Tag: nigel farage
Republicans Use Waukesha Parade Tragedy To Push Anti-Semitic Politics

Republicans Use Waukesha Parade Tragedy To Push Anti-Semitic Politics

Conservatives have wasted no time in politicizing the recent Waukesha, Wisconsin, tragedy, in which a driver plowed his car into scores of people participating in a local holiday parade.

The most recent theory promoted by some Republicans is anti-Semitic in nature and suggests billionaire philanthropist George Soros is somehow responsible for what happened.

"The massacre in Waukesha is horrifying. It was also preventable," Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) tweeted Monday. "Soros prosecutors unleash havoc and violence when they take power. It is their goal. When we take back Congress, Republicans will take on the Soros prosecutors and stand up for the victims of crime."

Conservative lawmakers have specifically tried to blame the liberal donor for giving funds to local district attorney campaigns, to back bail reform, citing the fact that the Waukesha driver behind Sunday's incident had posted bond just over a week earlier, after being charged with reckless endangerment and skipping bail in a separate domestic abuse case.

The man in question had a long history of run-ins with police and had allegedly been fleeing the scene of another suspected domestic dispute when he struck multiple parade participants, killing at least five. The Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office has since announced an inquiry into what it called the "inappropriately low" bail approved for the suspect earlier in November.

While Soros has poured money into such races across the country, it was not immediately clear whether he had given to John Chisholm, the Milwaukee County district attorney. A scan of finance reports from Chisholm's campaign committee, Citizens for Chisholm, did not immediately reveal any contributions from the philanthropist.

Republicans were quick to blame Soros regardless.

"He funds everything destructive to faith, families, and freedom. He hates America," Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) wrote. "George Soros should have his citizenship revoked and we should block his money from poisoning our great country forever more. It's simple. If you don't like our Constitution, we throw you out."

Invoking Soros' name in connection with conspiracy theories and global plots, as many on the right commonly do, follows a pattern of anti-Semitism that connotes Jewish control of society, according to experts. Soros is a Holocaust survivor who was born in Hungary in 1930, and made his fortune as a hedge fund manager.

"In far-right circles worldwide, Soros' philanthropy often is recast as fodder for outsized conspiracy theories, including claims that he masterminds specific global plots or manipulates particular events to further his goals," the Anti-Defamation League, a leading Jewish advocacy organization, states on its site. "Many of those conspiracy theories employ longstanding anti-Semitic myths, particularly the notion that rich and powerful Jews work behind the scenes, plotting to control countries and manipulate global events."

"Soros prosecutors" has become a canard on the right in the culture war fight around policing and tough-on-crime policies. Conservatives, for example, recently targeted a Muslim prosecutor in Loudoun County, Virginia, in the lead-up to the state's gubernatorial election, alleging that her connection to Soros resulted in a school sexual assault cover-up.

The more recent right-wing claims, including one from Ohio-based Senate candidate J.D. Vance that "the Waukesha terrorist is just one of many criminals that Soros-backed prosecutors have released into our cities" and that his philanthropy has created "death and crime across America," are the latest in a trend of GOP fear-mongering surrounding the incident.

Hours after the Sunday night incident, Fox News hosted Nigel Farage, a former British politician and Brexit leader, who connected the parade tragedy to the southern border and domestic terrorism, despite the case having nothing to do with immigration.

The attempts to tie the Waukesha driver to Democrats appears to be part of a broader attempt by conservatives to use crime as a cudgel against the left, alleging that high crime rates are a result of liberal policies to slash police budgets or admit immigrants and refugees into the country.

Crime has increased nationwide, but that rise has not been limited to Democrat-controlled regions. Numbers have ballooned in some cities that boosted police funding as well.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.

After Perceived Snubs, UK’s May Calls Trump To Strengthen Ties

After Perceived Snubs, UK’s May Calls Trump To Strengthen Ties

LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Theresa May and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump agreed on Tuesday that they should work to build relationships through the U.S. transition and meet at the earliest opportunity.

Britain has long cherished its “special relationship” with the United States as a central pillar of its foreign policy, but speculation has been widespread in London about how ties would evolve under Trump after a series of perceived snubs from him.

“The Prime Minister called the U.S. President-elect this afternoon as part of establishing a regular dialogue between both of them,” May’s Downing Street office said in a statement.

“They discussed how the President-elect’s transition plans were progressing and agreed that their teams should continue to build close relationships through this period, including with a meeting of their National Security Advisers in the United States before Christmas,” it said.

Trump caused astonishment in London last week when he suggested that Nigel Farage of the opposition UKIP party, a firebrand of the Brexit cause and vitriolic critic of the ruling Conservatives, should be Britain’s ambassador to Washington.

The government responded that there was no vacancy, but the suggestion, an unprecedented breach of diplomatic protocol, was embarrassing for Downing Street.

Following his election, Trump spoke to nine other world leaders before he spoke to May, which also raised eyebrows in London.

In Tuesday’s call, the two leaders also discussed NATO, agreeing on its importance and on the need for more members of the alliance to meet the target of spending 2 percent of GDP on defense.

Britain already meets that commitment, but Trump has repeatedly complained about others falling short, raising concerns in other NATO countries about his intentions toward the organization.

(Reporting by Estelle Shirbon; editing by Stephen Addison)

IMAGE: Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May waits to greet Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel at Downing Street in London, Britain November 22, 2016. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth

Anxious World Leaders Seek Clarity On Trump Policies

Anxious World Leaders Seek Clarity On Trump Policies

By Angus MacSwan

LONDON (Reuters) – World leaders offered to work with Donald Trump when he takes over as U.S. president, but expressed anxiety over how he will handle problems from the Middle East to an assertive Russia and whether he will carry out a number of campaign threats.

Several authoritarian and right-wing leaders hailed the billionaire businessman and former TV show host, who won the leadership of the world’s most powerful country against the odds in Tuesday’s election.

China, a target of Trump’s ire during his campaign, appealed for cooperation. Mexico also struck a conciliatory tone, despite Trump’s insults to Mexican migrants and pledges to build a wall to separate the two countries. South Korea urged him not to change policy on North Korea’s nuclear tests.

Trump, who has no previous political or military experience, said after defeating Democrat Hillary Clinton that he would seek common ground, not conflict, with the United States’ allies.

In the election campaign, he voiced admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin, questioned central tenets of the NATO military alliance and suggested Japan and South Korea should develop nuclear weapons to shoulder their own defense burden.

Putin was among the first to send Trump congratulations.

Ties between Washington and Moscow have become strained over the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria, and allegations of Russian cyber attacks featured in the election campaign.

“It is not an easy path, but we are ready to do our part and do everything to return Russian and American relations to a stable path of development,” said Putin, for whom an easing of U.S. economic sanctions would be a prize.

Among other issues causing concern among allies are Trump’s vows to undo a global agreement on climate change, ditch trade deals he says have been bad for U.S. workers, and renegotiate the nuclear accord between Tehran and world powers which has led to an easing of sanctions on Iran.

Iran urged Trump to stay committed to the Iran deal. President Hassan Rouhani said the nuclear accord with six world powers could not be dismissed by one government.

UNCERTAINTY

German Chancellor Angela Merkel — denounced by Trump as “insane” for allowing more than 1 million migrants into the country last year — added a stern note in her message of congratulations which hinted at a certain unease.

“Germany and America are bound together by values – democracy, freedom, respecting the rule of law, people’s dignity regardless of their origin, the color of their skin, religion, gender, sexual orientation or political views,” Merkel said.

“On the basis of these values, I am offering to work closely with the future President of the United States Donald Trump.”

In Britain, where Trump’s victory had echoes of June’s referendum in which voters showed dissatisfaction with the political establishment by voting to leave the European Union, Prime Minister Theresa May said the “enduring and special relationship” between the two countries would remain intact.

But Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, who has often expressed distaste for Trump, said many people in the United States and across the world would feel “a real sense of anxiety.”

Nigel Farage, a leader of the Brexit campaign who spoke at a Trump rally during the election campaign, tweeted: “I hand over the mantle to @RealDonaldTrump! Many congratulations. You have fought a brave campaign.”

Some European officials however took the unusual step of openly denouncing the outcome, calling it a worrying signal for liberal democracy and tolerance in the world.

“We’re realizing now that we have no idea what this American president will do,” Norbert Roettgen, the head of the German parliament’s foreign affairs committee, said.

President Francois Hollande said France wanted to begin talks with Trump immediately to clarify his stance on international affairs.

“This American election opens a period of uncertainty,” Hollande said.

French officials had endorsed Clinton and warned that Trump’s “confused” foreign policy objectives were alarming for the rest of the world.

“The U.S. is a vital partner for France and what’s at stake is peace, the fight against terrorism, the situation in the Middle East, economic relations and the preservation of the planet,” Hollande said.

But like-minded right-wing European parties that are hoping to make inroads of their own in 2017 — a year in which Germany, France and the Netherlands hold elections, and Italy and Britain could also do so — hailed Trump’s victory.

France’s far-right National Front leader, Marine Le Pen, said she hoped the same kind of upset would happen in France.

“The Americans gave themselves a president of their choosing and not the one that the establishment wanted them to rubber-stamp,” she said.

PARTNERS AND ALLIES

Mexican President Pena Nieto, who was criticized for receiving Trump in Mexico during the campaign, said he was ready to work with the president-elect.

“Mexico and the United States are friends, partners and allies and we should keep collaborating for the competitiveness and development of North America,” Pena Nieto said.

Trump has said he could tear up the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), saying that it has killed U.S. jobs, and he called Mexican immigrants rapists during his campaign.

Sounding conciliatory, Chinese President Xi Jinping said Beijing and Washington shared responsibility for promoting global development and prosperity.

“I place great importance on the China-U.S. relationship, and look forward to working with you to uphold the principles of non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation,” Xi told Trump, who had pledged to take on China and to tax Chinese imports to stop currency devaluation.

South Korea expressed the hope that Trump would maintain current U.S. policy of pressuring North Korea over its nuclear and missile tests. Seoul was concerned Trump may make unpredictable proposals to North Korea, a ruling party official said, quoting top national security officials.

A Japanese government official, speaking before Trump clinched the election, urged him to send a message as soon as possible to reassure the world of the United States’ commitment to its allies.

“We are certainly concerned about the comments (Trump) has made to date about the alliance and the U.S. role in the Pacific, particularly Japan,” the Japanese official said.

In the Middle East, Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu, who had a poor relationship with President Barack Obama, said he hoped to reach “new heights” in bilateral ties under Trump.

Obama and Netanyahu sparred over the issue of Israeli settlements, while Trump has said they should expand.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas also congratulated Trump, but analysts said his rule may be profoundly negative for Palestinian aspirations.

And despite Trump’s negative rhetoric about Muslims during his campaign, including threats to ban them from the United States, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said he hoped the business magnate’s election would breathe new life into U.S.-Egyptian ties.

(Reporting by Reuters bureaus in Europe, Asia and the Americas, Editing by Timothy Heritage)

IMAGE: An Afghan man watches the broadcasting of the 2016 U.S. presidential election results on TV in Kabul, Afghanistan November 9, 2016.  REUTERS/Omar Sobhani

Outgoing Anti-EU Firebrand Farage Demands His Party Push For ‘Hard’ Brexit

Outgoing Anti-EU Firebrand Farage Demands His Party Push For ‘Hard’ Brexit

Bournemouth, England (Reuters) – Nigel Farage, the firebrand of Britain’s Brexit campaign, used his final speech as leader of the UK Independence Party on Friday to demand that his successor pushes for a “hard” EU exit that meets the demands of his party’s voters.

UKIP played a crucial role in the June 23 European Union referendum, tapping into anger at Brussels and rising anti-establishment sentiment to fuel a surprise 52-48 percent exit vote which rocked global financial markets.

But the party has suffered a series of bitter rows over its future direction since then and, with its main star Farage stepping down, faces a struggle to retain its influence over voters. His successor is due to be named later in the day.

Making his valedictory address at the UKIP annual conference in the southern English resort of Bournemouth, Farage said his party had “changed the center of gravity” of British politics.

But he warned that his successor must not let the government water down the terms of Britain’s EU exit.

“We can be very proud of the fact that we won the war but we now must win the peace,” he told a crowd of cheering activists.

“The only mechanism to put pressure on the government to keep the debate live and to make sure that those 17.4 million people (who voted ‘Leave’) get what they voted for is for UKIP to be healthy and for UKIP to be strong.”

Commentators say UKIP has become so synonymous with Farage, who first led the party from 2006 until and 2009 then took over the reins again the following year, that his departure leaves a huge gap which will be hard to fill.

His speech drew rapturous applause from supporters crowded into the conference hall to see the party’s star performer.

It set out three criteria by which the success of the government’s Brexit negotiations should be judged: whether Britain is outside the single market and free from European regulation, whether it has control of fishing rights in its territorial waters, and whether it has got rid of EU passports.

After the referendum result, Farage said he would step down as leader, and has since lent his experience of leading a popular political uprising to U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump’s campaign.

“I intend this autumn to travel around some other European capitals to try and help independents and democracy movements in those countries too,” he said.

(Additional reporting by Tina Bellon in London; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

Photo: Nigel Farage, the outgoing leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), speaks at the party’s annual conference in Bournemouth, Britain, September 16, 2016. REUTERS/Toby Melville