Monthly Archives: July 2017

Poland hasnt really had a turn in the world spotlight since the 1980s, when all eyes were on the drama of the Solidarity labor movements perilous but ultimately successful struggle against Communist rule.

President Trumps stop in Warsaw, where he arrived Wednesday night on his way to the Group of 20 meeting in Germany, focuses attention on a country viewed by many as having come full circle since those heady days.

Polands right-wing government views the visit as an enormous boost to its prestige, and has worked to ensure that Trump-friendly crowds turn out for a U.S. president known to relish shows of public adulation.

U.S. allies in Western Europe, however, worry that the presidents visit is in effect stamping a seal of approval on the Polish leaderships aggressive moves against democratic institutions such as the courts and the news media, and that Trump could be seen as offering an implicit endorsement of the governments populist, stridently anti-immigrant stance, which is reminiscent in some ways of his own.

Still colored in many ways by the sorrowful legacy of the 20th century, including the deaths of about one-fifth of its population in World War II, Poland has strong U.S. ties, personified by a large diaspora in the United States. While countries such as Ireland and Germany claim a far larger share of ancestral roots among Americans, Americans of Polish ancestry number nearly 10 million and have left an indelible mark on cities including Chicago and New York.

Tracy Wilkinson

Tracy Wilkinson

NATO ally Poland also hosts a contingent of about 900 U.S. troops, and has for many years contributed to U.S. and NATO missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. And it spends more of its GDP on military expenditures than most of its North Atlantic Treaty Organization neighbors, a subject Trump publicly lectured the alliance about during an awkward visit in May.

Trumps public events in Poland were scheduled for Thursday.

Heres some background about the first stop on Trumps second international trip as president.

Trumps Polish counterpart, President Andrzej Duda, shares some common policy ground with the U.S. president, including prospects for energy deal-making, a shared mistrust of Muslim immigrants and refugees and a degree of disdain for the European Union. But the countrys most powerful political figure is Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the head of the nationalist-minded ruling Law and Justice party, which won 2015 parliamentary elections.

Under Kaczynski, the party has moved to rein in the judiciary, sought to muscle media outlets into taking a more pro-government line and advanced various conspiracy theories, including one surrounding the 2010 plane crash in Russia that killed dozens of Polish dignitaries including Kaczynski's twin brother, Lech, who was then president.

Its a more complicated question than the sight of cheering crowds some of them bused in by backers of the governing party from outside Warsaw might suggest. Within Poland, support for Trump tends to break down along urban-countryside lines, with less enthusiasm for his policies and rough-edged political style in cosmopolitan Warsaw.

In a recent Pew Global Attitudes survey, Trumps ratings in Poland and neighboring Hungary were higher than in most of the rest of Europe, but still low in terms of his leadership qualities. According to the survey, only 23% of Poles trust the U.S. president to do the right thing in global affairs.

Still, Poland is seen by Trumps entourage as far friendlier territory than Western Europe, where his relations with leaders like German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron have been strained over the decision to abandon the landmark Paris climate accord, among other issues.

As in most countries, domestic issues like the economy are the biggest day-to-day concerns for most people. When it comes to foreign policy, the behemoth to the east Russia overshadows everything. Polish officials are keenly aware that they have Trumps ear as he heads into bilateral talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday on the sidelines of the summit in Hamburg. Like all NATO allies that have Russia as a near neighbor, Poland has a keen interest in the degree of Trumps commitment to the NATO alliances fundamental principle, which states that an attack on one is an attack on all.

In some important respects, yes. Its government has feuded with the European Union over a variety of topics, including immigration quotas and a fray over the governments attempt to derail an EU leadership role for former Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, now seen as an adversary of the ruling party.

Polands leaders are thought to be using Trumps visit to make at least symbolic inroads into Germanys powerhouse status on the Continent. He will join in an event convened by Warsaw ostensibly to boost regional trade and infrastructure the Three Seas initiative, but seen by some as a Polish-led bid to carve out a separate sphere of influence in Eastern Europe.

Warm receptions are the norm. Presidents Obama, George W. Bush and Clinton all made a point of meeting with Lech Walesa, the Solidarity leader who rose to the presidency. Walesa is considered an enemy by the current government, and there were no private talks with Trump on the agenda.

Poland has a long and tragic history of being caught between powerful warring empires. Even before Polands oppression-haunted decades as part of the Soviet bloc, the countrys dead in World War II amounted to a staggering 6 million, about 20% of the prewar population. Outside recognition of past suffering is well received; Trumps main public event is a speech in the capitals Krasinski Square, near a monument to the 1944 Warsaw Uprising. The presidents national security advisor, H.R. McMaster, said in a pre-trip briefing that Trump would praise Polish courage throughout historys darkest hour, and celebrate Polands emergence as a European power.

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In Poland, a right-wing, populist, anti-immigrant government sees an ally in Trump - Los Angeles Times

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'There was only one issue:' At parades and protests, GOP gets earful about health care News & Observer "Isn't freedom wonderful?" Cruz asked. "In much of the world, if protesters showed up, they would face violent government oppression. In America, we've got something different." In a follow-up interview with the Texas Tribune, Cruz characterized the ... At parades and protests, GOP lawmakers get earful about health careWashington Post all 17 news articles »

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'There was only one issue:' At parades and protests, GOP gets earful about health care - News & Observer

Wednesday, July 5, 2017 at 10:54 a.m.

Senator Ted Cruz went to McAllen on the Fourth of July, and that blue section of Texas responded as you'd expect.

Photo courtesy of Sen. Ted Cruz's office

Senator Ted Cruz is nothing if not optimistic. There's really no other explanation for why the junior senator from Texas opted to spend Fourth of July in McAllen, a reliably Democratic section of the state where his visit was met with protesters eager to give Cruz a talking-to about the Senate's current efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

It wasn't a simple walk in the park for Cruz this time around as he had to deal with hecklers and protesters throughout the day.

While Cruz excels at dealing with opposition when he's standing on the Senate floor or baiting opponents on a debate stage, he doesn't always do so well with regular people, as we've noted before. On Tuesday he had to struggle to be heard throughout his part in the Fourth of July festivities as protesters shouted at him while supporters countered that interruption with their own chants of "USA," according to the Texas Tribune.

To Cruz's credit, he handled the protests and general commotion with some grace."Isn't freedom wonderful?" Cruz said shortly after taking the stage. "Think about it: In much of the world, if protesters showed up, they would face violent government oppression. In America, we've got something different."

Cruz, who already has one challenger, Democratic U.S. Representative Beto O'Rourke, in the upcoming midterm elections in 2018, has been hard at work trying to remake his image as a guy who is not only an obstructionist, but who also actually gets legislation passed, as we've pointed out. If the Senate bill to repeal and replace Obamacare actually becomes law, many are already saying that Cruz will be one of the reasons that happened.

But as was evident on Tuesday, being the guy who helps get rid of the Affordable Care Act may not see Cruz go from being obnoxious and disliked to celebrated and beloved across Texas.

Even the fact that Cruz was going to be in McAllen on Independence Day drew some criticism that pushed McAllen's mayor to justify the visit. Mayor Jim Darling released a statement after the news broke that Cruz would be attending, arguing that this was a chance for both sides to "engage in productive dialogue."

Darling has a point. Cruz is working hard to reshape his image in the face of the upcoming election this marked his third trip to McAllen since December and in some ways just having him there is a chance for those with other views to show Cruz there are other constituents out there and other opinions than the ones that he usually caters to.

Photo courtesy of Senator Ted Cruz's office

But not everyone decided to bide his time. A local immigrant rights group, La Union del Pueblo Entero, weighed out the chance to meet with Cruz privately during his trip but decided to hold out for a town hall meeting, where Cruz would have to hear and respond to their concerns in full view of the public. The town hall they were hoping for didn't happen, but Cruz did have to deal with the protesters, partly because of the sheer number of them and the volume of their heckling.

Cruz handled the animosity he was greeted with fairly smoothly, working the crowd before his speech and speaking with supporters and protesters alike, but he did balk at directly engaging with the most indignant cluster of opponents, who were grouped in the bleachers holding signs that said"Ted wants us dead," and "Cruzin for a Bruzin 2018."

Of course, because Cruz is still Cruz, he ultimately underplayed the number of people who had turned out for the explicit purpose of booing and heckling him, describing them as a "small group of people on the left who right now are very angry," according to Talking Points Memo.

But on the upside, Cruz did show up and actually hear what some of his non-Republican constituents had to say. In the current political climate, that alone seems like something.

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Ted Cruz Heckled During July 4 Visit to McAllen - Houston Press

Business Review Board Jul. 5, 2017

Longtime Democrat-controlled state governments are running out of other peoples money. Three states in particular are in varying degrees of budgetary crisis. Illinois, Connecticut and New Jersey are swimming in debt and yet Democrats only solution is to call for tax increases, not spending cuts. Illinois is especially bad, finding itself staring at a growing debt crisis owing primarily to the cost of public pensions. It recently passed a massive tax hike, though Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner vetoed the bill over its failure to deal with the root cause of the problem the public employment system. But the state senates Democrat majority overrode Rauners veto, displaying once again that Democrats dance to the tune of big unions over and against the interests of citizens. Is it any wonder that Illinois has seen its population decrease by over 500,000 since 2010?

Both Connecticut and New Jersey find themselves in similar predicaments. Theyre trying to find the funds to pay for ever-increasing public pensions and retirement health care costs without actually working to reform these programs that have precipitated the problem in the first place. And their solution is always increased taxes.

By contrast, look at a longtime Republican-controlled state. Tennessee is a state where high taxes are essentially non-existent. With no regular income tax, the Volunteer State has become a magnet for businesses and Americans seeking greater freedom from oppression of government excess. The Brookings Institute ranks the state as number one in the nation for advanced industry job growth. The state government also finds itself on the opposite side of the debt crisis and sitting on a revenue surplus, as Tennessees constitution requires lawmakers pass a balanced budget plan each year. As a right-to-work state, it has helped to prevent the development of a political culture adhering to the demands of unions. When individual freedom is prized over collectivist sympathies, the result is a government with fiscal restraints rather than unchecked excesses.

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Democrat-Controlled States Face Debt Crisis - Patriot Post

Marching in local July 4 parades is a tradition for members of Congress, who use the holiday to show their constituents that they are part of the communities they represent.

But this July 4, a number of Senate Republicans sat out the festivities, deciding instead to lay low amid a fierce debate over the GOPs health care plan thats unpopular among voters in every state in the country.

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) didnt march in any July 4 parades in her home state, which voted for President Donald Trump by a 42-point margin, according to the New York Times. However, her Democratic colleague Joe Manchin, one of the most vulnerable Senate Democrats up for re-election in 2018, did choose to march.

Also missing from home-state July 4 parades were Iowa GOP Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, Colorado Republican Sen. Cory Gardner and Ohio GOP Sen. Rob Portman, the New York Times reported.

Republican senators who did march in parades were met by voters angry over the health care bill which the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates will lead 22 million people to lose coverage.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was greeted by protesters at a July 4 event in McAllen, a town located on the states border with Mexico.

Ted wants us dead, one protesters sign read, according to the Texas Tribune.

Isnt freedom wonderful? Cruz said, referring to the protesters, according to the Texas Tribune. Think about it: In much of the world, if protesters showed up, they would face violent government oppression. In America, weve got something different.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) one of the Republican senators most vocal about her opposition to the GOPs bill said voters thanked her for standing up to the legislation proposed by her Republican colleagues.

There was only one issue. Thats unusual. Its usually a wide range of issues, Collins told the Washington Post after marching in a parade in a rural area of her state. I heard, over and over again, encouragement for my stand against the current version of the Senate and House health care bills. People were thanking me, over and over again. Thank you, Susan! Stay strong, Susan!

Senate Republicans are still working on crafting a plan to make good on their promise to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare. One version of the bill that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell submitted for CBO analysis contains changes, crafted by Cruz, that would essentially create high-risk pools for Americans with pre-existing conditions.

Its unclear whether that plan will be put up for a vote when Congress returns to Washington, D.C., on Monday.

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Senate Republicans avoid July 4 parades and their constituents amid health care debate - Mic

Israel Philharmonic Orchestra Protest at Lincoln Center, New York City, April 2017. (Photo: Bud Korotzer/BDS Movement)

Ina letter made public today, over 60theater artists have called on Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, a leading U.S. arts institution located in Manhattan, to cancel Israeli government-sponsored performances by two Israeli theater companies scheduled for July 2427. The signers of the letter have won numerous awards for their work in theater, including four Pulitzer Prizes, three Tony Awards, and nine Obie Awards. The letter signed by the artists asserts that the performances by Israels Habima National Theatre and the Cameri Theater of Tel Aviv will help the Israeli government to implement its systematicBrand Israelstrategy of employing arts and culture to divert attention from the states decades of violent colonization, brutal military occupation and denial of basic rights to the Palestinian people.

Lincoln Center isadvertising the performancesby the Israeli theater companies as presented With support of Israels Office of Cultural Affairs in North America.The artists lettersays that the performances are part of the Israeli governments Brand Israel public relations strategy which,according to an Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs official, sends well-known novelists and writers overseas, theater companies, exhibitsThis way you show Israels prettier face, so we are not thought of purely in the context of war.The artists also criticize Habima and Cameri theaters because, despitepast opposition from artists, they have repeatedlyperformed inand legitimized Israels illegal settlements built on Israeli-occupied Palestinian land. The letter calls on Lincoln Center to respect the Palestinian civil society callfor a boycottof those Israeli cultural institutions that are complicit in the denial of Palestinian rights. A second Israeli play set to be performed at the same Lincoln Center festival, but without Israeli government sponsorship, was not raised as a concern in the letter signed by artists.The letter was initiated by the New York City Palestinian rights group Adalah-NY: The New York Campaign for the Boycott of Israel. It was also signed by eighteen other organizations, including thirteen Palestinian theater and arts groups, thePalestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel(PACBI), and theJewish Voice for PeaceArtists Council.

In a June 27emailed response to the letter,Lincoln Center President Debora Spardefended the performances, writing that, we seek to bring a wide range of ideas and voices to our stages each year, and that we do not make political statements and hope that the art we present can stand on its own.

Noelle Ghoussaini, playwright, from the Between the Seas Festival site.

In response,director and playwright Noelle Ghoussainicommented, I believe it is essential that we (audiences, institutions, and artists) seek to understand the political and social context of the art we engage with.By partnering with the apartheid government of Israel,Lincoln Center is making a political statement insupport Israels occupation and systematic denial of Palestinian rights. By signing onto this letter, I urge Lincoln Center to take a stand for equality and human rights by adhering to the cultural boycott.

Mustafa Sheta, General Secretary of the Freedom Theatrein Jenin explained, By hosting Israeli government supported performances by Israels Habima and Cameri theatres, not only is the Lincoln Center opening its prestigious doors to institutions deeply complicit in the oppression of Palestinians, including theatre workers, artists, musicians and cultural organizations. It is also making a clear political choice to play a supporting role in Israels cynical use of the arts to cover up decades of denying Palestinian rights. Lincoln Center should reject that role and instead join theatre artists supporting the Palestinian call to boycott Israeli cultural institutions complicit in our oppression, until we are free to write our own future.

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Annie Baker, a signatory to the letter, commented, I think the phrase cultural boycottscares people, and its important to remember that a) its not a boycott against individual artists or nationalities, and b) it has historical precedent as an extremely effective way to call attention to apartheid (yes, Israel is an apartheid state) and influence policy.

MJ Kaufman, a member of Jewish Voices for Peaces Artists Council, added that, As a Jewish American playwright I do not condone the use of theater to cover up Israels human rights abuses.Our work should expose and call attention to violence and inequality, not obscure it.I am disturbed by the Israeli government using theater to justify occupation and colonization. Out of solidarity with the Palestinian and Israeli artists who have called for Habima and Cameri to stop performing in Israels illegal settlements and on the Israeli government to stop using art and theater to justify occupation, I call on Lincoln Center to cancel these performances.

The Palestinian civil society movement forboycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS)calls for an economic, cultural, and academic boycott of companies and institutions that are complicit in Israels denial of Palestinian rights until Israel respects the rights of Palestinians, whether living under Israeli military occupation, as unequal citizens of Israel, or as refugees who are denied their right to return to their homeland. The Palestinian BDS is modeled on the global boycott movement that helped to bring an end to apartheid in South Africa.

PEN America recentlydropped Israeli government sponsorshipfor its annual World Voices literary festival following an appealsigned by over 240 well-known writers, poets, and publishers.

Click to view the letter signed by artists and sent to Lincoln Center.

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Theater artists ask Lincoln Center to cancel Israeli government ... - Mondoweiss

TEHRAN: Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has urged his countrys judiciary to extend support to oppressed Muslims in Kashmir, news agency IRNA reported. Khamenei called on the Iranian judiciary to firmly declare support or opposition to legal and humanitarian issues, such as sanctions, terrorism and oppressed people in the world, in order to reflect its stance on them throughout the world. Khamenei had met with government heads and officials belonging to the judicial system. The Iranian leader also called on the judiciary to support Sheikh Zakzaky, a Nigerian Shia scholar who had been detained by the government. Earlier, Khamenei had, during an Eid-ul-Fitr sermon, called upon the Muslim world to support the oppressed people of Bahrain, Yemen and Kashmir, in what is believed to be the first time he publicly called for support for Kashmir in seven years. The last time he spoke about Kashmir, the Indian government had formally lodged a protest with Tehran. Khamenei in 2010 had said: The major duties of the elite of the Islamic Ummah is to provide help to the Palestinian nation and the besieged people of Gaza, to sympathise and provide assistance to the nations of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and Kashmir, to engage in struggle and resistance against the aggressions of the United States and the Zionist regime. Agencies

Kashmir conflict, Kashmir Dispute, Kashmir issue

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Khamenei urges formation of policy on oppression of Muslims in Kashmir - Kashmir Reader