Thursday, November 2, 2017
Trump assails 'political correctness' in tweet on terror attacks
President Trump on Sunday responded to the London
terror attack, suggesting political correctness and the London mayor’s
soft response are contributing to strikes by radical Islamic terrorists.
Seven people were killed and dozens
of others were injured in the two Saturday night attacks on and near
the London Bridge. Police are investigating the incidents as terror
attacks, but no terror group has yet to claim responsibility.
"We must stop being politically correct and get down
to the business of security for our people. If we don't get smart it
will only get worse,” Trump tweeted first.The president has from the start of his successful 2016 presidential campaign argued that the key to stopping global terror strikes is to address radical Islamic teachings and being more vigilant about allowing people into the United States from mostly-Muslim countries that are hotbeds for terror training.
"At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is "no reason to be alarmed!” Trump also tweeted.
Trump also posted on Twitter about the attacks: “Do you notice we are not having a gun debate right now? That's because they used knives and a truck!”
NBC story on 'backlash' against 'American Muslims' stirs outrage
Less than 24 hours after a driver plowed into a
crowd Tuesday on the streets of New York City, NBC News faced mockery
and criticism for posting a story about American Muslims that critics
said was unfounded.
The NBC story suggested that Muslim
Americans were fearing a potential “backlash” against their community
because the suspect -- identified by authorities as Sayfullo Saipov, an
immigrant from Uzbekistan -- shared their faith.
But critics posting on social media derided the network
for focusing on an unsubstantiated idea rather than on those killed or
injured in the attack.“Maybe we should focus on those who were brutally murdered than a backlash you hope manifests,” NRA spokeswoman and author Dana Loesch wrote on Twitter.
Police say Sayfullo Saipov, 29 – an immigrant from Uzbekistan who was living in New Jersey after relocating from Florida -- mowed down people near the World Trade Center with a rented truck, leaving eight people dead and a dozen injured. He reportedly yelled “Allahu akbar” ("God is great") after he exited the vehicle and pledged allegiance to ISIS.
“In the wake of Tuesday's attack, some Muslim Americans and community leaders expressed concerns over how their religion would be perceived and whether Muslims would become targets of violence,” NBC wrote in an article titled, "Muslim Americans Again Brace for Backlash After New York Attack."
"My initial reaction was, obviously, concern and shock over what happened," Umer Ahmad, a Muslim-American physician from New Jersey, told the network. "My biggest concern is that he's readily identified as a Muslim and then that is extrapolated out to my own faith.”
But that opinion wasn't shared by others who read the article.
“Instead of the story being the barbaric murder of innocents, the media wants the story to be imagined backlash. Disgusting,” said Christopher Barron, president of Right Turn Strategies, a conservative consulting firm, and co-founder of GOProud, an organization for gay and lesbian conservatives.
Said one Twitter commenter: “NBC immediately rushes to accuse Americans of being Islamophobic bigots” after a terror attack that killed eight people.
Another Twitter use wrote:“NBC’s priority in reporting is about ‘backlash’ to Muslim Americans, not that eight people were killed.”
Saipov remained detained Wednesday after being apprehended following the attack. Federal prosecutors said Wednesday that the suspect was motivated “by hate and a twisted ideology,” as he possessed multiple gruesome ISIS-related videos and photos, including pictures of people being beheaded, Fox News reported.
He was charged with providing material support to a terror group and committing violence in Tuesday’s attack. President Donald Trump called for the death penalty Wednesday night amid reports that Saipov asked for an ISIS flag for his hospital room.
“NYC terrorist was happy as he asked to hang ISIS flag in his hospital room. He killed 8 people, badly injured 12. SHOULD GET DEATH PENALTY!,” the president tweeted.
Trump vs. Schumer: A troubling detour into politics after terror attack in New York
There may be an important immigration
debate to be had in the wake of what was undoubtedly a terrorist attack
that killed eight people in Manhattan.
It did not get off to a good start yesterday.
Instead, hours after an Uzbek citizen allegedly used a
truck to murder and injure pedestrians, there was sniping between
President Trump and Chuck Schumer.I took heat from plenty of liberals for saying, after the Las Vegas massacre, that Hillary Clinton and some Democrats might have waited one day before slamming the GOP on gun control (not that we shouldn’t have a vigorous debate, as some said in distorting my comments).
Well, now I say the same thing on the other side. It was not helpful for President Trump to make this about New York’s senior senator hours after the city was dealing with the casualties.
The president tweeted yesterday: "The terrorist came into our country through what is called the 'Diversity Visa Lottery Program,' a Chuck Schumer beauty. I want merit based. We are fighting hard for Merit Based immigration, no more Democrat Lottery Systems. We must get MUCH tougher (and smarter)."
So the fact that Sayfullo Saipov is an Uber driver who came in legally under that program seven years ago becomes Schumer’s fault in the wake of the attack?
The Senate minority leader hit back in a statement: "President Trump, instead of politicizing and dividing America, which he always seems to do at times of national tragedy, should be focusing on the real solution — antiterrorism funding — which he proposed cutting in his most recent budget."
The merit-based program was passed in 1990 with bipartisan support and signed into law by George H.W. Bush. Schumer, then a House member, was one of numerous co-sponsors.
After the Las Vegas shooting, Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that "today is a day for consoling of survivors and mourning those we lost," not debating gun control.
Again, there may be a strong case for ending or tightening the diversity program. I think we’re all tired of people shouting "Allahu Akbar," as Saipov is said to have done, during acts of mass violence.
On the other hand, it’s getting harder for law enforcement to detect people, as in Las Vegas and lower Manhattan, who have no previous criminal record.
The president also tweeted that "being politically correct is fine, but not for this!" The PC mentality can hinder anti-terrorism efforts, but it’s not clear to me how it applies to this particular case.
When he spoke to reporters yesterday, Trump said he would move immediately to get rid of the diversity program but did not mention Schumer. He did say this, which we can all agree with:
"All of America is praying and grieving for the families who lost their precious loved ones. Horrible Act. Our hearts break for them and we pledge to renew our resolve in their memory."
Howard Kurtz is a Fox News analyst and the host of "MediaBuzz" (Sundays 11 a.m.). He is the author of five books and is based in Washington. Follow him at @HowardKurtz. Click here for more information on Howard Kurtz.
Trump 'coming after' China unless it takes on North Korea, officials say
Chinese President Xi Jinping, left,
smiles at U.S. President Donald Trump as they meet in Palm Beach, Fla.,
April 6, 2017.
(Associated Press)
As he prepares to embark Friday on a major 12-day foreign policy trip to five Asian countries, President Donald Trump is finalizing plans to secure China’s involvement in curbing the threat posed by North Korea, officials say.
Trump is scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping next Wednesday in Beijing, a day after a planned stop in South Korea. Senior administration officials have said Trump will have specific demands for his Chinese counterpart --- and will be prepared to threaten consequences if China does not abide them.
Trump is expected to request that Xi impose limits on oil exports and coal imports with the rogue dictatorship, as well as broader limits on financial transactions with the regime, Reuters reported. China is responsible for more than 90 percent of all trade with North Korea.
Behind the scenes, Trump may also insist that the Chinese work to convince the North Korean government in Pyongyang to open nuclear disarmament discussions with Washington.
But a former U.S. intelligence official who is informally advising the White House on Asia policy told the Washington Times that the administration is not entirely sure what it can accomplish during the president’s visit to Beijing.
Experts say it is likely that, even if Trump's goals are uncertain of being achieved, the president will rely on various pressure points during his discussion with Xi.
One indirect tool at Trump’s disposal, U.S. officials told Reuters, is the threat of imposing further economic sanctions on North Korea. The move could destabilize the already fragile North Korean economy and lead to a surge of poor refugees from North Korea into China, creating a logistical headache and a potential humanitarian crisis for Beijing.
The president could also cause problems for Xi by formally investigating Chinese entities who administration officials say strong-arm U.S. companies into divulging proprietary intellectual property. The Washington Times reported that Trump, who first raised the issue with Xi during an August phone call, is prepared to renew the threat during next week's meeting.
And Trump, who has previously threatened to reduce China’s access to U.S. markets if it does not take a harder line on North Korea, will likely target the trade imbalance between the U.S. and China. China has the largest bilateral trade surplus with the U.S. of any country, by a significant margin.
Trump will probably tell the Chinese president, "‘I’m coming after you on trade,’” Christopher Johnson, a China analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told the Washington Times.
But Xi has sent signals that he may not be receptive to the White House’s position. After North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un sent Xi a congratulatory message for recently winning a second term as China’s Communist Party leader, Xi called for “stable” relations between the two countries.
“I wish that under the new situation the Chinese side would make efforts with the [North Korean] side to promote the relations between the two parties and the two countries to sustainable soundness and stable development,” Xi wrote, according to North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency. Xi added that China and North Korea should focus on “defending regional peace and stability and common prosperity.”
Wednesday, November 1, 2017
Conservative students at UC Berkeley face everything from insults to threats of violence
Walking across Sproul Plaza on the
campus of the University of California, Berkeley, it is hard to discern
Jonathan Chow from any other student at the school.
In his UC Berkeley water polo shirt,
cargo shorts and sneakers, the 21-year-old history major seems like any
other undergrad rushing to class or sipping coffee in the plaza.
But Chow is not like most of his fellow students. He’s
part of a small minority of seemingly marginalized students at one of
the largest universities in the U.S. He’s a conservative.“I came here to conduct my own social experiment,” Chow told Fox News. “The idea was to see if there was any way of convincing people or having a dialogue with really radical people. It has not been as successful as I wanted it to be.”
“It’s certainly not easy,” Steven Hayward, a conservative commentator and resident scholar at UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies, told Fox News. “There are not many conservative students -- and those that are conservative are, many times, afraid to speak for fear of being mocked or trolled by their fellow students.”
Chow and other conservatives on campus say that while harassment by fellow students isn’t new – they’ve been yelled at, sent hate mail, had their signs stolen when tabling and even spat upon – the animosity aimed in their direction has ratcheted up over the last year.
In February, 150 leftist black-clad protesters rampaged through Berkeley’s campus, where they caused $100,000 worth of damage, beat students and forced the University of California to cancel a planned speech by right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos.
Since then, violence by Antifa, a far-left group whose name means “anti-fascist,” has continued on Berkeley’s campus and throughout the college town, with controversial conservative writer Ann Coulter canceling a speech at the school in April after the Young America’s Foundation pulled its support for the event amid threats of violence.
In August, a group of around 100 hooded members of Antifa stormed what had been a largely peaceful rally for free speech in the town of Berkeley and attacked at least five people, including the leader of a politically conservative group that had canceled an event a day earlier in San Francisco to avoid potential violence.
Along with actual acts of violence, Berkeley’s contingent of conservative students have also had to deal with less direct threats.
Graffiti has appeared in restrooms and on school signs that read “Kill the BCRS” and “Behead the BCRS,” while the Berkeley Antifa Twitter account tweeted out the names of some BCR members and alleged that the members were meeting at a local bar with Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson and right-wing activist Kyle “Based Stickman” Chapman. BCR members and students in the conservative Young America’s Foundation have said Antifa members have stalked them while they hung posters around campus.
“Conservatives in Berkeley are routinely targeted, harassed, and stalked,” BCR External Vice President Naweed Tahmas said in an email to the Daily Californian, the campus newspaper. “It has become socially acceptable in Berkeley to physically beat someone for being a conservative.”
Officials at UC Berkeley have vehemently denied that they condone any threats or violence directed at conservatives and said they have diligently worked to protect their students while also protecting free speech.
“We’re not going to play games when it comes to the safety of our guests and the members of the campus community,” Dan Mogulof, a UC Berkeley spokesman, told Fox News.
While administration members said they are doing all they can to protect and defend free speech, the Berkeley College Republicans targeted by Antifa don’t feel the same way.
“The university’s response has been pathetic, at best,” Matt Ronnau, a BCR member, told Fox News.
“Free Speech Week” was canceled at the last minute amid a dearth of speakers and problems with the organizers, but the event galvanized both conservatives in Berkeley and those opposed to them.
It also highlighted a divide among the school’s conservatives that some blame for the ramping up in the harassment aimed at the group.
Chow, who has been a member of BCR for two years, said the organization’s new leadership is taking the group in a different direction – now it focuses on bringing in provocative speakers with far-right views and creating pet projects like the Berkeley Patriot. He said the group now seems more interested in sparking controversy than making positive changes.
Milo Yiannopoulos speech at Cal State Fullerton: Seven arrested
Milo Yiannopoulos addresses the
media during a news conference in New York City, Feb. 21, 2017.
(Reuters)
At least seven people were arrested
Tuesday after violence broke out between protesters and
counter-protesters attending an event by provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos
at California State University, Fullerton.
The speech – attracting 800 attendees
– drew multiple protesters who chanted slogans such as “Black lives
matter!” and “Cops and the Klan go hand in hand!” Some had signs
reading, “Immigrants in, racists out,” and “Only socialist revolution
can defeat capitalist reaction.”
Claudia Brick, a 66-year-old woman protesting Yiannopoulos, said she hoped to get her message across.“We believe in their right to free speech as well, but we believe we can get our message across louder, and there are certainly more of us," she said.
At least two people were arrested for scuffles, according to university spokesman Jeff Cook. It remained unclear why other people were arrested.
The police took extra precautions to ensure safety at the event. Additional police officers were brought from other agencies and helicopters hovered around the area, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Some police officers were seen wearing riot gear, others were on horseback, and several officers were on the event venue’s rooftop.
Most protesters remained peaceful but the demonstration got heated after a woman punched a female Yiannopoulos supporter several times before someone restrained her with pepper spray.
The attacked woman, Genevieve Peters, said a female protester carrying a baby attacked her after she told the woman she needed to be careful with the toddler at the protest.
"She came and just punched me in the side of the head, and came running after me, and my friends had to get her off," said Peters, describing herself as a “proud” supporter of President Donald Trump. "She tried to punch me three or four times. I feel sorry for her because she has so much anger."
The attacker quickly disappeared from the scene, but it remained unclear whether she was among the two arrested for violence.
Another woman, wearing a black helmet and a mask, was arrested after shooting pepper spray into the air. She was heard agitating demonstrators to storm the Yiannopoulos event and beat him up, the L.A. Times reported.
Most violence was recorded prior the event, with only small arguments erupting in the aftermath. The event was the speaker's first big appearance on a U.S. college campus after the highly anticipated “Free Speech Week” at UC Berkeley fell apart amid disorganization.
Yiannopoulos' event at Fullerton was organized by the College Republicans, who invited the speaker as a way to draw attention to the existence of conservative students at the college and the need for free speech.
"We really just felt left out of the conversations on campus as conservatives, and bringing him has really started this conversation about free speech," said Brooke Paz, a spokeswoman for the group.
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