SistaCallie Forum Posts (795)

Macron & Le Pen Second Round

Thank you sinner Jones glad you recognized?

RE: Part 2..............I know God knows what I'm trying to make them feel :)

Yes e knows and He will bring it to pass in due season..keep up the good work for your reward shall be great!

BREAKING NEWS! POSSIBLE WAR?... AND HE'S DEADLY SERIOUS

DEFIANT NORTH KOREA TEST-FIRES MISSILE
Followed U.S. threat of new sanctions
Published: 5 hours ago - WND (Alt-Right Conservative News Outlet)
by ALICIA POWE

South Korea Koreas Nuclear

WASHINGTON — Only hours after the Trump administration warned it would take military action to coerce North Korea to disband its nuclear weapons program, Pyongyang test-fired a ballistic missile.

The missile was fired from a site in South Pyeongan province north of Pyongyang in the early hours of Saturday morning local time, South Korea’s military chiefs of staff said.

The type of missile was not yet known. It was not clear how far the missile traveled, but a U.S. government source told Reuters the test failed.

The South Korean news service Yonhap first reported the news.

Earlier in the day Secretary of State Rex Tillerson marked a sharp escalation in the Trump administration’s effort to punish and isolate Pyongyang for advancing a nuclear weapons program, urging members of the United Nations to diplomatically and economically isolate the already-isolated nation.

“We must levy new sanctions on [North Korean] entities and individuals supporting its weapons and missile programs, and tighten those already in place,” he said.

Tillerson said the U.S. “would not hesitate” to impose sanctions on non-American companies helping the North and described China as having “unique” economic leverage.

“All options for responding to future provocations must remain on the table,” he explained at a U.N. Security Council meeting. “Diplomatic and financial leverage or power will be backed up by willingness to counteract North Korean aggression with military action, if necessary.”

While North Korea had dictated the terms of its dangerous course of action for years, Tillerson told the audience comprised of the foreign ministers of Japan, China, Britain and South Korea “it’s time for us to retake control of the situation.”

“The threat of a North Korean nuclear attack on Seoul or Tokyo is real,” he said, “and it is likely only a matter of time before North Korea develops the capability to strike the U.S. mainland.”

Tillerson told the Security Council the era of “strategic patience” is over.

“For too long the international community has been reactive,” he said. “The more we bide our time, the sooner we will run out of it.”

Tillerson’s remarks before the U.N. Security Council comes just one day after Trump warned in a wide-ranging interview with Reuters that the U.S. may be headed toward “a major, major conflict” with North Korea if negotiation attempts did not work.

North Korea’s deputy U.N. ambassador told the Associated Press Friday that U.S. efforts to rid the isolated nation from its nuclear programs with sanctions or by waging military threats are “a wild dream.”

“In a nutshell, DPRK have already declared not to attend any type of talks which would discuss its nuclear abandonment, nuclear disbandment,” he said, using the acronym for the country’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Kim argued that North Korea’s nuclear program a byproduct “of the United States hostile policy towards DPRK.”

The United States “is wholly to blame for pushing the situation on the Korean Peninsula to the brink of a nuclear war by staging the largest-ever joint aggression military drills against the DPRK for the past two months” and deploying “nuclear strategic assets” to South Korea, he said.

China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, similarly contended that North Korea isn’t the primary aggressor in the Korean Peninsula and accused the U.S. and South Korea of escalating tensions by staging the military drills.

Wang issued a “demand” that the U.S. stop conducting military drills and argued that a peaceful settlement is the “only right choice.”

read more....

http://www.wnd.com/2017/04/defiant-north-korea-test-fires-missile/

Macron & Le Pen Second Round

Yes, you're right... and I will do such when there is a deserving LEADER OF THIS COUNTRY!

BTW, I was gone because I've been out taking care of ministry business in the mission field... and where is RMac?

Trump feels sad: 'Being president is more work than in my previous life, I loved my previous life'

Trump says he 'loved his previous life' and 'had so many things going'
'This is more work than in my previous life,' he said. 'I thought it would be easier'
Now he's sad that he can no longer drive by himself or have any privacy
He showed off his election results while performing an interview on Thursday
Trump completes his first 100 days in office on Saturday
By Reuters and James Wilkinson For Dailymail.com
PUBLISHED: 23:05 EDT, 27 April 2017 | UPDATED: 18:24 EDT, 28 April 2017

After almost 100 days in office, it seems like the luster has well and truly worn off for Donald Trump.

He's failed to get his healthcare act passed; his travel ban has been stopped at every turn; he's lost a slew of allies to claims of collusion with Russia; his wall isn't any closer to being built and now war with North Korea looks like a real possibility.

So it's little surprise that the president is looking back on his days as a globe-trotting businessman and host of The Apprentice with fondness.

'I loved my previous life. I had so many things going,' Trump admitted Thursday. 'This is more work than in my previous life. I thought it would be easier.'

Sad: Donald Trump misses his old life, when he had 'so many things going.' '[Being president] is more work than in my previous life,' he said Thursday. 'I thought it would be easier.'

Although he said he was accustomed to not having privacy in his 'old life,' Trump expressed surprise at how little he had now.

And he made clear he was still getting used to having 24-hour Secret Service protection and its accompanying constraints.

'You're really into your own little cocoon, because you have such massive protection that you really can't go anywhere,' he said.

When the president leaves the White House, it is usually in a limousine or an SUV - and only in the back seat.

'I like to drive,' he said. 'I can't drive any more.'

It's a much sadder tone than might be expected of Trump, who spent his time on the stump looking thrilled as he clawed his way to the front of the race, first for Republican ticket, then for president.

Those happy days still seem to be on his mind.

Midway through a discussion about Chinese President Xi Jinping, the president paused to hand out copies of what he said were the latest figures from the 2016 electoral map.

'Here, you can take that, that's the final map of the numbers,' the Republican president said from his desk in the Oval Office, handing out maps of the United States with areas he won marked in red.

'It´s pretty good, right? The red is obviously us.'

He had copies for each of the three reporters in the room.

Trump warns 'major' North Korea conflict is possible

Trump says he's giving NAFTA renegotiation 'a good shot'

Many aspects of Trump's character have not changed from his days as a wheeler-dealer executive and former celebrity reality show host who worked the phones incessantly.

He frequently turns to outside friends and former business colleagues for advice and positive reinforcement. Senior aides say they are resigned to it.

And he doesn't appear to take criticism well.

After a combative relationship with many news organizations since his election campaign, he decided not to attend the White House Correspondents' Dinner in Washington on Saturday.

He felt he had been treated unfairly by the media, but said that he 'would come next year, absolutely.'

Read more, see photos and watch video:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4454146/Trump-says-thought-president-easier-old-life.html#ixzz4faSCuKBz

Macron & Le Pen Second Round

A look at whose side everyone is on (and who is on the fence)
The Local/AFP news.france@thelocal.com
28 April 2017

People have come out in support of Macron and Le Pen both in France and abroad, while others remain firmly on the fence. Here's a breakdown of who's in whose camp.
We already know that France is very divided country in terms of those who back either "France first" Le Pen or pro-Europe Macron.

Le Pen's supporters are typically young and working class, while Macron's are typically well educated, middle class or "the French that are doing well", as one political analyst described them.

But it doesn't appear to be so divided among the political elite of France and indeed around the world.

Here's a closer look at the people who have issued calls to back either of the two candidates - followed by a look at those who have chosen to sit firmly on the fence, even in spite of criticism.

Those who back Macron
Not everyone who has issued a call to back Macron actually supports the candidate, remember he only got 24 percent of the vote inthe first round.

Nevertheless we have lumped those who have come out clearly with a call to either support the centrist candidate or block Le Pen or stated that they would cast their vote for him.

Most politicians in France have backed Macron, albeit with varying degrees of enthusiasm.

These supporters include President Francois Hollande, who said: "What's at stake is our idea of France."

Defeated Republicans party candidate Francois Fillon and Socialist Benoit Hamon - who were presidential candidates themselves - were both quick to say they would be voting for Emmanuel Macron in the second round.

Macron has also been endorsed by past and present members of the current government, including Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, former prime minister Manuel Valls, former justice minister Christiane Taubira, Environment Minister Ségolene Royal, Health Minister Marisol Touraine, and Education Minister Najat Belkacem. Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo called on France to vote for Macron to block Le Pen this week.

Le Pen supporters

The outspoken voters for Le Pen are few enough to count on one hand. Some of them are only doing it to keep Macron out of power, too.

Christine Boutin, leader of France's Christian Democratic Party, is calling for people to vote Le Pen... although doesn't come across as her biggest fan.

"My decision is clear, and it's not Macron," she told Le Figaro newspaper this week.

She added that a vote for Le Pen "wasn't a vote for the National Front, just a vote against Macron".

In terms of French celebrities, Le Pen can count on the support of comedian Franck de la Personne and former actress turned animal right's activist Brigitte Bardot.

"I want her to save France. She is the Joan of Arc of the 21st century," Bardot has said, adding that she admired Le Pen for her "desire to take France in her hands, restore its borders and give priority to the French."

Ukip MEP Nigel Farage, who has tweeted out photos of himself with Le Pen, has made his allegiance clear.

"I see Macron as the enemy," he said (see tweet below).

"He wants Brussels to be even stronger, and I can't see that it's in our interests when the Junckers and others are all lining up to try and punish Britain," Farage told LBC radio, referring to European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker.

TWEET
Nigel Farage ? @Nigel_Farage
'@EmmanuelMacron is an enemy of nation state democracy. He is bad news for Brexit Britain.
3:13 AM - 25 Apr 2017
1,738 1,738 Retweets 2,857 2,857 likes

TWEET
Nigel Farage ? @Nigel_Farage
Écoutez l'interview exclusive entre @MLP_officiel et moi-même sur @LBC ce soir à partir de 20h (CET) 19h (GMT) #FarageOnLBC
7:59 AM - 15 Mar

Read more and watch videos;

https://www.thelocal.fr/20170428/french-election-macron-vs-le-pen-who-is-in-whose-camp

Macron & Le Pen Second Round

shooo, you know you're on the mark! Cowards just as their leader Trump!

RE: Trump Is Happy

Right! in a photo-op seated eating a taco with a knife and fork proclaiming, HOW MUCH HE LOVES MEXICANS AND GREAT MEXICAN FOOD, and that some of his BEST friends are MEXICANS who very very very great workers at his hotel restaurants and golf courses

Trump's Trade War With Canada.. uh, Milk and Softwood Anybody?

Why Is Trump Risking a Trade War With Canada?
The president has softened some of his tough talk toward China and Mexico, transferring it to Canada and disputes over softwood lumber and dairy products.
Carlos Barria / Reuters
DAVID A. GRAHAM APR 26, 2017 GLOBAL- Atlantic

Donald Trump is not the first U.S. president to tangle with Canada over lumber. In fact, the first U.S. president to do so was the first U.S. president. George Washington’s administration saw a dispute over ownership of valuable forests on the border between New Brunswick and present-day Maine.

So despite Trump’s recent tough talk about the trade relationship with America’s neighbor to the north, his announcement Tuesday morning of new tariffs on Canadian lumber is actually consistent with what U.S. policy has been for decades. Where Trump differs from previous presidents, though, is in very publicly sounding off about a longstanding disagreement. In so doing he has also, apparently, found a new target for his trade-related ire, even as he softens his stances toward previous targets like China and Mexico.

“We’re going to be putting a 20 percent tax on softwood lumber coming in—tariff on softwood coming into the United States from Canada,” Trump said Tuesday morning. Actually, the Commerce Department is levying tariffs on a range of Canadian lumber companies, with the average coming to around 20 percent.

It’s not just wood that’s at issue. Tuesday morning, Trump tweeted:

TRUMP'S TWEET
Donald J. Trump ? @realDonaldTrump
Canada has made business for our dairy farmers in Wisconsin and other border states very difficult. We will not stand for this. Watch!
7:30 AM - 25 Apr 2017

He’d previously complained about the dairy issue during an appearance in Wisconsin. Also Tuesday, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross issued a statement attacking Canada:

It has been a bad week for U.S.-Canada trade relations. Last Monday, it became apparent that Canada intends to effectively cut off the last dairy products being exported from the United States. Today, in a different matter, the Department of Commerce determined a need to impose countervailing duties of roughly one billion dollars on Canadian softwood lumber exports to us. This is not our idea of a properly functioning Free Trade Agreement.
Both the lumber and dairy issues are enduring matters of dispute between the U.S. and Canada, though for slightly different reasons.

The Canadian lumber industry functions differently from that of the United States. In the U.S., most logging is done by private companies on privately owned land. The Canadian timber industry operates largely on public lands, with companies paying a fee to harvest. U.S. logging companies charge that this constitutes an unfair government subsidy, allowing Canadian producers to flood the American market with cheaply produced softwood (from fir, spruce, pine, and other coniferous trees).

Every few years this dispute flares up, and then the Canadian and U.S. governments reach an agreement—often under pressure from American builders, who are upset about paying higher costs for wood—that sets some sort of quota on imports to the U.S. to appease all parties. The latest agreement, signed in 2006, expired in 2015, leading inexorably to Tuesday’s declaration. Bloomberg reported that some Canadian lumber officials, while disputing the U.S. charges, actually viewed the tariffs as less onerous than might have been expected.

“This is so predictable,” says Laura Dawson, director of the Canada Institute at the Wilson Center. “It’s like the Mayan calendar: 100 years of good harvest and then 10 years of chaos and darkness.”

Macron & Le Pen Second Round

Or even Macron and Le Pen coming up run off?...

Macron & Le Pen Second Round

Don't know a savior by the name of Barrak... so just like Barrak the savior what? Does Barrak the savior have anything to do with an Utopian socialist society?

RE: Don’t allow America’s illegals into Canada

Hey Stringman, do you think keeping American illegals out of Canada will help the milk and lumber trade war Trump has declared on Canada?

Why Is Trump Risking a Trade War With Canada?
The president has softened some of his tough talk toward China and Mexico, transferring it to Canada and disputes over softwood lumber and dairy products.
Carlos Barria / Reuters
DAVID A. GRAHAM APR 26, 2017 GLOBAL- Atlantic

Donald Trump is not the first U.S. president to tangle with Canada over lumber. In fact, the first U.S. president to do so was the first U.S. president. George Washington’s administration saw a dispute over ownership of valuable forests on the border between New Brunswick and present-day Maine.

So despite Trump’s recent tough talk about the trade relationship with America’s neighbor to the north, his announcement Tuesday morning of new tariffs on Canadian lumber is actually consistent with what U.S. policy has been for decades. Where Trump differs from previous presidents, though, is in very publicly sounding off about a longstanding disagreement. In so doing he has also, apparently, found a new target for his trade-related ire, even as he softens his stances toward previous targets like China and Mexico.

“We’re going to be putting a 20 percent tax on softwood lumber coming in—tariff on softwood coming into the United States from Canada,” Trump said Tuesday morning. Actually, the Commerce Department is levying tariffs on a range of Canadian lumber companies, with the average coming to around 20 percent.

It’s not just wood that’s at issue. Tuesday morning, Trump tweeted:

TRUMP'S TWEET
Donald J. Trump ? @realDonaldTrump
Canada has made business for our dairy farmers in Wisconsin and other border states very difficult. We will not stand for this. Watch!
7:30 AM - 25 Apr 2017

He’d previously complained about the dairy issue during an appearance in Wisconsin. Also Tuesday, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross issued a statement attacking Canada:

It has been a bad week for U.S.-Canada trade relations. Last Monday, it became apparent that Canada intends to effectively cut off the last dairy products being exported from the United States. Today, in a different matter, the Department of Commerce determined a need to impose countervailing duties of roughly one billion dollars on Canadian softwood lumber exports to us. This is not our idea of a properly functioning Free Trade Agreement.
Both the lumber and dairy issues are enduring matters of dispute between the U.S. and Canada, though for slightly different reasons.

The Canadian lumber industry functions differently from that of the United States. In the U.S., most logging is done by private companies on privately owned land. The Canadian timber industry operates largely on public lands, with companies paying a fee to harvest. U.S. logging companies charge that this constitutes an unfair government subsidy, allowing Canadian producers to flood the American market with cheaply produced softwood (from fir, spruce, pine, and other coniferous trees).

Every few years this dispute flares up, and then the Canadian and U.S. governments reach an agreement—often under pressure from American builders, who are upset about paying higher costs for wood—that sets some sort of quota on imports to the U.S. to appease all parties. The latest agreement, signed in 2006, expired in 2015, leading inexorably to Tuesday’s declaration. Bloomberg reported that some Canadian lumber officials, while disputing the U.S. charges, actually viewed the tariffs as less onerous than might have been expected.

“This is so predictable,” says Laura Dawson, director of the Canada Institute at the Wilson Center. “It’s like the Mayan calendar: 100 years of good harvest and then 10 years of chaos and darkness.”

Macron & Le Pen Second Round

No I was not comparing France and the US not the least bit... I had thought you would focus on the two candidates platform promises that is what's making this election of concern and interest...

What I am speaking is that, LePen has the same dieas for France as Trump has for American, and this is going to cause a divide between the people, which is ot good for any nation...

BTW, Trummp's grandfather is dead, so I doubt Trump listened to him either, most likely didn't even know him. ... Trump didn't/wouldn't listen to his own parent living in the same house this is why they snet his butt off to military school which didn't fair well either in disciplining him.

So do you really think that what LePen is offering to slash immigration will be good for France? And what are you views and thought on her other propsed platform campaign policies... AS to how her promised policies will effect the people and nation for the good or the bad?

Macron & Le Pen Second Round

Hi Rob, You make some good points... I wouldn't say she carries a lot of favor with those who should matter... but she has some clout, and most is coming from the French who are young and working class, who are seeking a savior or something big to happen yet they will not do their parts to make that something big to happen, like unto the same ones who voted for Trump and for the British to leave the EU and will be the same ones when things go wrong who will complain the loudest. Noise makers who cut their nose off to spite their faces .. nevertheless my vote is for Macron, he's going some place... he's an economist, and Le Pen is a lawyer who use to fight for the immigrants in the courts, now she wants them kicked out.. she sounds unstable to me

At any rate, we will see who the real bourgeoisie and socialists are and how they will vote, and if there is a difference between

Cyberattack on French presidential front-runner Macron ... could it be Russians?

WorldViews
Cyberattack on French presidential front-runner bears Russian ‘fingerprints,’ research group says
By Rick Noack April 25 at 8:18 AM - Washingtonpost.com

French presidential election candidate for the En Marche movement Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech during a campaign rally in Reims on March 17. (François Nascimbeni/AFP via Getty Images)
PARIS — A security firm claimed Tuesday that a new cyberattack against the campaign offices of the front-runner in France's presidential race carried similar digital “fingerprints” to the suspected Russian hacking of the Democratic National Committee and others.

The report, released by the Trend Micro research group, did not disclose what possible fallout the infiltration had on the campaign of Emmanuel Macron, a centrist who is in a two-person runoff with far-right rival Marine Le Pen in the May 7 election.

But if a Russian connection was proved, the hacking would add to mounting allegations of Moscow-backed attempts to influence Western elections in favor of candidates with policies potentially more favorable to the Kremlin. Le Pen has voiced opposition to the powers of the European Union and has called for better ties with Russia, echoing some of the campaign rhetoric of President Trump.

[Le Pen goes from fringe right-winger to major contender]

Tokyo-based Trend Micro said Macron's campaign was targeted in March and April by a cyberspy group called “Pawn Storm.” It is the same group that has allegedly used phishing and malware to infiltrate other political organizations, such as Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union party in Germany and the Democratic National Committee.

“There are several things which suggest that the group behind the Macron hacking was also responsible for the DNC breach, for example. We found similarities in the IP addresses and malware used in the attacks,” said Rik Ferguson, the vice president of the company’s security research program.

“We cannot say for sure whether this was directed by the Russian government but the group behind the attacks certainly appears to pursue Russian interests,” added Ferguson, speaking from the company's London offices.

According to the research firm, the hackers created several email addresses on a fake server with the URL onedrive-en-marche.fr, operating from computers with IP addresses in multiple European nations including Britain.

The phishing attacks discovered by the Trend Micro research group appear to be distinct from hacking allegations the Macron campaign itself made in February.

At the time, the campaign's secretary general, Richard Ferrand, said its websites and networks were under constant attacks from hackers believed to be located in Russia and accused the Russian government of trying to influence the election.

The French government's cybersecurity agency ANSSI confirmed the more recently discovered cyberattacks against Macron, but stopped short of drawing connections to the earlier hacking. The agency left open the possibility that the recent attacks could be the work of “other high-level” hackers trying to point the blame at “Pawn Storm.”

The Macron campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Russian government has denied any connections to the hackings.

Macron & Le Pen Second Round

that's too funny Guz..

Macron & Le Pen Second Round

So after reviewing your answers, then what you're saying is, especially your answer to #5 question... reminds me of the Trump followers this is what they said as to why they voted for Trump, and it seems his so-called unreasonable restless strength is getting America into a lot of problems and threats of nuclear war.... it also reflects that you agree with Trump and his rhetoric and talking points for America, because Le Pen has the same views for France, as Trump has for America, making the same campaign promises, and has the same political ideology as Trump, and he backs her winning the election, because she is saying some of the same stuff as he is/has spoken for America.

LePen is running on what her political party wants as well as her own personal agenda, trying to out do her father who failed as a presidential candidate. LePen is a nationalist can't determine if she is far-right or far left and/or mixed up in her ideas on both sides of the fence far right and far left, and not so much for the people's or France's future. Would this not bring about division within France among the people just like Trump has done/is doing in America in his 100 days in office? Sure it will....that's not good for the nation or the people. A nation divided will never stand.

Her party wants to slash immigration, clamp down on trade, and overturn France's relationship with Europe.
Her campaign has called for:
Negotiation with Brussels on a new EU, followed by a referendum
"Automatic" expulsion of illegal immigrants and legal immigration cut to 10,000 per year following an immediate total moratorium
"Extremist" mosques closed and priority to French nationals in social housing
Retirement age fixed at 60 and 35-hour week assured

On the other hand, Macron has a more logical balance and foresight for the future of the people and the nation. He speaks for what will make the people and France stronger in the long run as a united front. Macron is for bringing the nation and people together in one accord and finding reasonable resolve for what is wrong with the nation and its policies, not dividing it for personal political gain. Macron is not controlled by any political party that dictates to him, therefore, he is less likely to follow or be a "lapdog" to anyone. Wherein Le Pen is already a lapdog to her Nationalist Front political party. After all, SHE IS THE PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONALIST FRONT POLITICAL ORGANIZATION.

Macron's campaign promises include:
Cut 120,000 public sector jobs and bring down the budget deficit
A €50bn (£43bn; $53bn) public investment plan to cover job-training and shift to renewable energy
Slash corporation tax from 33% to 25% and let companies renegotiate 35-hour week. Unify the pension system
Bolster EU ties and the eurozone, higher tariffs to protect European industry, common border force

Macron & Le Pen Second Round

Macron is la President he knows more about the hearts of the French people and their needs than Le Pen, she has personal issues as to why she would like to be president connected to her father from what I've read on her.

Macron & Le Pen Second Round

well, you forgot extreme left, and extreme backward

Macron & Le Pen Second Round

Hey there Life ..so very true they all talk a smooth talk of swelling words until AFTER they receive the votes, and then its on with their own agenda.

Macron & Le Pen Second Round

Riz, So if you find LePen a better candidate who will not be a "lapdog" for/to Merkels, explain what you mean by Merkel's "lapdog", as well as what this "should mean" to the French? Do you also know LePen's platform campaign promises? It would seem the French heard Macron's and LePen's platform campaign promises and know them better than we, yet Macron so far has received over 24% of the votes with 21% therefore, we have the run off on May 2...

My questions:
(1) explain what you mean by Merkel's "lapdog" ?
(2) why/what this "should mean" to the French?
(3) Do you also know LePen's platform campaign promises?
(4) Do you also know Macron's platform campaign promises?
(50 Why you think LePen will/would be better for the French?

RE: France

I stand with personal and political substance... .Emmanuel Macron!!!

Macron & Le Pen Second Round

My prayers are for Macron to win... he is politically balanced in his thought process and has much more to offer the people than LePen. Macron is a centrist, as I am a Centrist Republican, yep... there is a tendency to see into depth (center) of a matter more than what it looks like on the outside. Centrists view things from the inside outward, and not the outside inward.

Europe
Macron’s strong finish in the French election shows populist wave may be ebbing
Le Pen and Macron to face off in French election runoff Play Video3:17
Centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron and French far-right leader Marine Le Pen on April 23 advanced to a runoff in France’s presidential election. The runoff will be held on May 7. (Sarah Parnass/The Washington Post)
By Griff Witte and Michael Birnbaum April 24 at 5:20 PM

BERLIN — In this era of fiery populism and muscular anti-globalist forces, politicians across Europe are suddenly discovering an electoral surprise.

It might actually pay to embrace the European Union.

The top finisher in the first round of the French presidential election on Sunday is Emmanuel Macron, a 39-year-old centrist who jets to Berlin to give speeches in English. The blue-and-yellow banner of the E.U. flutters off his campaign headquarters. He is strongly favored to beat his anti-Europe rival, Marine Le Pen, in a May 7 runoff.

After years in which the E.U. was the favorite foil for ascendant politicians on the continent, the 28-nation club may be making a comeback despite Brexit and President Trump’s euroskepticism. The Netherlands’ staunchly pro-European Green Left party quadrupled its support in elections last month. The former European Parliament president Martin Schulz is surging in polls ahead of September elections in Germany.

And Macron has promised, if elected, to help lead “an ambitious Europe,” restoring France to a preeminent place in the E.U. after years in which the French role has been diminished by its domestic struggles with unemployment, terrorism and political dysfunction. He pledges to push for reforms that would force stronger nations to protect weaker ones.

Sunday’s balloting showed French attitudes toward Europe split down the middle, with euroskeptic politicians winning nearly half the vote. In addition to Le Pen, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, a far-left candidate, drew millions of votes. Opinion polls examining E.U. attitudes revealed conflicted feelings, with a majority of French respondents describing themselves as pro-E.U. but saying the institution needed deep reforms.

Given such division, European leaders nervously watched the first-round voting to see which way France might tilt. On Monday, many political figures were unusually public about their support for Macron.

[Choice for French voters: Hope in Europe or fear of globalization]

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s chief of staff, Peter Altmaier, tweeted that Macron’s first-place finish showed that “France AND Europe can win together. The center is stronger than the populists think!”

Oooopps! U.S. Aircraft Carrier Went In Wrong Direction For Days to the Korean Peninsula

DECEPTION AT ITS BEST!

ASIA PACIFIC
Aircraft Carrier Wasn’t Sailing to Deter North Korea, as U.S. Suggested
By MARK LANDLER and ERIC SCHMITT APRIL 18, 2017

The Navy posted a photo of the U.S.S. Carl Vinson sailing Saturday in the Sunda Strait off the coast of Indonesia, thousands of miles southwest of the Korean Peninsula. Credit MC2 Sean M. Castellano/Agence

WASHINGTON — A week ago, the White House declared that ordering an American aircraft carrier into the Sea of Japan would send a powerful deterrent signal to North Korea and give President Trump more options in responding to the North’s provocative behavior. “We’re sending an armada,” Mr. Trump said to Fox News that afternoon.

The problem was that the carrier, the Carl Vinson, and the three other warships in its strike force were that very moment sailing in the opposite direction, to take part in joint exercises with the Australian Navy in the Indian Ocean, 3,500 miles southwest of the Korean Peninsula.

White House officials said Tuesday that they had been relying on guidance from the Defense Department. Officials there described a glitch-ridden sequence of events, from an ill-timed announcement of the deployment by the military’s Pacific Command to an erroneous explanation by the defense secretary, Jim Mattis — all of which perpetuated the false narrative that a flotilla was racing toward the waters off North Korea.

By the time the White House was asked about the Carl Vinson, its imminent arrival had been emblazoned on front pages across East Asia, fanning fears that Mr. Trump was considering a pre-emptive military strike. It was portrayed as further evidence of the president’s muscular style days after he ordered a missile strike on Syria while he and President Xi Jinping of China were chatting over dessert during a meeting in Florida.

With Mr. Trump himself playing up the show of force, Pentagon officials said, rolling back the story became difficult.

The saga of the wayward carrier might never have come to light had the Navy not posted a photo online Monday of the Carl Vinson sailing south through the Sunda Strait, which separates the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra. It was taken on Saturday, four days after the White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, described its mission in the Sea of Japan.

Now, the Carl Vinson is finally on a course for the Korean Peninsula, expected to arrive in the region next week, according to Defense Department officials. White House officials declined to comment on the confusion, referring all questions to the Pentagon. “Sean discussed it once when asked, and it was all about process,” a spokesman, Michael Short, said of Mr. Spicer.

Privately, however, other officials expressed bewilderment that the Pentagon did not correct its timeline, particularly given the tensions in the region and the fact that Mr. Spicer, as well as the national security adviser, Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster, were publicly answering questions about it.

The miscues began on Sunday, April 9, when the public affairs office of the Navy’s Third Fleet issued a news release saying that Adm. Harry B. Harris Jr., the Pacific commander, had ordered the Carl Vinson, a Nimitz-class nuclear-powered carrier, and its strike force — two destroyers and one cruiser — to leave Singapore and sail to the Western Pacific. As is customary, the Navy did not say exactly where the carrier force was headed or its precise mission.

Given the timing, it hardly needed to: Mr. Trump had just wrapped up a two-day summit with Mr. Xi at his Palm Beach club, Mar-a-Lago, with a message that the United States had run out of patience with North Korea’s dictator, Kim Jong-un, and its nuclear and missile programs.

That Sunday, General McMaster told Fox News that the deployment was a “prudent” move, designed to give the president “a full range of options to remove” the threat posed by Mr. Kim.

Oooopps! U.S. Aircraft Carrier Went In Wrong Direction For Days to the Korean Peninsula

Trump continuously proves himself to be a con and a great habitual LAIR! Not good at all for the president of the United States. especially during such time as there might be a war!..WOW!

Oooopps! U.S. Aircraft Carrier Went In Wrong Direction For Days to the Korean Peninsula

..at least you'll be safe for a short spell

Oooopps! U.S. Aircraft Carrier Went In Wrong Direction For Days to the Korean Peninsula

The Korea Herald reported Monday that the USS Carl Vinson is due to arrive in South Korea’s eastern waters on April 25, in time for another important date in the North Korean calendar: the anniversary of the army’s foundation. Quoting unnamed South Korean officials, the Herald said “the strike group will join the South Korean navy in a massive maritime drill designed to counter provocation from the North.”

CNN also cited U.S. defence officials as saying the aircraft carrier will arrive off the Korean Peninsula at the end of April.

Oooopps! U.S. Aircraft Carrier Went In Wrong Direction For Days to the Korean Peninsula

POLITICS 04/18/2017 03:15 pm ET | Updated 30 minutes ago
U.S. Aircraft Carrier Went In Wrong Direction For Days After White House Threat
Trump said he was “sending an armada” to the Korean Peninsula, but that didn’t happen.
By Paige Lavender , Eline Gordts

US NAVY PHOTO BY MASS COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST 2ND CLASS SEAN M CASTELLANO/RELEASED

The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson transits the Sunda Strait on April 15, 2017.
When U.S. officials claimed two weeks ago that an American aircraft carrier was heading toward waters near North Korea, it was actually sailing in the opposite direction, The New York Times and Defense News report.

Facing growing tensions between the U.S. and North Korea, an American official told Reuters on April 8 that the U.S. had sent a Navy strike group to the Korean Peninsula as a show of force directed at the regime of Kim Jong Un.

U.S. National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster told Fox News the next day that the group was being rerouted from Singapore toward the Korean Peninsula as a “prudent” show of force.

“We are sending an armada, very powerful. We have submarines, very powerful, far more powerful than the aircraft carrier,” President Donald Trump told Fox on April 12. “We have the best military people on Earth. And I will say this: He is doing the wrong thing,” Trump added, referring to Kim Jong Un.

But Defense News pointed out on Tuesday that photos released by the U.S. Navy showed the USS Carl Vinson passing through the Sunda Strait in Indonesia, about 3,500 miles from the Korean Peninsula, last Saturday. The carrier was moving away from North Korea when the Pentagon had said it was moving toward the peninsula, the Times confirmed on Tuesday.

North Korea has recently ramped up work on its nuclear program, hoping to develop a missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead to the United States. Trump has vowed to “solve” the North Korean problem, but is facing few good options to confront the threat.

Pyongyang test-fired missiles during Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to the U.S. in March, and again on April 4 ahead of a visit to the U.S. by Chinese President Xi Jinping. Following the April launch, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson released a three-sentence statement acknowledging the launch: “The United States has spoken enough about North Korea. We have no further comment,” it read.

Tensions further escalated in the runup to April 15, the 105th anniversary of the birth of North Korea’s founder, Kim Il Sung. Experts warned that Pyongyang might conduct a missile test. Satellite imagery at the time indicated that Pyongyang might have been preparing for a sixth nuclear test in addition to a massive military parade.

While North Korea did end up test-firing a missile on Sunday, the projectile exploded almost immediately after launch.

Following the launch, Vice President Mike Pence said Trump would take a more aggressive stance against Pyongyang than previous administrations.

“We’re going to abandon the failed policy of strategic patience. But we’re going to redouble our efforts to bring diplomatic and economic pressure to bear on North Korea. Our hope is that we can resolve this issue peaceably,” Pence told CNN.

A Navy news release said the U.S. Pacific Command directed the carrier group to sail north to the western Pacific after departing from Singapore, The Denver Post reported on April 8.

On April 11, Defense Sec. James Mattis addressed the carrier’s movement, saying there was “not a specific demand signal or specific reason we’re sending her up there.”

'Thermo-nuclear war may breakout any moment: Trump is warned by China and North Korea

mine are packed down being that here in Texas we are having warm weather... but I best get htem out sometimes today for protection as well, or head off to walmart

'Thermo-nuclear war may breakout any moment: Trump is warned by China and North Korea

Do you know where Trump stands? Don't worry he doesn't either.

'Thermo-nuclear war may break out any moment': Kim Jong-Un tells Trump he will detonate a nuke 'whenever he sees fit' as China warns anyone provoking North Korea will 'pay the price'
Vice Minister Han Song Ryol accused Trump of building up a 'vicious cycle' of tensions on the Korean Peninsula and pointed to his 'aggressive tweets'
He blamed the US and Trump for growing tensions, citing military exercises with South Korea and the deployment of a US aircraft carrier to the peninsula
Han said North Korea would continue accumulating nuclear arms 'as long as the nuclear threats and blackmail go on with the military exercises'
He added Pyongyang won't 'keep its arms crossed' against US military action
Satellite images taken Tuesdsay show activity at Punggye-ri Nuclear facility
Pyongyang is preparing to mark its national 'Day of the Sun' on Saturday to commemorate the birth anniversary of its founding president Kim Il Sung
US officials told NBC the US was prepared to launch a pre-emptive strike to halt a nuclear test, but a member of the Trump administration denied the report
US Vice President Mike Pence will travel to South Korea on Sunday in what his aides said was a sign of the U.S. commitment to its ally
By Jessica Chia For Dailymail.com and Dave Burke For Mailonline
PUBLISHED: 01:15 EDT, 14 April 2017 | UPDATED: 03:45 EDT, 14 April 2017

President Donald Trump's 'troublemaking' and 'aggressive' tweets have pushed the world to the brink of thermo-nuclear war, North Korea warned today.

North Korea's vice foreign minister blamed the US President on Friday for 'making trouble' through his 'aggressive tweets' as tensions rise over the possibility the regime will launch another nuclear weapons test.
China immediately responded, saying anyone provoking conflict will 'pay the price'.
China's foreign minister Wang Yi said today there would be 'no winner' in any war, as tensions sour with the US.
'Dialogue is the only possible solution', he told reporters in Beijing.

It comes as North Korean Vice Minister Han Song Ryol accused Trump of building up a 'vicious cycle' of tensions and warned the US against provoking North Korea militarily.
He said: 'We will go to war if they choose.'
At the same time, a spokesman for the North Korean Foreign Ministry's Institute for Disarmament and Peace issued a statement condemning the United States for the attack on Syria, while also calling for 'peace by strength'.

'The US introduces into the Korean peninsula, the world's biggest hotspot, huge nuclear strategic assets, seriously threatening peace and security of the peninsula and pushing the situation there to the brink of a war,' the North's KCNA news agency said on Friday, citing the statement.

'This has created a dangerous situation in which a thermo-nuclear war may break out any moment on the peninsula and posed serious threat to the world peace and security, to say nothing of those in Northeast Asia,' it said.

Han's remarks, on the eve of the country's biggest national holiday, the 'Day of the Sun', were released hours after a member of the Trump administration denied a report claiming the US was prepared to launch a pre-emptive strike to halt any nuclear test at the weekend.

In the past week Trump has shown his willingness to launch military strikes, with US missiles deployed in Syria and Afghanistan.

On Tuesday the US President tweeted: 'North Korea is looking for trouble. If China decides to help, that would be great. If not, we will solve the problem without them! U.S.A.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4411108/North-Korea-hits-Trump-ahead-Day-Sun.html