Friday, August 28, 2020
#USElecctions2020 #BidenHarris2020 #BidenHarrisToSaveAmerica Opinion: Trump Can’t Avoid Reality Forever
By Timothy Egan
Let’s look away from the tawdry spectacle of the Republican convention.The alt-reality show on the screen this week, a Republican National Convention without platform or ideas, mixed Dear Leader adoration with primal fear jabs aimed at the weary American voter. And it may work.
But the reality outside the screen was a perfect fusion of elements central to the master con of Trumpism. The trick of tying the president to something more than the blimp of his ego — to religion, family, guns, a border wall, support for the forgotten man and woman, law and order — was exposed as an elaborate fraud in elaborate detail.
Even the riots in the cities, framed by the choreographers of fear as a preview of Joe Biden’s America, could not be time-traveled beyond the irrefutable: The violent dystopia is happening in Donald Trump’s America. The guns of August 2020 are his.
Credit Trump’s television hagiographers, veterans of vanity art from years of crafting the fiction of “The Apprentice,” with trying to make a stump of rotted timber into a golden throne. But they could not whittle away the real events of the summer.
The words of Trump’s own sister, the former federal judge Maryanne Trump Barry, hung over the opening day of the convention. “He has no principles,” she said in a leaked recording from midway through his presidency. “None! None!”
Many a past president has been burdened with siblings who drank too much, talked too much, or grifted too much. But I cannot think of one who was a central witness against the president’s character.
Add Judge Barry’s words to those of Michael Cohen, Trump’s former fixer and one of numerous felons from the law-and-order president’s inner circle. “I was complicit in helping conceal the real Donald Trump,” he says in a new ad. “And I’m here to tell you he cannot be trusted, and you shouldn’t believe a word he utters.”
On convention’s eve, Trump had tried to divert attention from the historic tragedy of his presidency, the death of nearly 180,000 Americans from Covid-19, by promoting a miracle therapeutic. But by day one of the party infomercial, the food and drug commissioner, Stephen Hahn, had been forced to apologize for vastly overstating, in a disgraceful news conference with Trump, the curative effect of blood plasma treatment.
Day 3 of the convention marked the six-month anniversary of Trump’s assertion that the coronavirus might soon disappear. As of that day, August 26, more than 5.8 million Americans had contracted the deadly disease.
In the spiritual realm, the downfall of the president’s most forceful evangelical promoter fit the pattern of the big scam. Jerry Falwell Jr., was ousted from Liberty University after reports that he liked to watch his wife having sex with a former Miami pool boy. This after Falwell had posted a photo on social media of himself with his pants unzipped, standing next to a young woman on a yacht.
Hypocrisy among holy rollers in high places is as old as the stones of Rome’s first church. But in this case, the tie to Trump’s world is telling: Becki Falwell, wife of the disgraced evangelical, was on the advisory board of Women for Trump. She appeared in a campaign video last year promoting — What else? — traditional family values.
Let’s look away from that tawdry spectacle to a pair of bigger grifts, the border wall and the gun lobby. Was anyone surprised when Steve Bannon was charged with defrauding the poor saps who gave millions to his We Build the Wall campaign?Mexico did not pay for Bannon’s bail. But his arrest is a reminder of the foundational fraud of Trump’s 2016 campaign: that Mexico would pay for a border wall.
Over at the gun lobby, another insider is telling all in a forthcoming book. The National Rifle Association was “rife with fraud and corruption,” writes Joshua L. Powell, who was the chief of staff to the N.R.A.’s leader, Wayne LaPierre. “We only knew one speed and one direction: sell the fear.”
Ah yes, sell the fear: the message of this convention. And using the powerful prop of the federal government, in a Hatch Act crime spree, didn’t bother anyone at the top of this den of defalcators. “Nobody outside the Beltway really cares,” said Mark Meadows, the president’s chief of staff.He may be right. Even Trump’s biggest propagandist, Sean Hannity, is in on the con. He thinks the president is “crazy,” with a qualifying expletive, according to a new book by Brian Stelter of CNN.
Surely many of Trump’s supporters know they’re getting played. And they don’t mind, so long as they can “own the libs.” The libs, certainly, give them much to want to own. But this is a deadly game Republicans are playing.
On one night, the convention trotted out a pair of gun-toting white suburbanites to scare people into taking up arms against protesters. One night later, a white teenager with a semiautomatic rifle was arrested on a charge of gunning down several protesters.
At the same time, California is burning and the South is underwater. If you play the sucker, you won’t notice that this confederacy of con men has been unable to gaslight the seasonal rage of climate change. Nor would you care.
#Pakistan - Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah inspects rescue work day after torrential rains wreak havoc on #Karachi
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Friday visited various rain-hit neighborhoods in Karachi to inspect rescue operations after torrential rain lashed the financial capital of the country a day earlier, causing widespread flooding.
As many as 23 people have so far died in various rain-related incidents in the port city, taking the tally of deaths during the three-day monsoon spell in the metropolis to 30.
According to details, Murad, during his to a thoroughfare, Shahrah-e-Faisal, directed the managing director of Karachi Water and Sewerage Board, Khalid Mahmood Shaikh, to review the plan to deal with such deluge and submit a report as soon as possible.
Several neighbourhoods of Karachi are expected to receive heavy rains in the afternoon today.
Meteorological officials said downpours in August have shattered the 89-year-old record for the city. Some 484mm (19 inches) of rain has fallen this month so far, 130mm on Thursday alone, they said.
According to data released by the Met department, Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Faisal Base recorded 130 millimetres of rain while Nazimabad has recorded 105.6mm since Thursday morning. Mausamiyat received 74.3mm of rain, while Saadi Town recorded 72mm. About 98.5mm of rain was recorded in PAF Masroor Base, Surjani received 73mm while Kemari recorded 82.5mm.
Videos and photos making rounds on social media showed submerged cars and motorcycles and water entering houses and buildings, wreaking havoc in the provincial capital.
Many major arteries witnessed severe traffic jams. Power was suspended in several areas as a precautionary measure, a K-Electric spokesperson said yesterday.
In an update on the power situation today, the city’s sole power supplier said several areas were “inaccessible due to high water levels”.
The company further said that many of its vehicles on their way to areas such as DHA and Surjani, which are among the worst affected areas of the city, remain stranded.
Power was restored in some areas, the company said, adding that its “teams are coordinating with relevant authorities to ensure swift power restoration to other locations”.
“Power will continue to remain closed until all standing water is cleared.”
Disruption in signals of several networks across the city was also reported. According to the spokesman of a private cellular company, infrastructure in several areas of the city was damaged from flooding due to which services were disrupted.
https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2020/08/28/murad-inspects-rescue-work-day-after-torrential-rains-wreak-havoc-on-karachi/
Centre should ‘fulfil duty’ to help rain-hit Sindh, Bilawal asks Sindh CM to step up rescue and relief activities in the province
The scion of the Bhutto dynasty also asked the Sindh chief minister to seek the Centre’s assistance and step up rescue and relief activities in the province.
He further said a survey should be conducted to ascertain the damage caused to public and private property because of the heavy rains.
Bilawal noted that not only had the rains wreaked havoc in the province’s cities, but also caused immense losses to farmers in rural areas.
“The agricultural sector is the country’s backbone and rains have destroyed farmers' crops,” he noted.
The PPP chief also asked the provincial government to take urgent measures to repair the roads damaged by the downpour.
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has directed the Karachi commissioner to coordinate with navy and army teams for the evacuation of people stranded in Sukkuan Nadi and Malir River.
According to reports submitted to the chief minister by deputy commissioners, some people living on banks of Sukkan and Malir rivers are trapped amid the flooding caused by heavy rains. He directed the Karachi commissioner to request armed forces to rescue the stranded people shift them to a school building in Malir district. The chief minister also directed the Provincial Disaster Management Authority to arrange food and other necessary items for the people affected by flooding.
He directed the PDMA to arrange tents, dry food items and drinking water for the people who would be shifted to camps.
Karachi is continuing to reel from the devastation caused by the record-breaking rainfall that lashed the city a day on Thursday as death toll from the downpour climbed to 34.
The bodies of 10 more people who died of drowning were fished out from various waterways and a woman was electrocuted by a live wire underwater.
The deaths in the city since Thursday have mainly been caused by drowning, structural collapse and electrocution.
The heavy rains have left its infrastructure in tatters – urban flooding inundating several neighborhoods and thoroughfares and residents suffering without electricity and cellular services for several hours. The Pakistan Meteorological Department recorded 230.5mm of rain in Karachi on Thursday, the highest ever recorded in a single day. It also broke the record for the highest amount of rain during the month of August in the city since 1931.
https://tribune.com.pk//story/2261643/centre-should-fulfil-duty-to-help-rain-hit-sindh
#Pakistan - Rains have broken 90-year record, says Bilawal Bhutto
Pakistan People’s Party chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari yesterday said that the current torrential rain spell has broken the rainfall record of more than 90 years in Karachi and other parts of the province, and urged all the stake-holders in the country to contribute in ameliorating the situation instead of politicising a pure natural disaster.
Speaking to Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah over telephone, the PPP Chairman called for well-coordinated emergency steps to control the heavy downpour ravages, its current and aftershocks as nation requires a unified response to the calamity, which humans have no power to overcome overnight.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari asked Sindh Chief Minister to utilize all the available resources at Sindh government’s disposal to drain out the stagnant rain water from the low-lying areas of Karachi for restoration of normal supplies. Federal government should also play its part by contributing efforts without any political point-making because nature has rolled out a litmus test for the nation to display its unity and collective steps. Trump to reportedly cut US Troops in Iraq to 'about 3,500'
He said that rescue and relief operations must be expedited as life of each and every citizen was very important for the state as well as the government tiers.Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also asked all political leaders to put their political differences aside, and help people protect themselves with the help of government and the institutions involved, in rescue and relief operations.PPP Chairman said that this rain spell had broken the records of nearly a hundred years and safeguarding the masses, their lives, properties and assets was our collective responsibility, hence blame-games must end in the greater interest of the people.
Bilawal again asked the PPP elected representatives, office-bearers and workers to help the people cope up with the situation.
He praised those who have already been working 24/7 to assist the citizens during this worst monsoon season across Sindh and sought prayers for them to be able to continue their efforts.
Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah assured the Party Chairman that Sindh government was carrying out every step for rescue and relief and all the Cabinet members are on the ground to monitor and assist the administration in helping people in this need of the hour.
https://nation.com.pk/28-Aug-2020/rains-have-broken-90-year-record-says-bilawal-bhutto
Former Pakistan general Asim Bajwa, who is PM aide and CPEC chief, faces ‘corruption’ heat
SNEHESH ALEX PHILIP
Report alleges Bajwa family’s ‘suspicious’ financial dealings run into millions of dollars. A Pakistani govt website was hacked, calling for accountability.
A corruption scandal involving Lt Gen. Asim Saleem Bajwa (retd), chairman of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and special assistant to Prime Minister Imran Khan, is gathering a storm in his country.
On Friday, the website of the Pakistan Remittance Initiative was hacked, and a picture of Bajwa and his family was put up, calling for accountability. This came a day after a Pakistani media report had elaborated the “suspicious” financial dealings of Bajwa’s family, worth millions of dollars.
“The growth of the Bajwa family’s business empire in the United States and later in Pakistan directly matches the rise in power of retired general Asim Saleem Bajwa, who is now chairman of the country’s massive China-financed infrastructure project and a special assistant to the prime minister,” the report, penned by journalist Ahmed Noorani and published on Fact Focus, stated.
Bajwa is a former director general of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistani military, and was appointed as special assistant to PM Khan on information in April this year.
Following the publication of the report, Asim Bajwa denied the allegations on Twitter, saying: “A malicious propaganda story published on an unknown site, against me and my family, is strongly rebutted.”
Bajwa’s declared assets versus report’s claims
In his declaration of assets and liabilities signed in June as special assistant to the PM, Bajwa declared an investment of $18,468 (Pakistani rupees 31 lakh) in his wife’s name. He also declared that he and his wife have no immovable property held outside Pakistan, or any business capital outside Pakistan.
However, the report traces the Bajwa family’s business dealings as far back as 2002, saying that was the year his younger brothers opened their first Papa John’s pizza outlet. This was the year Bajwa went to work for Gen. Pervez Musharraf, as a lieutenant colonel on the military dictator’s staff.
“Nadeem Bajwa, 53, who started as a delivery driver for the pizza restaurant franchise, his brothers and Asim Bajwa’s wife and sons now own a business empire which set up 99 companies in four countries, including a pizza franchise with 133 restaurants worth an estimated $39.9 million,” the report states.
“Out of total 99 companies, 66 are main companies, 33 companies are branch companies of some of the main companies, while five companies are dead now,” it alleged, adding that the businesses of the Bajwa family have been put under the umbrella called Bajco Group.
Bajwa’s sons joined Bajco Group companies in 2015, and also started establishing new companies independent of the Bajco Group in Pakistan and in the US after he became director general of ISPR and commander of the country’s Southern Command.
The report also alleged that Lt Gen. Bajwa’s wife Farrukh Zeba was a shareholder in all the foreign businesses from the very beginning. She is currently associated with or is a shareholder in 85 companies, including 82 abroad (71 in the US, seven in the UAE and four in Canada).
The report added that records from US state governments and other records related to the companies showed that some of them also have investments in the real estate sector and own some 13 commercial properties in the United States, including two shopping centres.
“Estimated current net worth of businesses and properties of these companies jointly owned by Farrukh Zeba stands at $52.7 million,” the report said.
https://theprint.in/world/former-pakistan-general-asim-bajwa-who-is-pm-aide-and-cpec-chief-faces-corruption-heat/491047/
Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari directs Sindh government to ensure timely relief to the affected citizens across the province.
Speaking to Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, who was on the ground monitoring the situation and overseeing relief work following the worst monsoon rains, the Party Chairman asked Sindh government to conduct province-wide survey about the damages and losses to both public and private properties for intensifying relief work and beginning rehabilitation process and complete restoration of road communication.
The PPP Chairman was talking to Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah who was on the ground to assess the situation following the worst monsoon spell which has tormented almost the entire province including its agriculture sector, which is the backbone of national as well as provincial economy.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that the entire province has suffered and growers have incurred heavy losses as their standing crops were washed away by the unprecedented torrential rains.
He also asked the Sindh Chief Minister to seek help from the Federal government to cope up the worrisome situation and hoped that the Federal government would play its constitutional role for bringing the province’s economy back to normalcy.
https://www.ppp.org.pk/pr/23622/
Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari expresses grave concerns over rain ravages in Balochistan
In a statement issued here, the PPP Chairman said that it was painful that damages and losses in the torrential rains in Balochistan were finding little space in the relief and rehabilitation narrative and action adding that our Baloch brothers and sisters trapped in the floods should be given the required assistance.
He said that thousands of people have been displaced due to rains and floods and they need immediate relief and relocation to safer places.
PPP Chairman asked the PPP leaders and workers in Balochistan to extend all possible help to those affected by the rains and floods.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also expressed grief and sorrow over the human losses in Balochistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab where dozens of people have reportedly lost their lives in rain-related incidents.
https://www.ppp.org.pk/pr/23624/
Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari oversees the situation in Larkano city and instructs Jameel Soomro to expedite drainage and relief process.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari asked Jameel Soomro to personally look after the relief operation and all possible steps should be taken to mitigate the sufferings of the citizens because it was the responsibility of the Party leaders and workers to stand with affected people in these testing times. Jameel Soomro informed the Chairman that stagnant rain water has been drained away from most parts of the Larkano city while operations are underway to clear some of the remaining Katchi Abadis. He said that most parts of Larkano city was without electricity since two days which hampered the drainage.
https://www.ppp.org.pk/pr/23628/