DonViejo
DonViejo's JournalAs Maduro confronts a crisis, Russia's footprint in Venezuela grows
By Mariana Zuñiga, Anthony Faiola and Anton Troianovski March 29 at 8:15 PM
CARACAS, Venezuela After two Russian military planes landed near Caracas this month, the Trump administration issued stark warnings over President Nicolás Maduros ties to the Kremlin. But a vessel that arrived in the waters off Venezuelas Caribbean coast a day earlier offered a more telling sign of a deepening relationship that is so alarming to Washington.
Venezuela has the worlds largest known oil reserves, with transport and sales of its thick, sludgy crude long dependent on chemical thinners purchased from the United States. After Washington barred U.S. companies from selling them to Venezuela in January and warned foreign companies to follow suit Maduro faced a dire predicament: How would he stave off the industrys total collapse?
Like manna from Moscow,
an answer arrived in the form of a red-and-black tanker, the Serengeti, that loaded a cargo of thinners off the coast of Malta before arriving in Venezuela on March 22. The company that chartered the vessel: Russias state-run oil giant Rosneft.
Relations between Russia and Venezuela are excellent, Alexey Seredin, minister counselor at the Russian Embassy in Caracas, said in an interview. At the moment, we are working to strengthen cooperation.
The arrival of vital diluents is only one part of an expanding Russian footprint in Venezuela. Moscow is dispatching military personnel and equipment and is acting to offset U.S. sanctions by shipping Venezuelan crude to India for processing. The Kremlin is poised to increase wheat sales and dispatch more medical aid. This month, Venezuela also announced the opening in Moscow of a regional headquarters for PDVSA, its state-run oil giant.
more
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/as-maduro-confronts-a-crisis-russias-footprint-in-venezuela-grows/2019/03/29/fcf93cec-50b3-11e9-bdb7-44f948cc0605_story.html
With social program fights, some Republicans fear being seen as the party of the 1 percent
By Robert Costa and
Mike DeBonis March 29 at 5:37 PM
President Trump boasted this week that the Republican Party will soon be known as the party of great health care. But a growing number of Republicans fear that it risks being tagged as the party of the 1 percent instead handing Democrats a potent political message as the GOP pushes to gut former president Barack Obamas health-care law and other popular federal programs, including those that help the poor and people with disabilities.
A spate of policy moves in recent weeks by Republican lawmakers and Trump administration officials has driven the partys agenda hard to the right, giving new fodder to Democratic presidential candidates eager to shift the national debate to such issues as health care and jobs ahead of the 2020 election.
The administrations budget released this month, for example, includes massive rollbacks of programs including Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security Disability Insurance, as well as cuts to the Special Olympics, Meals on Wheels, and programs related to autism and other developmental disabilities.
Trump signaled his misgivings about some of those cuts in recent days rescinding a proposal to zero out Special Olympics funding, which had sparked a bipartisan backlash, and promising to protect a cleanup program for the Great Lakes in states that could be crucial to his reelection.
Democrats said the broad efforts by Trump and Republicans to attack programs that aid lower-income and working-class Americans could help blunt the presidents populist appeal and provide voters with more reasons to consider supporting Democratic candidates. The debate bears echoes of Obamas successful reelection effort in 2012, when Democrats attacked now-Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) as an out-of-touch GOP nominee beholden to the wealthiest Americans.
more
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/with-social-program-fights-some-republicans-fear-being-seen-as-the-party-of-the-1-percent/2019/03/29/9cfc3232-516b-11e9-a3f7-78b7525a8d5f_story.html
Trump's barometer for success following Russia investigation's end -- TV ratings
By Josh Dawsey and
Seung Min Kim March 30 at 6:00 AM
After President Trump vowed to take credit for shutting down the government over border wall funding during a televised Oval Office meeting with Democratic leaders in December, West Wing aides sprung into overdrive to clean up the mess.
Taking ownership of a shutdown was considered verboten in Washington and the overwhelming consensus was that the president had screwed up. But Trump was elated with the media coverage that followed.
This is why I was so great on the Apprentice, he told a startled Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) during a phone call the next morning, crowing that the ratings of the meeting were great.
Ryan said he did not know such government meetings scored ratings or that they were released within 12 hours, according to aides familiar with the call who requested anonymity to describe the private conversation. Trump told Ryan that everyone watched and that Trump was dominating the TV and that made the meeting a success.
After more than two years in office, Trump continues to view his presidency through TV ratings and news coverage, while assessing the worthiness of his allies by how they perform during cable news hits.
more
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-barometer-for-success-following-russia-investigations-end--tv-ratings/2019/03/29/acfde264-524e-11e9-af35-1fb9615010d7_story.html
Powerful coal executive edges closer to White House
Joe Craft's wife, ambassador to Canada Kelly Craft, could become the next U.S. envoy to the U.N.
By ZACK COLMAN 03/30/2019 06:42 AM EDT
Joe Craft, the chief executive of one of the nations biggest coal companies and a major Republican bank roller, is on the verge of moving even closer into the White House inner circle.
President Donald Trump proposed in February that Craft's wife, Ambassador to Canada Kelly Craft, become the next U.S. envoy to the United Nations, which would give her a front-row seat to the international climate talks that have huge implications for Joe Craft's business.
As CEO of the Tulsa, Okla.-based coal empire Alliance Resource Partners, Joe Craft is already an active player in Washington when it comes to energy policy.
For example, key actors from Trump to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell mounted an unsuccessful last-second public campaign to get the Tennessee Valley Authority to reverse course on shuttering a power plant Alliance supplied last month. The federal power utility determined its Paradise Unit 3 facility in Kentucky, along with the Bull Run power plant in Tennessee, was too expensive to keep running.
Hes got a keen understanding of the legislative and regulatory process, and increasingly the energy business is intertwined with government policy, a federal government official who knows Joe Craft said. He knows a lot of people. A lot of people respect him and hes a prominent figure, so I imagine he can pick up the phone and call anybody.
more
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/03/30/coal-executive-white-house-1282376
GOP shifts focus to investigating Obama officials
BY JORDAIN CARNEY - 03/30/19 06:00 AM EDT
Republicans are setting their sights on top Obama-era officials as they plan their own probe into the 2016 election.
Eager to move on from special counsel Robert Muellers investigation into Russian election interference and the Trump campaign, GOP senators are gearing up to investigate the investigators." The idea is gaining traction within the Republican caucus, including from Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.).
Muellers report hasnt been released yet, but Republicans have seized on a four-page letter sent from Attorney General William Barr that summarized key conclusions of the two-year probe, including that Mueller did not establish that Trump or members of his campaign coordinated or colluded with Moscow in its election interference.
Republicans believe that the FBI and DOJ, the top people took the law in their own hands because they wanted Clinton to win and Trump to lose, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said during an interview with Fox Newss Neil Cavuto, as part of a media blitz discussing his plans for an investigation.
He said that he will be looking at abuse of the FISA warrant application process and the counterintelligence operation into Trumps campaigns, adding that there will be a lot of inquiry as to how this all happened.
more
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/436547-gop-shifts-focus-to-investigating-obama-officials
O'Rourke holds rallies on the Mexican border that Trump threatens to shut
MARCH 30, 2019 / 6:05 AM / UPDATED 3 HOURS AGO
Tim Reid
4 MIN READ
EL PASO (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Beto ORourke will hold a major rally in El Paso, Texas, on Saturday, a city thrust to the center of Americas immigration debate by President Donald Trump and the U.S government this week.
ORourke, a former congressman from El Paso, will kick off three rallies in Texas in his bid to become the Democratic nominee a day after Republican Trump threatened to close the U.S border with Mexico as soon as next week.
His rally in El Paso, which sits on the border with Mexico, has been long-planned but the city became central to Americas immigration debate this week.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin K. McAleenan told a news conference in El Paso on Wednesday the southern border system was at breaking point because of the number of illegal immigrants crossing the border each day.
more
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-orourke/orourke-holds-rallies-on-the-mexican-border-that-trump-threatens-to-shut-idUSKCN1RB08P
Abrams builds massive political network ahead of 2020 decision
The Georgia Democrat has expanded her political reach as she mulls a run for president or Senate.
By MAGGIE SEVERNS and JAMES ARKIN 03/30/2019 06:41 AM EDT
Stacey Abrams is set to reveal soon whether shell run for president or senator or something else.
But in recent months, the Democrat has mounted a nationwide, largely below-the-radar effort to expand her donor and political network that will make her an instant force whatever she decides.
Abrams has traversed the country meeting with top Democrats since her narrow loss in the Georgia governors race. Shes met with every leading candidate for president, and become a regular draw on the big-ticket fundraising circuit, donors and fundraisers told POLITICO. Abrams headlined major donor events for the Democratic National Committee, the progressive donor collaborative Way to Win and former Sen. Barbara Boxer in recent months, and has discussed her political future with top Democratic donors.
At the reception for Abrams hosted by Boxer, held at a five-star Beverly Hills hotel in late February, local Democratic leaders and entertainment industry donors heard her talk about her work against voter suppression and about her brothers struggle with addiction. After the event, she was mobbed by attendees.
more
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/03/30/stacey-abrams-2020-1243850
Rudy Giuliani Mocks Trump Critics Over Mueller Report: 'Go See a Psychiatrist, Calm Down'
by Josh Feldman | Mar 29th, 2019, 10:02 pm
Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani mocked Trump critics tonight to Sean Hannity as they talked about the Mueller report clearing POTUS.
Before the interview ended, Hannity asked Giuliani why the White House would waive executive privilege on the report, saying, I dont think that should happen, maybe I have no idea what Im talking about.
Once it happens, Giuliani responded, there will be questions of whats there?
I dont care what they put out, he continued. He didnt collude, he didnt obstruct. God, do we have to say it again? And I can prove it. So give me what you got and I will knock it out of the ballpark.
Giuliani even swiped at Trump critics, saying, Grow up, guys. Its like getting used to the fact he got elected. Go see a psychiatrist, calm down, and adjust to the real world.
video
https://www.mediaite.com/tv/rudy-giuliani-mocks-trump-critics-over-mueller-report-go-see-a-psychiatrist-calm-down/
Biden Spox Issues Statement on Allegation of Inappropriate Behavior: He Didn't 'Have an Inkling' ...
Biden Spox Issues Statement on Allegation of Inappropriate Behavior: He Didnt Have an Inkling She Was Uncomfortable
by Josh Feldman | Mar 29th, 2019, 6:29 pm
A spokesperson for former Vice President Joe Biden has issued a statement responding to the allegation of inappropriate behavior from former Nevada assemblywoman Lucy Flores.
Flores wrote today about a 2014 event when Biden inappropriately touched and kissed her. She also noted examples of similar uncomfortable behavior from Biden towards women in public.
A spokesperson for Biden responded in a statement earlier tonight:
https://twitter.com/GideonResnick/status/1111750068791660545
https://www.mediaite.com/online/biden-spox-issues-statement-on-allegation-of-inappropriate-behavior-he-didnt-have-an-inkling-she-was-uncomfortable/
NYT Reacts to Trump Demanding Their Pulitzer Should Be Yanked: Every Article 'Has Proven Accurate'
NY Times Reacts to Trump Demanding Their Pulitzer Should Be Yanked: Every Article Has Proven Accurateby Tamar Auber | Mar 29th, 2019, 9:51 pm
The New York Times did not let President Donald Trumps latest tweet slamming their Pulitzer-prize winning reporting go unnoticed. Instead, they made it clear that the one who got things wrong was Trump himself.
On Friday, Trump ripped The Washington Post and the Times for their Russia reporting that led to them sharing a 2018 Pulitzer Prize.
In response, the Times pointed out that their reporting still stands and every article cited has proven accurate.
Were proud of our Pulitzer-prize winning reporting on Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election. Every @nytimes article cited has proven accurate, Times communication wrote.
https://twitter.com/NYTimesPR/status/1111790078697840640
The Times and Post won the award for what the Pulitzer Committee dubbed, [D]eeply sourced, relentlessly reported coverage in the public interest that dramatically furthered the nations understanding of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and its connections to the Trump campaign, the President-elects transition team and his eventual administration.
WaPos Josh Dawsey also defended the Posts work in a separate tweet.
https://twitter.com/jdawsey1/status/1111771650528342017
https://www.mediaite.com/online/ny-times-reacts-to-trump-demanding-their-pulitzer-should-be-yanked-every-article-has-proven-accurate/
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Name: DonGender: Male
Hometown: Massachusetts
Home country: United States
Member since: Sat Sep 1, 2012, 03:28 PM
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