The apparent resolution of the diplomatic row was announced by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan following a government meeting to discuss the potential expulsion of the ambassadors late on Monday. Shortly before the meeting, the US Embassy, along with as well others involved in the scandal, released a statement pledging their …
Read More »Turkey to declare US, 9 other ambassadors ‘persona non grata’ after call for release of jailed opposition figure – Erdogan
The move was announced by Turkey’s president during a public speech on Saturday. “I gave the necessary instructions to our foreign minister, I said that you will handle the denunciation of the 10 ambassadors as soon as possible,” Erdogan said. The furious reaction was prompted by a joint statement, released …
Read More »Federal Reserve bans stock trading, other investments for top officials after controversies
The US’ central bank released a statement on Thursday, detailing the broad new rules, which limit senior Federal Reserve officials to “purchasing diversified investment vehicles, like mutual funds.” This will mean top officials cannot hold individual bonds or stocks in public companies. New regulations also require that permitted investments, like …
Read More »Black hobbits, female heroes and other races in Amazon’s new ‘Lord of the Rings’ series draw mixed reactions
Earlier in the week, British actor Lenny Henry revealed that he would be playing a “black hobbit” from an “indigenous” tribe called the Harfoots – a variety of hobbit described by Lord of the Rings (LOTR) author J.R.R. Tolkien as having darker skin. Describing the series as a “prequel to …
Read More »Stasi of the suburbs turn neighbours against each other as Aussie police spend months tracking down anti-lockdown protesters
If the police ever come for me – not that I’m expecting them – I hope it’s with the blues and twos blasting, loudhailer shouts of “Police! Open up!”, a battering ram bursting through the front door, flash grenades, and a smoke-choked mess of chaos and confusion. I’d know what …
Read More »Instead of policing the rule of law in other countries, the US should get its own house in order
Roy Cohn, Senator Joe McCarthy’s legal pitbull, famously proclaimed, “Don’t tell me what the law is, tell me who the judge is.” Cohn, speaking back in the 1950s, was opining that the US does not have a rule of law, but instead a rule of men and women who decide cases …
Read More »Majority of Trump voters and 41% of Biden fans want to SECEDE from union, see ‘other’ party as totalitarian – poll
Some 52% of Trump voters surveyed by the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia believe the country would be better off if Republican-voting (‘red’) states seceded from the union to form their own nation, according to a poll published on Friday. A quarter of such voters strongly agreed …
Read More »Elon Musk and Grimes split to cavalcade of memes, insisting they still ‘love each other’ and will co-parent ‘Baby X’
The SpaceX tycoon and Tesla founder told entertainment-news website Page Six on Friday that, though the pair are “semi-separated,” they remain close – indeed, he said, she was currently staying with him, and “Baby X” was “in the adjacent room.” Baby X would appear to be Daddy’s moniker for X …
Read More »Sen. Schumer & other top Dems urge Biden to stop expulsion of Haitian refugees, as UN says decision may violate international law
As Biden begins the mass expulsion of Haitian refugees – around 14,000 of whom have showed up under a bridge in the Texas border town of Del Rio in recent weeks, many fleeing natural disaster and political turmoil in their home country – members of his own party have rejected …
Read More »Derek Chauvin, 3 other ex-cops plead not guilty in federal case over violating George Floyd’s civil rights
The four ex-cops pleaded “not guilty” in court on Tuesday. The former officers – Derek Chauvin, Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane – were charged by a federal jury back in May. The defendants made their court appearance through a video link, with Chauvin communicating with the court …
Read More »