Canadians Recognize Trump Got the Better of Them in New Trade Deal

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By The Hill. Former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Sunday that the U.S. “got the better of the deal” in the new U.S.–Canada trade deal.

Harper told host John Catsimatidis in an interview airing Sunday on AM 970 in New York that Canada was “kind of bruised” by the new agreement.

“Canadians generally recognize that the United States got the better of the deal,” Harper said. “What’s pretty clear is the U.S. got some things and didn’t lose anything. Canada had to give on some things and didn’t really have any wins.”

“And I think Canadians are fairly bruised about that because the view in Canada is that we’ve been a pretty good trading partner and play by the rules,” he added.

Harper’s comments follow after the U.S. and Canada reached a deal late last month on an updated North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The deal, dubbed the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, was reached at the end of September following tensions between Ottawa and Washington. (Read more from “Canadians Recognize Trump Got the Better of Them in New Trade Deal” HERE)

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Study Says Canada Needs Trade With China, but the USMCA Will Make That More Challenging

By Global News. The legal world was confounded a few weeks ago when it discovered that the United-States-Mexico-Canada-Agreement (USMCA) contained a clause requiring Canada to keep the United States abreast of its intentions to enter free trade talks with “any non-market economies” – which many took to mean China.

Though most experts predicted that this section, Clause 32, would make it much more challenging for Canada to engage in trade talks with China, a study compiled by the Ottawa-based research firm Public Policy Forum states that this is precisely what Canadian regulators need to do.

“You can’t really be serious about a diversification strategy if you don’t include China in it. China accounts for 33 per cent of global growth, economic growth. That is an extraordinary number. It’s more than all the rest of Asia combined,” explained Edward Greenspon, co-chair of Publicly Policy Forum.

The clause specifically states that “at least three months prior to commencing negotiations, a party shall inform the other parties of its intention to commence free trade agreement negotiations with a “non-market country.” If any party is opposed to the agreement struck, they’re permitted to give notice of withdrawal from the USMCA. (Read more from “Study Says Canada Needs Trade With China, but the USMCA Will Make That More Challenging” HERE)

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Julian Assange’s Communications Partly Restored by Ecuadorian Government

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The Ecuadorian government has decided to partly restore communications for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

They were cut in March, denying him access to the internet or phones and limiting visitors to members of his legal team. . .

The Ecuadorian government said in March it had acted because Mr Assange had breached “a written commitment made to the government at the end of 2017 not to issue messages that might interfere with other states”.

Wikileaks said in a statement: “Ecuador has told WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange that it will remove the isolation regime imposed on him following meetings between two senior UN officials and Ecuador’s President Lenin Moreno on Friday.”

Kristinn Hrafnsson, WikiLeaks editor-in-chief, added: “It is positive that through UN intervention Ecuador has partly ended the isolation of Mr Assange although it is of grave concern that his freedom to express his opinions is still limited. (Read more from “Julian Assange’s Communications Partly Restored by Ecuadorian Government” HERE)

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Turkey Releases U.S. Pastor After 2 Years in Prison

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By NPR. Roughly two years after Turkish authorities detained Andrew Brunson on suspicion of espionage, the U.S. pastor is a free man once more. Turkey ordered his release Friday, ending a case that heightened tensions between Turkey and the U.S.

A court in the western city of Izmir actually sentenced Brunson to a little more than three years in prison, according to Turkey’s state news agency Anadolu. However, as NPR’s Peter Kenyon in Istanbul explains, the court says he will serve no more time, considering his health issues.

“The court also lifted judicial controls on Brunson — that means restrictions on his movements have been lifted and he is now free to leave the country,” Kenyon reports. The prosecutor had asked for a 10-year sentence.

The evangelical pastor wept in court upon hearing the news of his release, Reuters reported. Prior to the ruling, he said, “I am an innocent man. I love Jesus, I love Turkey.” After he listened to an alleged witness, he said, “I do not understand how this is related to me.” (Read more from “Turkey Releases U.S. Pastor After 2 Years in Prison” HERE)

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U.S. Pastor Andrew Brunson Leaves Turkey After Being Detained for 2 Years

By Fox News. President Trump drew loud cheers at a rally on Friday evening when he announced that Pastor Andrew Brunson — newly released from Turkey and heading home — is expected to visit him in the Oval Office on Saturday.

“We bring a lot of people back,” the president told the crowd in Lebanon, Ohio, near Cincinnati. It was an apparent reference not only to the release of Brunson, but to the negotiated return of three American hostages from North Korea in May. President Trump also won the release of three UCLA basketball players who were detained in China last November.

Earlier in the day, Trump spoke with reporters about Brunson, after it was confirmed that the 50-year-old North Carolina pastor was beginning his journey home after being detained for two years.

“He’s, I think, in good shape,” the president said. “He’ll be stopping most likely in Germany for a full check-up and then he’s going to be coming to the Oval Office, most likely on Saturday.

“But we’re very honored to have him back with us,” Trump continued. “He suffered greatly, but we’re very appreciative to a lot of people.” (Read more from “U.S. Pastor Andrew Brunson Leaves Turkey After Being Detained for 2 Years” HERE)

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Democratic Candidate Who Attacked Opponent on ‘Bigfoot Erotica’ Says We Should Negotiate With the Taliban

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There’s a new controversy brewing in the House of Representatives race in Virginia’s 5th Congressional District between Republican candidate Denver Riggleman and Democratic candidate Leslie Cockburn, and this one has nothing to do with Bigfoot.

At a Monday night debate, the Washington Free Beacon reports, Cockburn actually said that the United States needs to negotiate with the Taliban if we want to get out of the war in Afghanistan — which turned 17 on October 7 this year.

“One problem is that the patron of the Taliban is Pakistan,” Cockburn said. “We have to negotiate with the Taliban and Pakistan in order to leave that war, and I think that this should be a matter of diplomacy, and it needs to happen now.”

Cockburn says this opinion is informed by her time as a journalist covering three separate wars at different times in Afghanistan’s history.

Riggleman, by contrast, served as an Air Force intelligence officer during the early days of the War on Terror and said in a recent ad that his team helped plan some of the initial bombing runs over Afghanistan after 9/11.

To push back against Riggleman’s resume, Cockburn asserted that because, as an intelligence officer working from the Afghan theater at a naval support station, he had a minor role, the Free Beacon continues. To her claims, he responded, “I’m not going to defend my military service.”

You may remember this race from the previous media attention it received following Cockburn’s claims that Riggleman was into “Bigfoot erotica” over some Instagram photos that Riggleman later explained were the result of a running inside joke between him and his Air Force buddies. (For more from the author of “Democratic Candidate Who Attacked Opponent on ‘Bigfoot Erotica’ Says We Should Negotiate With the Taliban” HERE)

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UK Supreme Court Makes Unanimous Decision, Backs Bakery That Refused to Make Gay Marriage Cake

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By The Guardian. A Belfast bakery run by evangelical Christians was not obliged to make a cake emblazoned with the message “support gay marriage”, the supreme court has ruled, overturning a £500 damages award imposed on it.

The unanimous decision by the UK’s highest court was greeted as a victory for free speech but condemned by gay rights groups and the Equality Commission of Northern Ireland as a backward step in combating discrimination.

Ashers had refused to produce the cake, featuring the Sesame Street puppets Bert and Ernie, in 2014 for Gareth Lee, who supports the campaign to legalise same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland. He wanted to take it to a private function marking International Day Against Homophobia.

The judgment, delivered after the supreme court’s first hearing in Northern Ireland in May, reverses earlier decisions in Belfast county court and a court of appeal ruling that the company discriminated against Lee, who is gay, on the grounds of sexual orientation.

The five justices on the supreme court – Lady Hale, Lord Mance, Lord Kerr, Lord Hodge and Lady Black – found the bakery did not refuse to fulfil Lee’s order because of his sexual orientation and therefore there was no discrimination on those grounds. The business relationship between Lee and Ashers did not involve people being refused jobs or services because of their religious faith, the judges added. (Read more from “UK Supreme Court Makes Unanimous Decision, Backs Bakery That Refused to Make Gay Marriage Cake” HERE)

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The Supreme Court’s Ruling on the ‘Gay Cake’ Row Is a Victory for Common Sense

By Telegraph. The decision of the Supreme Court in the great “gay cake” row is a victory not just for common sense but for freedom of expression. The affair began four years ago when a customer ordered a £36 sponge cake from Ashers bakery in Northern Ireland which refused his order.

They did so not because he was gay but because they objected to the political slogan on the cake in support of gay marriage. (Read more from “The Supreme Court’s Ruling on the ‘Gay Cake’ Row Is a Victory for Common Sense” HERE)

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White House Arranges Deal for Release of American Pastor

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The White House expects North Carolina pastor Andrew Brunson to be released by the Turkish government and returned to the U.S. in the coming days, two years after he was detained, according to two senior administration officials and another person briefed on the matter.

Under an agreement senior Trump administration officials recently reached with Turkey, Brunson is supposed to be released after certain charges against him are dropped at his next court hearing, currently scheduled for Friday, the senior administration officials and a person briefed on the matter said.

The details of the deal are unclear, but those familiar with the discussions said it includes a commitment by the U.S. to ease economic pressure on Turkey.

The Trump administration, however, isn’t fully confident that Turkey will follow through with the Brunson agreement because Ankara was close to a commitment to release him several months ago but did not, one senior administration official said. . .

The Turkish government has accused Brunson of helping terrorist groups, charges he has denied. The Trump administration has aggressively pushed for his release, saying he was wrongfully detained. In July, Turkey released Brunson from prison and moved him to house arrest. He faces a possible sentence of up to 35 years in prison if convicted. (Read more from “White House Arranges Deal for Release of American Pastor” HERE)

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Fiance of Missing Saudi Journalist Asks for Trump’s Help

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By Daily Wire. Last month, a Saudi Arabian journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, reportedly went missing inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. Now his fiance is requesting the help of the Trump administration to find Khashoggi.

According to The Washington Post, Khashoggi went to the consulate for “what should have been routine paperwork,” yet his fiance who waited for him outside claims he did not leave the building, despite Saudi Arabia’s claims that he did. Khashoggi reportedly closely follows the Saudi royalty and communicates with them, but has been critical in the last year. He also moved out of the kingdom after being told to no longer write or use Twitter.

“I have left my home, my family and my job, and I am raising my voice. To do otherwise would betray those who languish in prison. I can speak when so many cannot,” Khashoggi wrote in September 2017.

In an opinion piece for The Washington Post, Hatice Cengiz called on President Trump and the first lady to “help shed light on Jamal’s disappearance.” . . .

“We were in the middle of making wedding plans, life plans. After the consulate, we were going to buy appliances for our new home and set a date,” Cengiz wrote. “All we needed was a piece of paper.” (Read more from “Fiance of Missing Saudi Journalist Asks for Trump’s Help” HERE)

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Please, President Trump, Shed Light on My Fiance’s Disappearance

By The Washington Post. . .On Sept. 28, Jamal visited the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul for the first time, despite being somewhat concerned that he could be in danger. Yet he noted that there was no warrant for his arrest in his native country. Although his opinions had angered certain people, he said, the tensions between himself and Saudi Arabia did not amount to hate, grudges or threats.

He was, however, increasingly worried about an unprecedented wave of arrests in his country. Yet Jamal did not think the Saudis could force him to stay at the consulate in Turkey, even if they wanted to arrest him. In other words, he did not mind walking into the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul because he did not believe that something bad could happen on Turkish soil. It would be a violation of international law to harm, arrest or detain people at a diplomatic mission, he said, and noted that no such thing had ever happened in Turkey’s history. After a positive first meeting with consular staff, who welcomed him warmly and assured him that the necessary paperwork would come through, Jamal was hardly concerned ahead of his second visit. He walked into the consulate of Saudi Arabia, his native country, without doubting he would be safe there. (Read more from “Please, President Trump, Shed Light on My Fiance’s Disappearance” HERE)

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U.S. Service Member Killed in Afghanistan Is Identified

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By Fox News. The Pentagon has identified the U.S. service member killed in action last week in Afghanistan.

Sgt. James Allen Slape, 23, had gotten out of his vehicle in Helmand Province Thursday and was working to clear the area of explosives when a bomb detonated, the Charlotte Observer reported.

Slape was evacuated to a medical facility but staffers there were unable to save him, according to Commmander Grant Neeley, a NATO Resolute Support mission spokesman.

Slape was assigned to the 60th Troop Command of the North Carolina Army National Guard of Washington, N.C. (Read more from “U.S. Service Member Killed in Afghanistan Is Identified” HERE)

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U.S. Soldier Killed in Afghanistan

By CBS News. U.S. officials have identified the American soldier who was killed in Afghanistan earlier this week. The Department of Defense said Spc. James A. Slape, 23, from Morehead City, North Carolina, was killed on Thursday after suffering wounds from an improvised explosive device (IED). . .

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper issued a statement honoring Slape.

“On behalf of the people of North Carolina, I honor the service and sacrifice of Sgt. James Slape and offer our deepest sympathy to his loved ones and his fellow soldiers,” Cooper said, according to CBS affiliate WFMY.

Slape joined the North Carolina National Guard in 2013 and graduated from the Explosive Ordnance School in 2015. His unit deployed to Afghanistan in April of this year, WFMY reports.

The U.S. military is mainly focused on supporting Afghan forces in the fight against extremist groups in eastern Afghanistan. There are roughly 14,000 American troops in Afghanistan. Seven U.S. service members have been killed in 2018, the Associated Press reports. (Read more from “U.S. Soldier Killed in Afghanistan” HERE)

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Russian Official Linked to Trump Tower Lawyer Dies

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By Market Watch. A Russian official who allegedly directed the lawyer who met with representatives of the Trump campaign at Trump Tower in the summer of 2016 has died, the Daily Beast reported Thursday, apparently in a helicopter crash. Saak Albertovich Karapetyan, a Russian deputy attorney general who reportedly had a hand in a number of notorious foreign intelligence operations at the orders of President Vladimir Putin, was killed when his helicopter crashed into a forest northeast of Moscow during an unauthorized flight. (Read more from “Russian Official Linked to Trump Tower Lawyer Dies” HERE)

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Russian Official With Ties to Lawyer in Trump Tower Meeting Dies in Helicopter Crash

By The Hill. A Russian deputy attorney general, who is thought to have directed Russian attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya in her efforts abroad on behalf of Russia’s government, reportedly died Wednesday night in a helicopter crash. . .

Karapetyan was reportedly behind Veselnitskaya’s global efforts to lobby lawmakers to overturn anti-corruption acts such as the U.S. Magnitsky Act, which passed in 2012. The U.S. legislation is similar to others around the world which commemorate Sergei Magnitsky, a lawyer who died while trying to expose a $230 million fraud scheme in Russia. The acts have reportedly incensed Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Daily Beast reported that Karapetyan signed a letter sent on behalf of Russia’s government to a U.S. court in 2014 refusing assistance into an investigation concerning Magnitsky’s death. The letter was drafted reportedly with aid from Veselnitskaya.

Two years later, Veselnitskaya was involved in a meeting with President Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., his son-in-law Jared Kushner and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort at Trump Tower. The meeting, which occurred during the 2016 presidential election, was reportedly set up under the presumption that Veselnitskaya would present damaging information on Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton to the Trump campaign. (Read more from “Russian Official With Ties to Lawyer in Trump Tower Meeting Dies in Helicopter Crash” HERE)

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Mandatory College Event Compares Netanyahu to Hitler

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A mandatory event on Thursday for the University of Michigan’s art students compared Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler.

The event was hosted by the Stamps School of Art & Design for their “Penny Stamps Speakers Series Presentation” and featured Emory Douglas. On the department’s website, it explains that Douglas “worked as the resident Revolutionary Artist and Minister of Culture for the Black Panther Party in the San Francisco Bay Area from 1967 through the 1980s.”

During the event, a slide was put on the screen that showed a picture of Netanyahu and Hitler with the words “Guilty Of Genocide” written across Netanyahu’s and Hilter’s faces. Below the photo was the definition of genocide.

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A student who attended the event first posted about it Friday morning. “Yesterday I was forced to sit through an overtly anti-Semitic lecture,” Alexa Smith wrote on her Facebook. “In what world is it ok for a mandatory course to host a speaker who compares Adolf Hitler to the Prime Minister of Israel?”

“I sat through this lecture horrified at the hatred and intolerance being spewed on our campus,” she continued. “As a Jew who is proud of my people and my homeland, I sat through this lecture feeling targeted and smeared to be as evil as the man who perpetrated the Holocaust and systematically murdered six million Jews.” (Read more from “Mandatory College Event Compares Netanyahu to Hitler” HERE)

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