Qatar PM to make rare trip to Saudi Arabia for emergency summit

DOHA (Reuters) - Qatar’s prime minister will attend an Arab summit in Saudi Arabia to discuss regional security, the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday, the highest level Qatari official to visit the kingdom during a diplomatic rift. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt imposed an economic and diplomatic boycott on Qatar in June 2017 over allegations that Doha supports terrorism, a charge Qatar denies.

The emergency summit in Mecca, Islam’s holiest city, on Thursday will discuss tensions with Iran following attacks on oil tankers off the coast of the United Arab Emirates and drone strikes on oil pumping stations in Saudi Arabia, both of which Tehran denies involvement in.

Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani had received an invitation from Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud earlier this week to attend both the summit of Gulf Arab rulers and a wider meeting of Arab leaders. Foreign ministry spokeswoman Lolwah Al-Khater said in a tweet that Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser Al Thani would attend the summits, writing that the region’s quickly escalating tensions made high-level participation a “national and humanitarian duty to achieve collective security”.

The United States has been trying to unify the Gulf bloc in order to confront Iran, although it was not immediately clear whether the visit was a sign of a thaw in the two-year dispute. U.S. national security adviser John Bolton said on Wednesday that naval mines “almost certainly from Iran” were used to attack the tankers, and warned Tehran against conducting new operations.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-gulf-qatar-saudi/qatar-pm-to-make-rare-trip-to-saudi-arabia-for-emergency-summit-idUSKCN1SZ277?il=0

Fox's Trish Regan To Square Off With Chinese News Nemesis In Live Debate

After tensions between two prominent television hosts reached a boiling point, Fox Business's Trish Regan and Chinese state-owned TV host Liu Xin are taking their online trade war spat into the limelight in the form of a live, televised debate on Wednesday night at 8 p.m. EST. According to the New York Times, the two hosts will discuss trade and technology - a debate which is unlikely to be seen by the Chinese public.

Barbs began to fly earlier this month when Regan argued that American tariffs on Chinese goods are an appropriate and necessary response to the Chinese theft of American intellectual property - which costs the US economy up to $600 billion annually. Liu, host of "The Point With Liu Xin" on the China Global Television Network, has accused Regan of "economic warmongering" and being "all emotion and accusation supported with little substance."

Gloves off

Regan didn't take Liu's comments lightly, challenging the Chinese host to a debate:

Hey #China State TV - let’s have an HONEST debate on #trade. You accuse me of being ‘emotional’ and not knowing my facts - wrong! You name the time and place, and I’ll be there! #TrishRegan pic.twitter.com/D0QMp0cIz4

— Trish Regan (@trish_regan) May 24, 2019

In response, Liu accepted - tweeting: "Hi @trish_regan, if you do mean an HONEST debate on #trade, let's do it Monday evening live on your show - on your turf."

It should be noted that Liu is an English major and an accomplished debater from the eastern province of Jingsu. She was the first Chinese student to win an international public speaking competition in London in 1996, after which she began working for CCTV the following year. She spent six years as the station's Geneva bureau chief, where she covered the Syria conflict and the Iran nuclear talks, before returning to China to launch her own show. Meanwhile, Chinese social media has blown up over the debate. "Let’s put our heads together, focus on the debate and back her up with specific data and strategies," said Jinan University professor of international relations, Chen Dingding, who told a WeChat social media group he created for the debate which now counts over 450 members: "Please avoid talking about the issue in general terms."

As the Times notes, regardless of the outcome of the debate - the broadcast will expose American public to the Chinese Communist Party's narrative regarding trade. "“With this opportunity, they are really going to become famous," said retired journalism professor at Beijing Foreign Studies University, Zhan Jiang. "They are showing that they aren’t weak, that they’re not going to remain passive in the face of a challenge. This is different than before."

Chinese officials have also chimed in to support Liu. "I hope everyone can watch," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang in a Tuesday comment. "You know, in China we have a saying: The truth becomes clearer through debate." "Because they are greatly influenced by the West, if I tell them, ‘China is this way’ or ‘China is that way,’ then they’ll say, ‘Mom is praising China again,’" Liu told Chonese online media outlet The Paper. "After that I learned, O.K., you can’t come on too strong."

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-05-29/foxs-trish-regan-square-chinese-news-nemesis-live-debate

>>6620303

04/12/2019

BREAKING: Man Lit Himself On Fire Outside Of White House

https://dailycaller.com/2019/04/12/man-set-self-fire-white-house/

https://twitter.com/SecretService/status/1116780870524919808?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Wondering if this has anything to do with direction.. 4/12/19 was on the North side fence line no streets mentioned. Today we have Ellipse near 15th and Constitution Ave.,

Ilhan Omar Faces Backlash for Now-Deleted Tweet About ‘Merit-Based Immigration’

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) has sparked widespread backlash for recently suggesting that Latinos would not be able to compete in a merit-based immigration system. President Donald Trump unveiled a proposal for a major overhaul of the immigration system on May 16 that would prioritize migration based on skill and merit. The new measure would shift away from the random visa lottery and instead introduce a new points-based system that ranks candidates based on age, level of education, and technical skills. Omar took to Twitter to pan Trump’s proposal in a tweet on May 28.

“A ‘merit based’ immigration policy is fueled by racism towards the Latinx community. Our immigration policies shouldn’t be based on discrimination, fear, or bigotry. We should welcome immigrants to our country and offer a simple way to citizenship,” the freshman congresswoman wrote.

Many commentators, pundits, and politicians called out Omar for her “troubling” comments. Among them was Sen. Ted Cruz who said. “As the son of a Cuban immigrant whose Dad came to get a math degree & become a computer programmer, I’m troubled that Dems seem to believe Hispanic immigrants can’t qualify for skills-based legal immigration.” “Bringing in more scientists, engineers & doctors is good for US jobs,” he added.

Omar has since deleted the tweet. Journalist Ryan Saavedra noted the deletion while making the same observation. “Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar (MN) just deleted this tweet where she appeared to suggest that Latinos can’t measure up in a “merit-based” immigration system,” he said. Meanwhile, conservative political commentator Michelle Malkin said, “So Ms. Smarty Pants @ilhanmn deleted her tweet, cuz she finally realized that in accusing the President of raaaaaaaaaaacism, she was sounding mighty raaaaaaaaaacist herself.”

Plenty of others on social media also weighed in on Omar’s comments. Omar said in a recent interview that she thinks the U.S. foreign policy should have a “Green New Deal”-style overhaul, claiming that she can help by bringing “the perspective of a foreigner.” “When I think about foreign policy, we need something equivalent to the Green New Deal,” Omar told Minneapolis Star-Tribune, referring to the radical climate change plan introduced by socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) that would have cost as much as $9.3 trillion per year. Omar, who currently holds a seat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, continued: “It’s important for me to think about what an overhaul of our foreign policy should look like from the standpoint of really thinking how it impacts those around the world, and where our values intersect with what’s happening.”

Meanwhile, Omar has repeatedly been criticized for her own anti-Semitic rhetoric, questionable comments related to other foreign policy issues such as with socialist Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, and what some have called an anti-America attitude, including Vice President Mike Pence. “Look, Ilhan Omar has made statements, antisemitic comments, statements against our most cherished ally, Israel, that ought to be rejected by every American,” Pence said during an interview with Fox and Friends. “And frankly the fact that very recently she has been trying to blame the United States of America for the deprivation and poverty brought on by the dictatorship in Venezuela.”

https://www.theepochtimes.com/ilhan-omar-faces-backlash-for-now-deleted-tweet-about-merit-based-immigration_2942171.html