Wednesday, October 28, 2020
Ex-Homeland Security Official Outs Himself As 'Anonymous' Anti-Trump Author
Miles Taylor, the former chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security, has revealed himself to be "Anonymous," the author of a New York Times op-ed and book critical of the Trump presidency.
"To be clear, writing those works was not about eminence (they were published without attribution), not about money (I declined a hefty monetary advance and pledged to donate the bulk of the proceeds), and not about crafting a score-settling 'tell all' (my focus was on the President himself and his character, not denigrating former colleagues)," Taylor wrote in a Medium post.
"Nevertheless, I made clear I wasn't afraid to criticize the President under my name."
Taylor, in media interviews as recently as August, denied being "Anonymous."
Throughout his post, Taylor was explicit about his commitment to the Republican Party and asserted he "wanted this President to succeed" when he joined the administration alongside John Kelly, Trump's first Homeland Security secretary who later became the White House chief of staff.
But Taylor went on to say, "Too often in times of crisis, I saw Donald Trump prove he is a man without character, and his personal defects have resulted in leadership failures so significant that they can be measured in lost American lives. I witnessed Trump's inability to do his job over the course of two-and-a-half years."
He said the president's flaws were evident to "everyone" but that most were "were hesitant to speak up for fear of reprisals."
Taylor has appeared in ads for Republican Voters Against Trump, a group that is supporting Joe Biden in the presidential contest. He also wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post in August detailing what he said were actions by the president that made the country "less secure."
But it was his anonymous op-ed in The New York Times in September 2018 in which he declared he was "part of the resistance inside the Trump administration" that delighted the president's critics and added to fears within the administration of a "deep state" that was acting against Trump's orders. He parlayed that into a book, A Warning, a year later.
In his Medium post, Taylor defended his works under the cover of anonymity, explaining that he "wrestled" with the decision and that ultimately it helped hold Trump's feet to the fire.
"Issuing my critiques without attribution forced the President to answer them directly on their merits or not at all, rather than creating distractions through petty insults and name-calling," Taylor wrote.
The White House responded to the revelation in a statement by spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany.
"This low-level, disgruntled former staffer is a liar and a coward who chose anonymity over action and leaking over leading. He was ineffective and incompetent during his time as DHS Chief of Staff which is why he was promptly fired after only serving in this role for a matter of weeks," McEnany said.
"It is appalling a low-ranking official would be granted anonymity and it is clear The New York Times is doing the bidding of Never-Trumpers and Democrats."
Minutes later the Trump campaign released a statement, also unleashing a litany of insults at Taylor.
"He's just another standard-issue arrogant, Washington, DC swamp bro who loved President Trump until he figured out he could try to make money by attacking him," officials wrote.
The campaign also noted that Taylor denied being "Anonymous" in a CNN interview with Anderson Cooper.
During the interview, Cooper asks about Anonymous and says, "Are you aware of who that is?"
"I am not . ... I've got my own thoughts of who that might be," Taylor replies.
Cooper later asks more pointedly, "Are you Anonymous?"
Taylor replies, "I only wear a mask for two things Anderson: Halloweens and pandemics. So no."
Taylor served at DHS from 2017 to 2019 and was chief of staff to Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen as well as Chad Wolf, now the acting DHS chief.
https://www.npr.org/2020/10/28/928816691/ex-homeland-security-official-outs-himself-as-anonymous-anti-trump-author
#Biden, in #LGBTQ interview, vows to pass Equality Act in first 100 days
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has promised to make passing the LGBTQ rights legislation known as the Equality Act a top priority, hoping to sign what would be a landmark civil rights law within 100 days should he win Tuesday’s election.Biden, a leading voice for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer rights as vice president under Barack Obama from 2009 to 2017, also pledged in an interview with the Philadelphia Gay News to expand queer rights internationally by making equality a centerpiece of U.S. diplomacy should he win the election and assume office in January. Biden has championed the Equality Act before, but his priority for the issue is significant given the urgency of the coronavirus pandemic and a host of other executive orders and regulatory actions that would compete for attention in the early days of a Biden administration. He outlined his agenda for LGBTQ rights in an email interview with Philadelphia Gay News publisher Mark Segal, a nationally known advocate for gay rights since the 1970s. “I will make enactment of the Equality Act a top legislative priority during my first 100 days - a priority that Donald Trump opposes,” Biden said of the Republican incumbent he is challenging. The Trump administration opposed the Equality Act, saying it would “undermine parental and conscience rights,” and has also restricted queer rights in the name of religious liberty. The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on Biden’s interview. The Democratic-led U.S. House of Representatives passed the Equality Act in 2019, but the legislation stalled in the Republican-controlled Senate. Biden would need the Democrats to hold the House and take control of the Senate to ensure passage. The Equality Act would protect U.S. citizens from discrimination based on sexual identity and gender identity by amending the Civil Rights Act of 1964, one of the most revered accomplishments of the civil rights movement, which banned discrimination based on race, religion, sex and national origin. On the international front, Biden also promised to defend American diplomats who speak out for LGBTQ rights in countries that are hostile to queer people and promised to use “America’s full range of diplomatic tools,” including private diplomacy, public statements and United Nations agencies, to promote equality. “I’ll stand up to bullies and once more put human rights at the center of America’s engagement with the world,” Biden said. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-biden-lgbtq-idUSKBN27D38N?taid=5f99f5a8dfdddc0001218166&utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter
Opinion: Erdogan and Khan are hypocritical about Macron's France - Turkish President Recep Erdogan and Pakistani PM Imran Khan have no right to talk about French secularism
- Author Shamil Shams
Turkish President Recep Erdogan and Pakistani PM Imran Khan have no right to talk about French secularism, as they have no regard for the sentiments of religious minorities in their own countries, says DW's Shamil Shams.
It feels strange to hear Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan talk about secular values and lecture French President Emmanuel Macron on racism.
There has been an outburst in Muslim countries against Macron's comments about Islamist terrorism in wake of the gruesome beheading of Samuel Paty, a teacher who was killed for showing students caricatures of Islam's Prophet Muhammad. Erdogan, who likes to pose as the leader of the entire Islamic world, decried "rising Islamophobia" under Macron's watch.
"What problem does this person called Macron have with Muslims and Islam? Macron needs treatment on a mental level," Erdogan recently said.
Pakistani premier Khan, who is known for his deep admiration of Erdogan, followed suit. "This is a time when President Macron could have put a healing touch and denied space to extremists rather than creating further polarization and marginalization that inevitably leads to radicalization," Khan wrote on Twitter.
While it can be argued that the French president should have dealt with the issue of secularism in Europe in a different way, the criticism by Erdogan and Khan is hypocritical and outrageous.
Sheer hypocrisy
Erdogan and Khan have no right to talk about "Islamophobia" when their governments show no respect to people of other faiths.
In July, the Turkish government converted the 6th century Hagia Sophia church into a mosque, showing no regard for the sentiments of millions of Christians around the world. The Turkish leader now looks set to do the same with another former church, the Church of St. Saviour in Chora.
Erdogan, whose Justice and Development Party has been in power since the early 2000s, has done everything in his power to undermine Turkey's secularism and turn the country into an Islamic caliphate. There has been massive opposition in Turkey against his actions, with liberal and secular groups making their voices heard on a regular basis. But instead of upholding democratic values in his own country, Erdogan strikes at them with an iron hand.
Had France converted a mosque into a church, what would be Erdogan's reaction? He would have denounced Macron for promoting "Islamophobia."
Let's talk about Pakistan now. Khan continues to blast Europe and India for treating Muslims badly, yet in his own country, religious minorities are persecuted. Hindus are being forcefully converted to Islam. Christians, Ahmadis and Shiites are booked in blasphemy cases, and hardline Islamist groups have given a free hand to declare anyone "non-Muslim."
Surely, Khan has no right to lecture Macron on creating polarization and marginalization that leads to radicalization. Pakistan has been doing it systematically for several decades.
In 2018, Khan removed world-renowned economist Atif Mian from his Economic Advisory Council, under pressure from extremists over Mian's Ahmadi faith. Pakistani lawmakers declared Ahmadis, a minority group, non-Muslims in the 1970s.
Just recently, Mian was stopped from giving a lecture at Karachi's Institute of Business Administration after radical groups threatened the school's authorities. There was no condemnation from Khan or his ministers over the incident.
Fight for secularism
Muslims are extremely sensitive about the issue of caricatures of their holy figures. It is thus important for French authorities to approach it with sensitivity. At the same time, leaders like Erdogan and Khan need to understand that French Muslims enjoy more freedom than religious minorities in Turkey and Pakistan.
Attacks on those who express their views freely, such as the Paty beheading, the murder of Charlie Hebdo editors in 2015, or even the knife attack by a Pakistani man near the former offices of the magazine in September, are only going to strengthen the view that Muslims are intolerant.
All Muslims are not intolerant. They may be sensitive about Islam and their holy figures, but they are also fighting for democracy and freedom of expression in their own countries.
Erdogan and Khan know it well because opposition against their governments is currently on the rise. They want to distract attention from domestic problems by raising the "Islamophobia" slogan, but many in their countries know they are not sincere about the issue. Khan's continued silence on the mistreatment of Uighur Muslims in China is proof of that.
https://www.dw.com/en/opinion-erdogan-and-khan-are-hypocritical-about-macrons-france/a-55408436
Sharif checkmates Pakistani establishment
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Gradually the PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf) government is losing its grip on power, as the political opposition not only has pushed it on to the back foot but has also weakened the military establishment’s control of the power chessboard.
On Sunday, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), and alliance of opposition parties, held its third massive public gathering, this time in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province. As expected, the PDM leaders while addressing the crowd directly blamed the establishment for backing an inept government and accused it of rigging the ballot.
However, it was former prime minister Nawaz Sharif who again blamed General Qamar Javed Bajwa and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lieutenant-General Faiz Hameed for overthrowing his government and bringing Imran Khan to power through a rigged political discourse.
By naming Bajwa and Faiz, Sharif successfully created the narrative that he is not against any institution but only a few individuals. He was right on the money, as he not only criticized the generals for meddling in politics but also raised the issues relevant to Balochistan province.
However, this time it was his daughter Maryam Nawaz who stole the show by highlighting the issue of enforced disappearances in Balochistan. While addressing the public gathering, she called on to the stage a woman whose three brothers had gone missing. She showed the face of that woman to the public and roared, “Have some shame, think what happens to you if your kids going missing.”
She was of course referring to the military establishment, and perhaps she won the hearts of many in Balochistan.
A calm and composed Maryam highlighting the issue of enforced disappearances and directly criticizing the establishment are signs that Pakistan has changed. Someone had to break the chains of fear and slavery and challenge those who have been responsible for creating a manipulative social and political order to keep their hegemony intact, and who else but a mainstream party based in Punjab could have challenged the deep state so effectively?
A thrice-elected prime minister addressing PDM rallies from his base in England accusing the establishment of manipulating the social and political order while his daughter showed solidarity with the relatives of the missing persons of Balochistan has surely brought the small provinces closer to Punjab. At the same time, the unprecedented brave stance of Sharif and Maryam has put the establishment under immense pressure.
Meanwhile, the detailed verdict of the Supreme Court of Pakistan on the presidential reference against Justice Qazi Faez Isa has also left the hybrid regime red-faced. The highest court in its detailed judgment declared that the reference against Isa was baseless and not according to the constitution.
Now that Isa, a bold and upstanding judge, has been given a clean chit, the government is facing the embarrassment of losing its case against him, further weakening this hybrid regime.
The panic among the ranks of the PTI government and in the establishment is visible. In Karachi, the chief of Sindh provincial police was kidnapped by the Rangers, a paramilitary federal law enforcement organization, and was forced to register a case against Maryam Nawaz and her husband for chanting slogans of “respect my vote” at the grave of Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
The move backfired within hours as the entire Sindh police department stood by their chief and submitted applications for leave. General Bajwa, the Chief of Army Staff, himself had to call on Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), and the Sindh police chief to ease the situation.
Then on Saturday, a journalist with Geo News went missing after he aired surveillance-camera footage of Rangers breaking down the door of Maryam’s hotel room. That move also backfired, as after immense pressure from the public the journalist was released within 22 hours.
On Sunday in Quetta, Internet and mobile-phone services were suspended by the Balochistan government to disrupt live broadcasting of the PDM public gathering on social media, but this move also backfired, as not only did the opposition somehow manage to show the gathering live, but Sharif was able to deliver his speech from London.
This series of failures by the establishment while both Sharif and Maryam fearlessly take on the military elite indicates that the winds have changed in Pakistan’s power corridors. Both Bajwa and Faiz have been weakened to the point that they are now being criticized openly by the opposition parties.
After all, no general can afford controversies and public anger against him. Even dictators like Ayub Khan and Pervez Musharraf were not able to bear the pressure of public criticism and resentment against them. So it will also be not possible for either Bajwa or Faiz to withstand the pressure against them.
Under these circumstances when the establishment itself is on the back foot, Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government will not be able to launch a crackdown against the opposition and dissident journalists. This means Khan’s fate is decided and he at any moment could be sacrificed to save the establishment from the growing criticism of the public.
However, the question is, will Sharif be content to see the removal of Imran Khan only? The answer is a clear no, as he and Maryam have both adopted a stance from where they cannot retreat, as public expectations are now too high.
And why should they change their stance of bringing Bajwa and Faiz to accountability, that too at a time when their narrative of civilian supremacy is becoming popular across the entire country? A fresh election may not suit the PPP, but it will suit all the other opposition parties, and that is why they have put their stakes with Sharif, who has nothing to lose at the moment.
The attempt to remove Sharif and Maryam from the political scene has backfired, and the establishment’s doctrine of running a controlled democracy has collapsed, as the miserable economic condition of the masses has created huge resentment against Imran Khan and his backers.
The image of Khan created through the media may still be relevant in the posh areas of the country, but in the downtown areas and in the middle-class localities of the cities and towns, his image has been tarnished by his lack of ability to govern the country and inability to stop inflation and revive the economy.
The global players who supported the de facto coup against Sharif have distanced themselves from the PTI government and its backers. Perhaps it is time for those who rigged the political discourse to ask themselves what they achieved by meddling in politics. It was a game that could never have been won by the establishment, as Sharif was not an ordinary political leader.
A shrewd person like Sharif would never have taken the risk of going all out against the establishment unless he was certain that he was going to win this battle. He had the history of infrastructure mega-projects, electricity projects and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to his credit, and it was impossible for any other political party or dictator to match his performance.
It was not difficult to understand that the way elections were rigged there were no chances of bringing political stability back. Perhaps the generals who launched the Naya Pakistan project were unaware that they were inflicting political and economic turmoil on the country.
Now it is not only about new elections and sending Imran Khan and his backers packing but it is about redefining the political and social contracts between the citizens and the state. Even if the joint opposition settles for less, at least Maryam and Sharif will not settle for anything less than the removal of Khan and his few remaining supporters and devising new ways of doing business, where every institution will work under its defined constitutional role.
This is a checkmate by Sharif and for now, there is no way out for the establishment but to go back to its constitutional role of protecting the geographical borders of the country and leaving everything else to the elected representatives of the country.
https://asiatimes.com/2020/10/sharif-checkmates-pakistani-establishment/
With a message for Pakistan and China, India & US conclude 2+2 talks, vow to deepen ties
The biggest takeaway from the talks was the signing of BECA, a key defence pact that will enable India to avail of US expertise on geospatial intelligence.
#Pakistan - Chairman #PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari says opposition will bid farewell to PTI government in January 2021
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari started his speech with the poem of Shaheed Mohsin Naqvi “Ya Allal Ya Rasool, Benazir Be Qasoor”. He said that it was unfortunate that the tyrants snatched Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Shaheed Shahnawaz Bhutto, Shaheed Mir Murtaza Bhutto and Shaheed Benazir Bhutto from the people. He said that he has gone to smallest town and village in GB and saw Bhutto alive at all those places. He remembered all those who established PPP in Gb and said that the struggle started by them is continued. Chairman PPP said that only PPP fights for the rights of oppressed people. the rights to the people of GB were given by Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and President Asif Ali Zardari. He said that nothing was done for the rights of the people of GB till 1974 when Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto ended FCR in GB. Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto introduced democracy in GB in 1994 then in 2009 President Zardari gave GB its first assembly, first governor and first chief minister.
Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that the the campaign for the right to rule and right to property belongs to the PPP. He said that he went to every district of GB and ran this campaign from Gilgit to Astore and from Ghanche to shigar and Skardu for this campaign. He said that PPP is the only party which included the demands of the people of Gb in its manifesto for elections in Pakistan in 2018. He said that PPP is the only party which said that the people of GN should have their own province, representation in the senate and national assembly of Pakistan and demanded increase in the funds for GB. He said that he is not a selected ot a player who will not fulfil the promises and said that he will remain in GB till your own government is formed in GB. He said that the campaign for the right to rule and right to property depends on this election on 15 November. He said that he needs 2/3 majority so that these rights are materialized.
He said that the PPP gave constitutional and democratic rights to the people of Pakistan. The PPP is the only party which can give the country the economic stability. PPP has always worked for the downtrodden and marginalized people of Pakistan. We have to save the people of GB from hunger, poverty and unemployment. He said that Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had started Karakorum highway for the economic benefit of the people. he gave subsidy on food items, clothes and transport to the people of GB. He established institutions like the Steel Mills to provide employment to the youth of this country. He provided free passports to the people so that they can go abroad and work there to support their families. President Zardari followed the same philosophy and brought CPEC to Pakistan so that the people of GB, FATA and Balochistan can benefit from this mega project. It is unfortunate that these people could not get benefit but the PPP will make sure that it happens. He said that the Baba-e-Rozgar gave 25 thousand jobs to the youth of GB. He said that we started BISP to support poor women of Pakistan. The PPP increased salaries and pensions of government employees and army personnel and pension of our pensioners. He said that in contrast, the country is sinking in the tsunami of price-hike, unemployment and poverty during this tyrant rule of PTI. The government has increased the price of medicines up to 400 percent.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that we will defeat the selected and their associates in every district of GB. Today every section of society is protesting against this government in all over Pakistan. The PTI government has closed utility stores in GB. He said that GB has not become a separate province yet but the PTI government has imposed taxes on the people. PTI is a puppet party and unfortunately some other parties have agreed to become puppet of the puppet. How the people who follow Hazrat Imam Hussain AS are taking the side of an oppressor and tyrant. He said that we will defeat them all by the votes on 15th November and the right to rule and right of property for the people of GB will be ensured. He vowed to establish a network of free hospitals for heart, liver and kidney in every district of GB like Sindh. We will have to form a government in GB so that the problems are solved.
Chairman PPP said that people are in trouble in Pakistan today because their votes were stolen but we will not let anyone to steal people’s vote. The PPP will not allow any such stealing of votes in GB. He said that people will form a PPP government in GB and then we will also form a people’s government in Pakistan. The democratic forces are saying goodbye to Imran in the month of January in Pakistan. At the end of his speech, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari asked his candidates to take oath to serve people and provide jobs to the people of GB. Similarly he asked people to promise that they will vote for PPP candidates.
Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has so far addressed 12 corner meetings in Baltistan division in connection with the party’s election campaign 2020. This was the first jalsa of PPP in Skardu division during election campaign.