Page 123 of 164 FirstFirst ... 2373113115116117118119120121122123124125126127128129130131133 ... LastLast
Results 3,051 to 3,075 of 4092
  1. #3051
    Thailand Expat helge's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Last Online
    @
    Posts
    11,672
    Quote Originally Posted by S Landreth View Post
    Leaders lead.


    They haven't got their sick leave.

    He fucked them

    That old puppet

  2. #3052
    Elite Mumbler
    pickel's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Last Online
    @
    Location
    Isolation
    Posts
    7,694
    Quote Originally Posted by Switch View Post
    Do you mean the first 'war' when the Russians annexed the Crimea, or the current 'war' where they end up getting owned?
    I was referring to the Holodomor mainly.

  3. #3053
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Last Online
    @
    Location
    left of center
    Posts
    20,590

    Biden honored French President Emmanuel Macron at White House state Dinner

    Celebs and dignitaries meet at the White House for Biden's state dinner


    Orchestrated in part by the first lady, President Biden hosted French President Emmanuel Macron and several hundred other guests at the White House Thursday evening for his first state dinner as commander in chief.

    State dinners honoring foreign leaders are a White House tradition dating back to the 1800s, the first of which welcomed King Kalakaua of Hawaii, hosted by President Ulysses S. Grant on Dec. 22, 1874. The occasion is a show of hospitality to some of the most powerful people and a sign of friendship, attended by U.S. and foreign officials, as well as actors, musicians and other stars.

    Biden's dinner extends an olive branch to Macron after the United States torpedoed a nuclear submarine deal between France — America's oldest ally — and Australia last summer. The two leaders have spent the past few days discussing shared interests, culminating in a glamorous black tie event Thursday evening.

    A look at the guest list

    More than 300 additional guests made their way to the White House for Biden's party. Among them were members of the French and American elite, including business magnates, movie stars, TV personalities, musical artists, dozens of state and federal officials, military leaders, a Medal of Honor recipient, and Kurt Russell, the 2022 teacher of the year.

    Some notable star attendees included actress Jennifer Garner, R&B singer John Legend — who played at Biden's 2021 inauguration, comedian and TV host Stephen Colbert.

    From the government, attendees included Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, along with senators, representatives, governors, mayors and other officials.

    House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy and his mother joined Biden and the Democrats for dinner.

    And representing America's military were Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Medal of Honor recipient Army Cpt. Florent Groberg.

    Grammy-award winning singer and songwriter Jon Batiste performed for Biden, Macron and guests after dinner concluded.

    "We're thrilled to have him perform at the White House for the first state dinner of the Biden-Harris administration," said Vanessa Valdivia, spokesperson for first lady Jill Biden.

    Dinner with a red, white and blue theme

    The first lady said her red, white and blue design for Thursday's dinner was inspired by shared colors and values between France and the U.S.: liberty, democracy, equality and fellowship.

    Tables set on the South Lawn of the White House displayed red roses, blue delphiniums and white irises, "...Which are the symbols of our nation's capital and of France — their intricate petals reflecting the interwoven history of our nations," the first lady said in a statement Wednesday.

    As for the meal itself, the White House spared no expense. Lobsters were brought in from Maine and there was beef with shallot marmalade, prepared by White House Executive Chef Cris Comerford.

    And for dessert, White House Executive Pastry Chef Susie Morrison presented the guests with orange chiffon cake, roasted pears topped off with crème fraiche ice cream, The Associated Press reported.

    What the world leaders wore

    Both presidents Biden and Macron sported classic black tuxedos for the evening, while their wives seized the opportunity to sport something more in tune with the event's color scheme. According to Vogue, Jill Biden wore a navy gown by Oscar de la Renta hanging off her shoulder neckline. It had long sleeves and a botanical lace pattern.

    As for Brigitte Macron, she donned a white turtleneck dress with silver detailing at the waist and neckline.

    Photos: Red, white, blue theme for French White House state dinner

    Remarks by President Biden and President Macron of France in Joint Press Conference | The White House
    Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

  4. #3054
    Thailand Expat helge's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Last Online
    @
    Posts
    11,672
    Quote Originally Posted by S Landreth View Post
    Both presidents Biden and Macron sported classic black tuxedos for the evening, while their wives seized the opportunity to sport something more in tune with the event's color scheme. According to Vogue, Jill Biden wore a navy gown by Oscar de la Renta hanging off her shoulder neckline. It had long sleeves and a botanical lace pattern.

    As for Brigitte Macron, she donned a white turtleneck dress with silver detailing at the waist and neckline.


    No no

    Nobody is to blame

    I should know better than to open a thread where Landreth posts.

  5. #3055
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Last Online
    @
    Location
    left of center
    Posts
    20,590
    President Biden urges political leaders to call out antisemitism

    American political leaders "should be calling out and rejecting antisemitism wherever it hides," President Biden tweeted Friday.

    Why it matters: Biden made the comments the day after Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, praised Hitler in an interview with conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.




    What he said: "I just want to make a few things clear," Biden said. "The Holocaust happened. Hitler was a demonic figure.


    • "And instead of giving it a platform, our political leaders should be calling out and rejecting antisemitism wherever it hides. Silence is complicity," Biden added.

  6. #3056
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Last Online
    @
    Location
    left of center
    Posts
    20,590


    The White House on Saturday responded to Donald Trump calling for the suspension of the Constitution to overturn the 2020 election, saying in a statement, “You cannot only love America when you win.”

    “The Constitution brings the American people together – regardless of party – and elected leaders swear to uphold it,” White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said. “Attacking the Constitution and all it stands for is anathema to the soul of our nation, and should be universally condemned.”

    Earlier, in a post on his Truth Social network, the former president had called for the “termination” of constitutional laws, while citing conspiracy theories about the presidential election he lost.


    ____________




    Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Monday extended immigration protections for Haitians in the United States, granting work permits and deferral from deportation to those who were in the country as of Nov. 6.

    The extension and redesignation of temporary protected status (TPS) comes after immigration advocates, the Haitian diaspora and Democrats had called on the Biden administration to amplify protections for nationals of the beleaguered country.

    “We are providing much-needed humanitarian relief to Haitian nationals already present in the United States,” said Mayorkas in a statement.

    “The conditions in Haiti, including socioeconomic challenges, political instability, and gang violence and crime — aggravated by environmental disaster — compelled the humanitarian relief we are providing today,” he added.

    The move was largely received as good news among Haiti advocates, who worried that repatriations to the Caribbean country would further aggravate conditions there.

    “This decision will save lives and is the type of compassionate response this moment demands,” tweeted Rep. Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), one of the Democrats leading the push asking for the TPS extension and redesignation.

  7. #3057
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Last Online
    @
    Posts
    96,565
    Quote Originally Posted by helge View Post


    No no

    Nobody is to blame

    I should know better than to open a thread where Landreth posts.
    There are usually some informative and entertaining comments if you just judiciously screen.

    I for one want to know how Biden can screw up things this trivial:

    Biden still has some 40 embassies without an ambassador, including five from Group of 20 countries, according to the nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service.
    How hard is it to appoint ambassadors?

  8. #3058
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Last Online
    @
    Location
    left of center
    Posts
    20,590
    The U.S. chip boom is just beginning

    Chip giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s decision to triple its investment in Arizona is part of a national rush to re-shore key inputs for the American economy.

    Driving the news: President Biden traveled to TSMC's Arizona plant on Tuesday to bask in the glow of the announcement. The company — which by some measures manufactures over half the world's chips — said the three-fold increase would bring its investment to around $40 billion.


    • TSMC says the plants will create more than 10,000 high-paying tech jobs, including 4,500 directly at the plants themselves.
    • "American manufacturing is back, folks," President Biden said, speaking at the TSMC facility.


    The big picture: The last few years of economic disarray — broken global supply chains, high inflation, Russia's war on Ukraine, and growing trade and technology tensions with China — upended the system of globalization that emerged after the Cold War.


    • That global network required that people, commodities, capital and goods could — and would — always flow easily across borders.
    • But the onset of COVID generated a series of global government scrambles for essentials — first masks and vaccines, then semiconductors, and now oil and gas — that at times blurred the line between economic security and national security.


    State of play: The disorder also highlighted the importance of developing domestic production of cutting-edge semiconductors, now sourced from a Taiwan that finds itself increasingly imperiled by an aggressive China.


    • The $280 billion Chips and Science Act of 2022 — signed into law in August — includes $52 billion in subsidies to coax companies into building production plants in the U.S.
    • Corporations have been receptive, in part because Russia's invasion of Ukraine and China's response to Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit this year "have really hammered home the fact that there is no guarantee of peace in the Taiwan Straits going forward," says Chris Miller, a Tufts University history professor and author of the new book "Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology."


    Context: TSMC's announcement is just the latest in a string of high-profile investment plans from computer chip companies.


    • In early 2022, Intel announced it would spend $20 billion on a new chip production facility near Columbus, Ohio, and has plans to spend a similar amount building out plants in Chandler, Arizona.
    • Samsung Electronics has floated the possibility that it could follow a previously announced $17 billion investment in chip production in Austin, Texas, with up to $200 billion on 11 plants in the area, according to Bloomberg.


    What they're saying: The U.S. and European focus on boosting chip manufacturing, along with China's simultaneous desire to lead global tech "all point to increased semiconductor capital expenditure in the coming decade," analysts with S&P Global wrote in a recent research report.

    The bottom line: In the aggregate, the reshuffling of the global chip market along national lines could be inefficient and costly as countries around the world rush to build, or rebuild, their own local supply of chips.


    • But in the U.S., it will make for good politics, offering shovel-ready photo ops for politicians at plants that promise good-paying jobs that, by definition, won't be outsourced to China.

  9. #3059
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Last Online
    @
    Location
    left of center
    Posts
    20,590



    Biden strikes deal to free Brittney Griner from Russian custody


    The White House has secured the release of American basketball star Brittney Griner, President Joe Biden announced Thursday, confirming that the U.S. sent arms trafficker Viktor Bout to Russia in exchange.

    “Moments ago, standing together with her wife, Cherelle, in the Oval Office, I spoke with Brittney Griner,” the president said from the White House. “She’s safe, she’s on a plane, she’s on her way home after months of being unjustly detained in Russia, held under intolerable circumstances.”

  10. #3060
    Thailand Expat russellsimpson's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2016
    Last Online
    26-03-2024 @ 05:23 AM
    Location
    vancouver
    Posts
    1,785
    Quote Originally Posted by S Landreth View Post
    she’s on her way home after months of being unjustly detained in Russia
    How so "unjustly"?

    She knew the risks.

  11. #3061
    Elite Mumbler
    pickel's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Last Online
    @
    Location
    Isolation
    Posts
    7,694
    Biden is a shitty negotiator if all he got was Griner for Bout. Paul Whelan deserved freedom more than her.

  12. #3062
    Thailand Expat russellsimpson's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2016
    Last Online
    26-03-2024 @ 05:23 AM
    Location
    vancouver
    Posts
    1,785
    Quote Originally Posted by pickel View Post
    Biden is a shitty negotiator if all he got was Griner for Bout. Paul Whelan deserved freedom more than her.

    Absolutely. What bullshit.

  13. #3063
    Thailand Expat helge's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Last Online
    @
    Posts
    11,672
    Quote Originally Posted by S Landreth View Post
    being unjustly detained , held under intolerable circumstances.”
    Ol Joe will be busy enough, when the natural consequence of his quest to free young fools, carrying banned, but unharmful substance, from draconic prison sentences in Russia, takes him home.

    Gibt gas, Joseph !

  14. #3064
    Thailand Expat
    happynz's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Last Online
    Today @ 04:07 PM
    Location
    inner suburb
    Posts
    11,661
    Quote Originally Posted by pickel View Post
    Paul Whelan deserved freedom more than her.
    In Whelan's case it will have to be a team effort as he is a national of Canada, Ireland, the UK, and the US.

  15. #3065
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Last Online
    @
    Location
    left of center
    Posts
    20,590
    Biden did the right thing,.......

    A senior administration official said Thursday they believe the Russians are holding Whelan’s release to a higher bar than Griner’s because of the espionage charges.

    “We as a government have sought to bring Paul Whelan home as well. We did so in good faith with the Russians and proposed multiple different options. Regrettably, due to the nature of the sham espionage charges Russia levied against Paul, the Russians have treated, continue to treat, his situation differently from Brittney’s and rejected each and every one of our proposals for his release.”

    Whelan’s brother, David Whelan, released a statement following Griner’s release calling it the right decision by the administration to secure her freedom. He said he’d been in touch with the Biden administration prior to the public announcement, giving the family time to process the news that Paul Whelan would not be coming home at this time.

    It is the second time this year the Whelan family has learned the U.S. had secured the release of an American wrongfully detained in Russia while Whelan remains imprisoned there.


    and will continue to do so for the next 6 years.



  16. #3066
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Last Online
    @
    Location
    left of center
    Posts
    20,590
    Biden called gay marriage 'inevitable' and soon it'll be law



    Vice President Joe Biden addresses a Freedom To Marry event in New York, July 9, 2015

    A decade ago, then-Vice President Joe Biden shocked the political world and preempted his boss by suddenly declaring his support for gay marriage — one of the country’s most contentious issues — on national television. But not everyone was surprised.

    A small group had attended a private fundraiser with Biden weeks earlier in Los Angeles where he disclosed not only his approval but his firm conclusion about the future of same-sex marriage.

    He predicted, “Things are changing so rapidly, it’s going to become a political liability in the near term for someone to say, ‘I oppose gay marriage.’”

    “Mark my words. And my job — our job — is to keep this momentum rolling to the inevitable.”

    The day that Biden envisioned may have arrived. He plans on Tuesday to sign legislation, passed by bipartisan majorities in Congress, to protect gay unions — even if the Supreme Court should revisit, as some fear or hope, its ruling supporting a nationwide right of same-sex couples to marry.

    Biden’s signature will burnish his legacy as a champion of equality at a time when the LGBTQ community is anxious to safeguard legal changes from a backlash on the right that has used incendiary rhetoric, particularly against transgender people.

    “It is a historic moment and a long time coming,” said Bruce Reed, the White House deputy chief of staff and a longtime adviser to Biden. “It’s all the more inspiring in light of what the country has been put through in recent years, and what courts have threatened of late.”

    If there’s a feeling of anticlimax, it’s because the politics of marriage have shifted as dramatically as Biden predicted. Although the issue is not universally embraced — a majority of Republicans in the House and Senate voted against the legislation — it’s no longer considered a dangerous third rail.

  17. #3067
    Thailand Expat

    Join Date
    Aug 2017
    Last Online
    Today @ 12:36 PM
    Location
    Sanur
    Posts
    8,004
    Quote Originally Posted by pickel View Post
    I was referring to the Holodomor mainly.
    Had to google that. Soviet problems in Ukraine again?

  18. #3068
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Last Online
    @
    Location
    left of center
    Posts
    20,590


    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday thanked President Biden for “unprecedented” support the U.S. has provided as the country’s fight against Russia enters the rough winter months.

    “I had a phone call with U.S. President Joseph Biden and thanked for the unprecedented defense and financial assistance that the U.S. provides to Ukraine,” Zelensky said in a post on his Telegram account.

    “This not only helps succeed on the battlefield, but also maintains the stability of the Ukrainian economy.”

    The Ukrainian president also thanked the U.S. for aid to restore Ukraine’s battered energy system and “emphasized the importance” of shoring up Ukrainian air defense.

    A readout of the call from the White House said Biden affirmed the U.S. is prioritizing support for the air defense and highlighted the latest $275 million in weapons, ammunition and other equipment the Pentagon has announced for Ukraine.

    Biden also reportedly drew attention to the $53 billion investment to support Ukraine’s energy system as Russia targets the country’s power grid.

    The U.S. has now sent nearly $20 billion to aid Ukraine since the start of the war in February.

    NBC News reported back in October that Biden lost his temper on a call with Zelensky, when Biden said the U.S. would send $1 billion in aid and the Ukrainian president responded with additional requests. Biden reportedly told Zelensky he could do to be more grateful for U.S. support.

    “A fruitful conversation with @POTUS. I expressed gratitude for another security package,” Zelensky said on Twitter after the latest call.

    “We discussed further defense cooperation, protection and maintenance of our energy sector. Coordinated positions on the eve of the #G7 online summit. America’s leadership remains steadfast!”

  19. #3069
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Last Online
    @
    Location
    left of center
    Posts
    20,590
    "In a world where inflation is rising in double digits in many major economies around the world, inflation is coming down in America."


    Biden Celebrates Easing Inflation Numbers, Defends His Economic Policies

    President Joe Biden on Tuesday celebrated the positive consumer price index report that showed inflation easing in the United States ahead of the holiday season.

    "We learned last month that the inflation rate came down, down more than experts expected," Biden said, speaking from the White House. "In a world where inflation is rising in double digits in many major economies around the world, inflation is coming down in America."

    The core consumer price index, which excludes food and energy costs and which economists view as a primary indicator of inflation, rose only 0.2% in November. It's the smallest monthly increase in over a year. The report released by the Labor Department on Tuesday found core CPI costs up 6% from a year ago.

    Overall CPI, which includes food and energy, rose 0.1% from the previous month and 7.1% over the last year.

    The easing suggests the Federal Reserve's interest-rate increases could be working as intended and the Fed may be able to achieve the "soft landing" it wants, avoiding a large-scale economic recession.

    The report is likely to be reassuring to the Fed and the central bank's Chair Jerome Powell. When it concludes its meeting on Wednesday, the Fed is expected to only increase interest rates by a half-point — as opposed to the three-quarter point hikes it has deployed throughout the year.

    The report marks the fifth month in a row where the rate of inflation has declined in the United States, Biden said.

    "I want to be clear it's going to take time to get inflation back to normal levels as we make the transition to a more stable and steady growth," Biden said.

    Biden, standing beside Council of Economic Advisers Chair Cecilia Rouse and National Economic Council Director Brian Deese, said he hopes prices will return to normal by the end of next year, if not sooner. But he stressed he cannot make that prediction.

    ___________

    In other news........

    Biden signs the Respect for Marriage Act on the South Lawn



  20. #3070
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Last Online
    @
    Location
    left of center
    Posts
    20,590


    President Biden on Thursday mocked former President Trump for teasing a “major announcement” that turned out to be a new line of digital Trump trading cards.

    “I had some MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENTS the last couple of weeks, too…” Biden tweeted from his personal account.

    The president listed a consumer price report that showed inflation easing in recent weeks, the signing of legislation to protect same-sex marriage, a prisoner swap that brought home WNBA star Brittney Griner after months of being imprisoned in Russia and falling gas prices as notable achievements for the White House in recent days. https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1603455603606798378



    _____________




    President Joe Biden delivered a simple message Wednesday to a group of African leaders gathered for a high-stakes Washington summit: the United States hasn’t forgotten about you.

    Addressing the heads of state from nearly 50 African nations gathered for the three-day summit, Biden took steps to begin repairing the trust with a continent that has felt abandoned by the United States — with Russia and, in particular, China stepping in to fill the void.

    Biden did not call out China by name, but much of his speech was squarely aimed at starting a continental competition with that other global superpower, which has invested billions upon billions in Africa. But Biden also tried to prove a U.S. commitment to help create sustainable success on a continent home to 1.3 billion people.

    “We’re all in on Africa’s future,” Biden told the crowd of officials and business leaders gathered at Washington’s sprawling convention center. “African success and prosperity is essential for a better future for all of us, not just for Africa.”

    In one of many veiled nods toward China, Biden argued that for economic prosperity to take hold in Africa, democracy had to as well.

    “In a year that has seen elections across Africa, we have worked together with the African Union to strengthen democracy and the core values that unite our people,” Biden said. “Freedom, opportunity, transparency, good government.”

    White House aides have stressed that the U.S.-Africa summit, only the second ever held, acts as both evidence of the Biden administration’s commitment to Africa, and the capstone to a year dedicated to foreign policy that also had the president host Western Hemisphere allies in Los Angeles and travel to Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

    But as the 49 African leaders and their delegations descended on Washington this week, there was a sense of American opportunity lost.

    The first such summit was in 2014. Then-President Barack Obama pledged a new era of relations between the United States and the continent. But while Obama made efforts to improve ties, he also cut funding to combat AIDS in Africa and reduced foreign aid to the region.

    Then for four years, the Trump administration actively neglected Africa, with the former president declaring its nations as “s—thole countries.” A presidential visit has long been viewed as a symbol of a commitment to a bilateral relationship and Trump, accordingly, never traveled to Africa. The last trip by an American president was Obama’s July 2015 journey to Kenya and Ethiopia.

    Biden plans to change that. The president — as well as Vice President Kamala Harris and other top officials — intend to travel to Africa in 2023, according to officials familiar with the plans but not authorized to discuss them ahead of an official statement.

  21. #3071
    Member

    Join Date
    Mar 2018
    Last Online
    Yesterday @ 03:18 PM
    Location
    Back in Farangland
    Posts
    315
    I think it's disrespectful that the POTUS very rarely visits Africa. I'm surprised Sleepy Joe hasn't already visited Africa. Another sign that he's a bit old for his job.

  22. #3072
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Last Online
    @
    Location
    left of center
    Posts
    20,590


    The Biden administration has approved an application by Washington state to expand health insurance access for all residents regardless of immigration status by allowing it to forgo requirements set by the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

    The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Treasury Department approved Washington’s application for a State Innovation Waiver, issued under Section 1332 of the ACA. The application for this waiver was submitted in May.

    What is a 1332 waiver?

    A state may apply for a 1332 request if it wishes to pursue “innovative strategies” for providing affordable health care while still retaining protections offered through the ACA.

    The HHS secretary may approve a 1332 waiver request if they determine that the proposed plan will provide coverage that is at least as comprehensive as coverage provided without the waiver, which the Washington state plan was found to do.

    The Evergreen State’s exception

    Washington state specifically sought to be granted an exception from a part of the ACA that excluded people living in the U.S. illegally from being eligible for qualified health plans, which are plans certified by the federal government that meet requirements set by the ACA.

    According to the two departments, this waiver will expand access to qualified health plans, stand-alone qualified dental plans and a state affordability program to Washington residents regardless of their immigration status.

    “The waiver will help Washington work towards its goals of improving health equity and reducing racial disparities by expanding access to coverage for the uninsured population through the state Exchange, all the while not increasing costs for those currently enrolled,” the departments said in a statement.

    The approval of this waiver is contingent on the state accepting specific terms and conditions. If these requirements are agreed on, then the waiver will go into effect from the beginning of 2024 to the end of 2028.

  23. #3073
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Last Online
    @
    Location
    left of center
    Posts
    20,590


    President Biden on Friday took a victory for legislation approved by Congress that expands benefits for millions of veterans who were exposed to toxins during service.

    “I made it real clear to the United States Congress, if they didn’t pass this damn burn pit bill, I was going to go on holy war. Not a joke,” Biden said. “It’s one of the most significant laws in our history to help millions of veterans who were exposed to toxic substances during their military service.”

    Biden made the remarks during a town hall at a National Guard/Reserve Center in New Castle, Del., that is named after his late son Beau Biden.

    The younger Biden served in the Delaware National Guard and the president has suggested that his exposure to burn pits in Iraq could have been the cause of the brain cancer he died from in 2015.

    “I’m no doctor but it’s pretty clear a lot of guys and women getting sick,” Biden said. “Many when they came home had gone the best trained, fittest warriors in the world and came home with headaches, numbness, dizziness, cancer.”

    He recalled when Beau Biden came home from Iraq and called him saying he collapsed from a run.

    “It’s not unique to me and my family. So many are here today and around the country,” the president said.

    The Delaware event is one of over 90 events on Friday occurring across the U.S. to encourage veterans to sign up for health care, get screened for toxic exposure, and submit a claim if they are experiencing a toxic exposure related condition, according to the White House.

    “There’s no place I’d rather be today to get the message out about the PACT Act than home here and here in this particular facility,” he said, referring to the legislation which stands for Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics.

    Biden signed the legislation into law in August.

    Biden thanked comedian Jon Stewart for his work on the toxic burn pits bill, after the former ‘Daily Show’ host had advocated for helping veterans with illnesses related to their service.

    Biden called passing the PACT Act “the first step of being, make sure that we leave no one behind.”

    _____________




    Once-classified files on JFK's assassination released by Biden.

    President Joe Biden on Thursday released a cache of once-classified documents expected to shed light on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy nearly 60 years ago.

    "This has been a commitment of the president," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. "President Biden believes all information related to President Kennedy's assassination should be released to the greatest extent possible, consistent with national security."

    Jean-Pierre said 97% of the Kennedy collection is available to the public following the release of 12,879 documents Thursday by the National Archives and 1,491 documents a year ago today.

    An additional 515 documents have been withheld by the archives in full and 2,545 documents partially withheld.

    Biden has ordered the acting archivist, Debra Steidel Wall, to conduct a six-month review "of a subset of the remaining redacted records" to ensure they are also disclosed "to the greatest extent possible," Jean-Pierre said.

    __________




    The Senate on Thursday passed the annual defense authorization bill, sending the $858 billion measure to President Biden’s desk for signature just before the year-end deadline.

    The measure, formally known as the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), passed with an overwhelming bipartisan majority, 83-11.

    It provides $45 billion more for defense than called for in Biden’s budget, including allocating $817 billion to the Department of Defense and $30 billion to the Department of Energy.

    Thursday’s vote caps weeks of wrangling over floor timing and controversial policy changes, such as language demanded by conservative Republicans to end the military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, which has been in place since August of 2021.

    It marks the 61st year in a row that Congress has passed the defense bill on time, a notable achievement given the legislative gridlock that has reigned on Capitol Hill in recent years.

    Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jack Reed (D-R.I.) cheered the passage of the bill after months of negotiation, calling it “the most significant vote of the year.”

  24. #3074
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Last Online
    @
    Location
    left of center
    Posts
    20,590


    President Biden on Sunday attended a private church mass with his family to mark the 50th anniversary of the deaths of his first wife and daughter.

    The White House said the president and first lady Jill Biden attended a private memorial mass with family at St. Joseph on the Brandywine Roman Catholic Church in Greenville, Del.

    On this day in 1972, 30-year-old Neilia Biden and baby daughter Naomi Biden died in a car crash as they set out to buy a Christmas tree with the couple’s three children.

    Sons Hunter and Beau Biden suffered injuries but survived the crash, which occurred shortly after President Biden had been elected to the Senate and nearly curtailed his political career.

    Biden remarried five years later, in 1977, and together he and Jill Biden had daughter Ashley Biden.

    Hunter Biden, Ashley Biden and several of the president’s grandchildren were also in attendance during the mass and a visit to the family’s gravesites, per the White House pool report.

    Beau Biden died of brain cancer in 2015, at age 46, during President Biden’s tenure as vice president. The death reportedly contributed to his decision not run for the White House as the Obama administration ended.

    The president has discussed his personal experience with grief throughout his political career and has been open about his losses.

    __________




    President Biden on Monday condemned a rise in antisemitism as “vile and venom” during a Hanukkah holiday reception at the White House.

    “This year’s Hanukkah arrives in the midst of rising and emboldened of antisemitism — at home and, quite frankly, around the world. I recognize your fear, your hurt, your worry that this vile and venom is becoming too normal,” Biden said in the Grand Foyer of the White House.

    “As your president, I want to make this clear. … Silence is complicity. We must not remain silent. And I made no bones about it from the very beginning: I will not be silent. America will not be silent,” Biden said.

    Biden spoke to the gathered crowd from a podium between a Christmas tree and a new menorah, which first lady Jill Biden introduced as the first permanent White House menorah and the first Jewish artifact added permanently to the presidential collection.

    The holiday festivities also included a blessing and a menorah lighting, according to a pool report.

    Biden’s remarks come as lawmakers and the administration draw attention to an uptick in hateful rhetoric and violence directed at the Jewish community.

    Former President Trump last month came under fire for hosting white nationalist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes at his Mar-a-Lago residence for a controversial dinner with rapper Ye, who has also made recent antisemitic comments and said he sees “good things” about Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

    Biden also condemned the dinner.

    “The Holocaust happened. Hitler was a demonic figure. And instead of giving it a platform, our political leaders should be calling out and rejecting antisemitism wherever it hides,” Biden wrote on Twitter after the dinner.

    Second gentleman Doug Emhoff, who is Jewish, hosted a roundtable of Jewish leaders at the White House earlier this month to discuss antisemitism.

    And last week, the Biden administration announced plans to set up an interagency task force to work on developing a national strategy to combat the issue.

    __________




    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet with President Joe Biden and address Congress Wednesday in his first trip outside his country since Russia began its violent invasion of Ukraine in February.

    Biden invited Zelenskyy to Washington to reinforce the U.S. "stands with Ukraine for as long as it takes," according to a senior Biden administration official who discussed the trip on the condition of anonymity.

    During their meeting, Biden will commit $2 billion in additional U.S. security assistance to send Patriot antimissile batteries to Ukraine amid the bombardment of cities by Russian missiles and drones.

    Zelenskyy's joint address to Congress, set for later in the evening, comes as lawmakers prepare to vote on an additional $45 billion in emergency assistance to Ukraine. The U.S. has provided about $68 billion in military, economic and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine since violence between it and Russia renewed.

    Zelenskyy's visit will mark the 300th day since Russia invaded Ukraine. In a letter, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested lawmakers should travel to Washington Wednesday for a "very special focus on democracy" that night.

    “To have a complete and total hero in the Congress of the United States, fighting for democracy, leading people who are fighting for democracy, would bring honor to the Congress of the United States,” Pelosi told reporters.

  25. #3075
    In Uranus
    bsnub's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Last Online
    @
    Posts
    30,434
    Going to a big day. Yesterday and today are huge news days. Sadly underreported on TD. Zelensky visiting the front and the speeches he gave were monumental. He stands with great men.

Page 123 of 164 FirstFirst ... 2373113115116117118119120121122123124125126127128129130131133 ... LastLast

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •