to investigate any wrongdoing by Joe and Hunter Biden. One will be the USA Attorney General and the other is my personal attorney Rudy Guiliani. Let them investigate the activities of the Biden's in Ukraine and I will appreciate it." THAT ITSELF is illegitimate, but, it does not entangle USA munitions in order to MANUFACTURE information on the Bidens.

No matter how one looks at this, Trump is guilty, the question is what exactly is he guilty of besides blackmail of a president of an ally and sovereign country. The issue with George Soros and an FBI agent is another issue. George Soros, the FBI agent has NOTHING TO DO WITH TRUMP'S GUILT. They are just another inflammatory distraction manufactured by Guiliani's imagination. Guiliani should work for Disney, he missed his calling.

Oops, Trump's economy isn't working.

September 27, 2019
By Daniel Strauss

The Federal Reserve (click here) continued its ongoing effort to stabilize shaky money markets on Friday with another round of capital injections totaling roughly $72 billion.

The central bank sold $22.7 billion in overnight repurchase agreements, or repos. It also offloaded $49 billion worth of repos scheduled to expire in 14 days. The latest operation was undersubscribed, meaning banks placed fewer bids for repos than the Fed offered.

The slump in demand comes after the central bank doubled the size of its repo operations on Thursday. Both Wednesday and Thursday's offerings were oversubscribed as banks showed a willingness to buy more repos than the Fed was selling....                 

STOP VAPING !

September 26, 2019
By Rebecca Ellis

Gov. Kate Brown (click here) is advising Oregonians to stop vaping immediately after the state’s health authority announced a second vaping-related death Thursday.

Brown said she has sought advice from the Oregon Department of Justice on legal remedies, possibly including a temporary ban on all vaping products. Brown called the death a tragedy and “absolutely unacceptable.”

The governor has also asked the Oregon Health Authority to make recommendations within 24 hours on how “to protect Oregonians and public health.”

The authority has, so far, identified five reports of severe lung injuries that it’s linked to a national outbreak of vaping-related illness. All five individuals had vaped or used e-cigarettes, and were hospitalized after experiencing respiratory issues, resulting in shortness of breath, coughing or chest pain.

Two of the cases resulted in a death with the first fatality announced on Sept. 3. The other three individuals are “recovering,” according to state health officer Dean Sidelinger....

This is FOX News working for Russia.

This is more of their upside-down illogic. An unnamed offical is not good enough and the fact Ukrainian officials weren't officially notified for a month only goes to prove the incredible danger instilled by Trump and his selfish needs in the form the USA power.

FOX News needs to be held responsible for propaganda and an assault against the USA Constitution.

Official notice to Ukraine is damning!

...the U.S. suspended security funds...

End of discussion!

September 27, 2019
By Edmund DeMarche and Gregg Re

An unnamed Ukrainian official (click here) said that Kiev was not made aware that the U.S. suspended security funds until a month after President Trump's call with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, which calls into question the whistleblower's account and Democrats' arguments that there was a quid pro quo for the aid.

The official told The New York Times that Zelensky's government was unaware about the aid issue until a month after Trump's July 25 phone call in which he discussed Joe Biden and his son Hunter.

The whistleblower complaint – citing U.S. officials – claimed that officials in Kiev knew that the military aid could be in jeopardy in early August, but the whistleblower admitted to not knowing "how or when they learned of it."...             

How did this get to this point. Where are the filings of tests submitted that predicted this tragedy in the USA?

Where was the Consumer Protection of this device and it's fluid? This is a national shame.

September 26, 2019
By Jean Lotus

Twelve people have died (click here) and the number of confirmed and probable cases of lung disease linked to vaping use has risen to 805, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday.

The ailment now has been found in 46 states, as well as the U.S. Virgin Islands, the agency said.

Deaths from the mysterious illness have been reported in 10 states, with two each reported in California and Kansas and other deaths in Georgia, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi and Oregon, the agency said.

The CDC published sex and age data for 373 of the cases. Almost three-fourths, or 72 percent, of the patients were male, and 67 percent were between ages 18 and 34. Another 16 percent of patients were under 18....

The Food and Drug Agency maintained their vigilance of these products after their broader use became evident. They focused on teens because adults were stated to know better and understand the danger. If the FDA hadn't kept their focus on teens this danger may have been completely lost.

Where was the testing results regarding this danger? Where are the LD50s? LD50s are standard to any consumer product, why wasn't this known before put into commercial use?

This product needs to be pulled from the market place until far more is known about it's dangers.

The people effected by this product will be permanently damaged and/or disabled the rest of their lives. The body does not replace lung tissue. I fear for this country while watching the numbers effected and dead growing.

The evidence and danger is overwhelming compelling.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi is absolutely magnificent. Unfortunately, the Republicans are becoming more rouge themselves by attempting to disassemble overwhelming evidence.

One opposition commentator stating, "This is just the way he talks," referring to "Do me a favor...",. It is ridiculous, those four words are not the evidence, but, rouge Republicans and their rouge administration will try to make that a defense. 

Moscow Mitch needs to bring his Republicans into the era of "the truth," and respect the USA Constitution for once. For god sake, the Republicans don't see or want to see the truth in the lawless foreign policy of Trump.

Speaker Pelosi understands completely the brevity of this time in our history and I trust her implicitly.

September 25, 2019
By Julia Ainsley

The Trump administration's release of notes (click here) documenting President Donald Trump's conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has raised questions about Trump's relationship with Attorney General William Barr and whether he views Barr as someone whose job includes advocating for him on personal matters.

Repeatedly over the course of the call, Trump told Zelenskiy that his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and Barr will be contacting Ukrainian prosecutors on two investigations: one related to an email server tied to Trump's former political rival, Hillary Clinton, and the other related to his potential future political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden.

"I would like to have the attorney general call you or your people and I would like you to get to the bottom of it," Trump told Zelenskiy about an investigation he wanted into CrowdStrike, a California-based company that investigated the Russian hacking of emails belonging to the Democratic National Committee in 2016....

The evidence regarding Trump's proposed use of Attorney General Barr in Ukraine answers Senator Harris's question. Now, Barr can have all his false loyalty to the president before the US Constitution under oath.

I don't care if the Whistleblower actually is a spy. She or he is a damn good one.

The brevity of the words of this Whistleblower has never been more important. I thank the Whistleblower for being on our side, of which Donald J. Trump is obviously not. To him, and I have said this from the beginning of his occupation of the White House, everything is politics. That is not in the job description of the President of the USA.

Trump is a case in point that absolute power corrupts absolutely.

The Whistleblower complaint will be a part of history that elevates the honor of the American people's demand of their country. Can't say thank you enough.

This what he did with "Executive Time."

I am sure I am not alone in thinking a task force needs to be set up by the US House to subpoena all Trump's phone records. It would take too long to include any of that information in an impeachment inquiry, but, for the sole purpose of understanding how world leaders might be compromised by Trump, Guiliani and Barr.

I am concerned with this new understanding of Trump and his ruthlessness along with Guiliani and Barr.  This is probably not an isolated incident. That Helsinki meeting went on for something like 3 and a half hours. They talked about a lot. I didn't trust him before and this only solidifies that profile of Trump.

Trump's economy is built on CREDIT and not sound policy. Americans can't afford the Trump economy.

August 2, 2019
By Michael Collins

Washington - Donald Trump promised during his campaign (click here) that if he won the White House, he would wipe out the national debt in just eight years.

But in his first 2½ years in office, he has gone in the opposite direction.

Trump Friday signed into law a budget bill hammered out with leaders of the Democratic-led House and the Republican-controlled Senate. It was a rare bipartisan agreement but some in the GOP were furious over the increase in spending.

The legislation will add an estimated $1.7 trillion to the national debt over the next decade, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

That’s not all: When other bills that Trump has signed are factored in, Trump’s total contribution to the national debt is projected to top $4.1 trillion, the budget watchdog group said.

“Our national debt is a self-inflicted wound,” said Maya MacGuineas, the group’s president. “It will take the kind of leadership that currently doesn't exist in Washington to fix.”...

The US economy is in bad shape as I write this, never mind about next year, the financial agencies are buoying this economy in spite of Trump and Secretary Muchkins's mess. The financial markets are getting bailouts even though it is not as evident as the global economic collapse of 2008.

Trump's economy is a very expensive failure. He is waiting for the country to be grateful for an economy that is paid for by the USA Treasury.

September 21, 2019
By Colin Harper

This week, (click here) the Federal Reserve leveraged one of its tools for tinkering with U.S. financial markets — one that it hasn’t used since the Great Recession.

The New York branch of America’s central bank financed some $278 billion worth of repurchasing agreements (repo) from September 17 to 19, 2019. For some market watchers, the move raised an alarm because, as Nobel laureate Paul Krugman put it, the financial turmoil that necessitated this intervention “was at the heart of the 2008 financial crisis.” Still, other economists have posited that the cash injections came in response to a hiccup and that markets are doing just fine.

That “hiccup” was a spike in the overnight money market interest rate in response to a cash crunch. Typically, this rate stays on track with the Federal Reserve’s fed funds rate — an interest rate set by the Federal Reserve to guide the lending rates for bank-to-bank loans. At the beginning of the week, the money market rate decoupled from the funds rate — surging from the target 1.75 to 2 percent rate to 10 percent. By pumping more dollars into the cash-strapped lending market, the Federal Reserve brought the market money rate back in line with its funds rate.

What started as a single act on September 17, 2019, has now snowballed into four straight days of repo agreements to inject more than a quarter of a trillion dollars’ worth of capital into the system....

Let me say this, I believe Director Joseph Mcguire is in the class of federal employee along with Robert Mueller. We are lucky to have him and we cannot afford to lose a highly qualified Director at this point in our history. I am sure the intelligence community would agree.

It isn't easy living in a vice that tightens when someone in the chain of command is corrupt. But, he managed just fine.

Congress has the complaint and letter. That is a victory for the USA. Everyone should be congratulated.

Donald J. Trump had NO RIGHT to place a sovereign allied country in the breach with Russia for the purpose of political gain. IF there ever was legitimate crime blackmail would not be necessary!

The Republicans on the US House Intelligent Committee will not pretend this is the Democrats instigation.

The whistleblower complaint is profound and that cannot be sacrificed for Republican rhetoric.

President Donald J. Trump was blackmailing a lesser country's President for his own purposes. 

GET OVER IT!

Ukraine is very vulnerable to Russian interference and violence. The current war depends on the backing of The West, the USA came forward to offer munitions to Ukraine to end this hideous war with Russia. That is not minor matter. There is nothing that stands the line between Ukraine and Russia than the USA. NATO is vital to the Post Soviet countries and to LEARN President Donald J. Trump was blackmailing Ukraine's president for his own selfish political purposes WHILE he not only exposed Ukraine to more violence from Russia, but, NATO as well.

Donald J. Trump needs to be removed from office and this complaint is the catalyst to other misdeeds that CLEARLY illustrates the power of the presidency is compromised by a man that favors Russia over his own country. I have had enough of the Republican election nonsense over a man that is no more loyal to the USA than he is NATO.

As far as the Whistleblower Law, Mr. Mcguire repeatedly has stated this is unprecedented. REPEATEDLY STATED THIS COMPLAINT IS UNPRECEDENTED. The law is not adequate when it comes to a disloyal president. The law has to be clarified to include a statute that moves a Whistleblower Complaint to a committee of US Senate and US House members as well as members of the Intelligence Staff. 

That said, the Republicans need to end this USE of the power of the USA for their own profiteering and stand up for the US Constitution. It would be refreshing to have a Senate Majority Leader that actually lead instead of being a follower too scared for his own misdeeds.

The assault against Ukraine by Trump is foundational to democracy and reintroduced Russia corruption.

September 26, 2019

By Matthew Knott

The Donald Trump who fronted the media to speak (click here) about his bombshell phone call with Ukraine's President was unrecognisable from the ebullient showman we have come to know.

At Trump's press conference in New York on Wednesday, local time, he appeared more demoralised than at any other point in his presidency. His voice was soft, his energy levels low. He sulked and stewed, reminiscing about the days when he received positive media coverage as a celebrity citizen.

It scotched the idea that Trump feels enthused by the prospect of an impeachment battle with Nancy Pelosi, or triumphant after the release of the summary of his phone call with Volodymyr Zelensky....

Western nations involved with Ukraine need to recognize the corrupt Russian influence with the Donald J. Trump administration. There is no guarantee that he will be removed from office if the US Senate ignores the US Constitution. It is astounding to realize that fact, but, there is a definite anti-democracy movement in Western countries, including the UK as demonstrated by the Prime Minister's proclamation to shut down Parliament.

Trump is introducing corruption back into Ukraine by carrying out personal directives I believe were discussed in Helsinki with Putin. I believe much of what is happening with Ukraine is sabotage of the fledgling democracy by Putin. I sincerely believe more than ever that Trump is Putin's puppet. Obviously, that is the case with this latest Trump episode. Just imagine what would happen in Ukraine if they were completely denied the weapons they need to defend their country. The whistleblower was entirely correct to make the complaint. It is very plain what was transpiring. And there is no defense by any of the parties involved for carrying out such diabolical plans.

The US House has not overreached. If nothing else comes out of this impeachment inquiry, Ukraine is safer today than two days ago. Nothing is wasted on the efforts by the US House. They are taking very brave measures and it is necessary.

September 26, 2019

Donald Trump is facing the biggest crisis of his political career to date. (click here)

It all revolves around a controversial phone call he had with the President of Ukraine in July that was investigated after a whistleblower complained of corruption, reports News.com.au.

Now, thanks to that complaint, a formal impeachment inquiry has been launched against him. Joe Biden, who is also at the centre of the scandal, just went on Jimmy Kimmel's tonight show to say the President had committed a "blatant abuse of power" that "cannot stand"....

...The Short Version

On July 25,  Trump had a 30-minute phone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

In August, a whistleblower from within the US intelligence community complained that Trump's behaviour during the phone call was highly unethical.

On September 19, it was revealed that the complaint alleged that Trump attempted to coerce the Ukrainian government into investigating alleged corrupt acts involving former vice president Joe Biden and his son Robert Hunter Biden.

Specifically, he wanted Ukraine to probe Joe Biden's role in the dismissal of the country's prosecutor-general, Viktor Shokin, who was axed in 2016....

It is no coincidence Trump's ideology parallels that of Russia and China. I believe he is groomed by Putin and his leanings that favor dictators in the world.

September 26, 2019

International cooperation (click here) is crucial for coordinating the interests of each country and maintaining a stable world order. It is important to continue advocating the significance of this approach and prevent the spread of excessive “country first” policies.

In a speech at the United Nations, U.S. President Donald Trump declared: “The future does not belong to globalists. The future belongs to patriots.” Trump also said, “Wise leaders always put the good of their own people and their own country first.”

Of course, every country’s leader gives priority to the interests of one’s own nation. However, terrorism, climate change, poverty and other issues that transcend national boundaries cannot be resolved if each country acts alone. It is obvious that pursuing only the gains of one’s own country will cause conflicts to spread and also harm wider economic interests.

The United States led the creation of the United Nations, which was spurred by reflection on two world wars. The United Nations’ basic principle is that every nation must work together to protect global peace and security. It is unfortunate that the leader of a major country that stood at the forefront of this initiative is clinging to a self-centered approach.

During his speech, Trump suggested that each nation’s independence and sovereignty should be prized above international frameworks. China and Russia use the same argument to reject interference in their affairs by the international community. This line of thinking could result in more heavy-handed politics and human rights violations going unaddressed....

"China Daily"

September 25, 2019

Washington - US President Donald Trump (click here) asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a July telephone call to investigate whether former Vice President Joe Biden shut down an investigation into a company that employed his son, a summary of the call released by the Trump administration on Wednesday showed.

House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday announced that the Democratic-led House was moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry and directed six committees to proceed with investigations of the president's actions.

Democrats have accused Trump, who is seeking re-election next year, of soliciting Ukraine's help to smear Biden, the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, before the 2020 election.

"There's a lot of talk about Biden's son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that, so whatever you can do with the attorney general would be great," Trump said in the call, according to the summary provided by the Justice Department.

"Biden went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution so if you can look into it. ... It sounds horrible to me," Trump said, according to the memo.

The call occurred after Trump had ordered the US government to freeze about $391 million in American aid to Ukraine....

The BBC

The Three Biden Mentions (click here)

The "evidence field" of the Trump coercion of Ukraine is larger than one conversation. President Zelenskyy is not alone in Ukraine in knowing the degree Trump was leveraging Russia's influence. Zelenskyy advisors were not as timid as he.

25 September 2019
By Jonah Fisher

A year ago (click here) Volodymyr Zelensky was a comedian and an actor who starred as a fictional Ukrainian president in a hit television series. Many people assumed he'd take the straight-talking, principled style from TV to the office with him. It was seen as a big factor in his election win.

The memo of the phone call, detailing President Trump's requests that he speak to Mr Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, shows a very different side.

There were frequent, embarrassing displays of flattery directed at President Trump. This is now considered standard practice among world leaders looking to curry favour with the White House, but if President Zelensky was still a comedian, he'd be using this material.

At one point Ukraine's president told Mr Trump he had modelled his election win on him, that he too wanted to "drain the swamp" and cringingly said how much he enjoyed talking on the phone to him.

When Mr Trump said that he had heard that the previous prosecutor general, Viktor Shokin, was "very good and he was shut down and that's really unfair", Mr Zelensky accepted it.

In fact Mr Shokin was widely seen, both by international donors and activists in Ukraine as an awful prosecutor general and an obstacle to fighting corruption.

Then Mr Trump rubbished the former US ambassador to Ukraine calling her "the woman" and "bad news". Mr Zelensky said he agreed with him "100 percent". Most reformers in Ukraine consider Marie Yovanovitch to have been an ally and a friend.

Then there was the surprise.

It had previously been assumed that President Zelensky had politely declined Mr Trump's request to launch a new investigation into the Ukrainian company that Joe Biden's son Hunter worked for.

To most it seemed a smart decision. Despite the best efforts of Mr Giuliani, no evidence has been put forward to support the claims of President Trump that the former US vice president intervened in 2015 to help his son's company.

Many thought the absence of a Biden-related investigation was the reason US-Ukraine relations went into the deep freeze this summer. Defence funding and a trip to the White House had after all been put on hold.

In fact the phone call shows that President Zelensky appeared to roll over and agree to start an investigation.

"We will be very serious about the case," he told Mr Trump before agreeing to talk to Rudy Giuliani and Attorney General William Barr.

Whether this subsequent phone call happened - and indeed what happened to the promised investigation - is not clear.

Perhaps one of President's Zelensky's advisers had a firm word....

2019 Global Teacher Prize winner, Kenya’s Peter Tabichi meets U.S. President Donald Trump on September 16, 2019.

15 September 2019
By Francis Mureithi

The world's best teacher, (click here) Peter Tabichi, will set a record yet again as the first such professional in Kenya to address the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Brother Tabichi is a member of the St Franciscan Friars, a religious order founded by St Francis of Assisi in the 13th century.
He teaches science at Keriko Mixed Day Secondary School at Pwani village in Njoro, Nakuru County.

In March, the teacher won the 2019 Global Teacher Prize that came with a $1 million reward..

Not a word about the impeachment inquiry, but, Uganda is complaining about sanctions. Johannesburg's local news isn't mentioning Trump's impeachment inquiry, but, they receive a lot of their news from the BBC.

From "Buenos Aires Times:"

September 26, 2019

US SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE NANCY PELOSI, DEMOCRAT OF CALIFORNIA, ANNOUNCES A FORMAL IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY OF US PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP IN WASHINGTON, DC. 

Top Democrat and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (click here) dramatically announced on  Tuesday the opening of a formal impeachment inquiry into US President Donald Trump, saying he betrayed his oath of office by seeking help from a foreign power to hurt his Democratic rival Joe Biden.

The dramatic move – the first step in a complex process that stands little chance of driving Trump from office – pushed US politics into a perilous new chapter just 14 months before new elections over control of the White House and Congress.

Following the bombshell developments from Trump Tower in New York – after addressing the UN General Assembly – the president denounced the inquiry as "Witch Hunt garbage" while also claiming it would help his re-election chances in 2020.

"The actions of the Trump presidency revealed the dishonourable facts of the president's betrayal of his oath of office, betrayal of our national security, and betrayal of the integrity of our elections," Pelosi told a highly anticipated press conference in the US capital....

end