Page 228 – Texas Weekly Online

Democrats attack third-party candidate Jill Stein in razor-thin race

Democrats issue their first ad slamming Green Party candidate, even as she polls at about 1 percent. With less than a month to go to election day in the United States, Democrats are locked in a tight battle for every available vote in the presidential campaign and have taken on the third-party candidates they see as potential “spoilers”. The Democratic National Committee (DNC), the party’s executive branch, issued a television advertisement on Friday attacking Jill Stein, the longtime Green Party candidate to whom some progressives disillusioned with the Democratic candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris, have flocked. The advertisement, which is running in the swing states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, blames Stein for Republican challenger Donald Trump’s 2016 win and warns that “a vote for Stein is really a vote for Trump” – a refrain Democrats have regularly levelled against her in tight races between their candidates and Trump. The video also includes a comment by former President Trump, saying, “Jill Stein? I like her very much.” The advertisement, the first against the third-party candidate, signals Democrats’ growing worry that every lost vote may cost them such a razor-thin election. Stein has been polling at about 1 percent, similar to progressive academic and independent candidate Cornel West and Libertarian Party candidate Chase Oliver. In some battleground states, those votes may make all the difference. Third-party history Third-party candidates have long been blamed for their impact on tight election outcomes — most notably in 2000 when Green Party nominee Ralph Nader earned 97,421 votes in Florida, a state that eventually went to George W Bush, along with the presidency, by only 537 votes. But third-party candidates and supporters have rejected the blame, arguing that they are working to challenge a fundamentally broken two-party system and giving voters a greater choice. “You don’t have a democracy unless it’s a competitive democracy at election time,” Nader recently told Al Jazeera. “Historically, the function of third parties in an Electoral College system has never really been to win elections but to have new agendas,” he said. With only two choices, Democrat or Republican, Nader added, “on major issues, they are very similar.” A Gallup poll this month found 58 percent of US voters agree that a third major party is needed because the Republican and Democratic parties “do such a poor job” of representing the American people. Stein on Israel While she has virtually no chance of winning the presidency, Stein’s message has been particularly resonant for some voters during Israel’s war in Gaza and Democrats’ and Republicans’ unwavering support for it. She has been a consistent critic of US support for Israel – a position that has won her new supporters this election cycle. “The Kamala Harris campaign is looking for a scapegoat,” she told The Washington Post this week, referring to the Harris campaign’s concern about her candidacy. “They could change their policy right now. The problem is they would rather lose the election than end the genocide”. This week, the Abandon Harris campaign, a Michigan-based Muslim group that says it aims to hold Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration “accountable for the Gaza genocide”, endorsed Stein for president. “Our movement remains dedicated to ensuring that the American people, especially the Muslim-American community, recognize the responsibility we share in standing up against oppression and using all our power to stop genocide — wherever it may arise,” the group said in a statement. “On the precipice of the election, we endorse Jill Stein.” Adblock test (Why?)

Russia’s Putin meets Iran’s Pezeshkian amid spiralling Middle East violence

Presidents’ meeting comes before expected signing of strategic partnership agreement by the two countries. Russian President Vladimir Putin has met Iran’s new president as concerns grow over escalating attacks between Israel and Iran along with its network of aligned armed groups. Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian discussed the situation in the Middle East on the sidelines of a regional meeting in Turkmenistan on Friday, Russian state media reported. They met before their two countries are expected to sign a strategic partnership agreement. Pezeshkian said on Friday that he hoped the agreement could be finalised at the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit, which Putin invited him to, in Russia on October 22-24. During their meeting, Putin told Pezeshkian that Moscow’s and Tehran’s positions on international affairs were often “very close”, Russian state news agency TASS reported. “Relations with Iran are a priority for us. They are developing very successfully,” Putin said. Iranian news agency IRNA also quoted Pezeshkian as sharing a similar sentiment: “Economically and culturally, our communications are being strengthened day by day and becoming more robust.” Pezeshkian also spoke about Israel’s “savage attacks” in Lebanon, adding that Israel should “stop killing innocent people” in the region and accused the United States and Europe of backing its actions. The Israeli military has sent ground troops into southern Lebanon and continues to bombard the country as it battles the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, which is aligned with Tehran. Russia has also previously condemned Israel for targeting civilian areas during its wars in Lebanon and Gaza. Putin said at the forum on October 11, 2024, that he wants a ‘new world order’ to counter the West as he and Pezeshkian extolled Russia and Iran’s strengthening relationship [Alexander Shcherbak/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool Photo via AP] Relations between Russia and Iran have strengthened significantly since Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022. The US has accused Iran of supplying Russia with weapons to be used in Ukraine. Tehran has denied that claim. As the conference opened on Friday, Putin said he wanted to create a “new world order” for Moscow’s allies to counter the West. He said Moscow supported “the broadest possible international discussion” on the emerging multipolar world and was open to discussing it in various forums, including the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Eurasian Economic Union, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and BRICS. Other regional leaders, including Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and the heads of Central Asian nations – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan – attended Friday’s conference. Adblock test (Why?)

DNA TV Show: All about JPNIC controversy and why it’s causing political tension in Lucknow?

Why was Akhilesh Yadav so obsessed with paying tribute to Jay Prakash Narayan at JPNIC itself? Why was CM Yogi’s administration adamant about stopping Akhilesh Yadav from entering JPNIC at any cost? The answer to this question is hidden in JPNIC itself.

Tamil Nadu train accident: Mysuru-Darbhanga Express crashes into goods train, several feared injured

Over 90% of passengers have been safely evacuated following the 12578 Bagmati Express accident, with no reports of casualties so far.

‘Complete failure’: Top GOP senator demands full report on migrants entering US, boarding flights without ID

FIRST ON FOX: The Biden administration is facing pressure from a top U.S. Senator to allow the full unredacted internal watchdog report that detailed how officials have released migrants into the U.S. without ID and allowed them to travel on domestic flights. “These new findings in the DHS OIG report further illustrate the Biden-Harris administration’s complete failure of leadership to secure our borders and properly vet and identify noncitizens entering the U.S.,” Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa., said in a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. “These failures have put our national security at serious risk.” Grassley wrote in regard to a DHS Office of Inspector General report that found that DHS agencies have allowed noncitizens to enter the U.S. and board flights without confirming their identity. FED AGENCIES RELEASED NONCITIZENS WITHOUT ID INTO US, ALLOWED THEM TO BOARD DOMESTIC FLIGHTS: DHS OIG REPORT The report found that CBP and ICE accept self-reported biographical information, which they use to give migrants immigration forms. The migrants can then get on domestic flights, even if they do not have identification. The IG added that “immigration officers we interviewed acknowledged the risks of allowing noncitizens without ID into the country.” Several portions of the report are heavily redacted, particularly where TSA conducted assessments on the risks of using the CBP One cellphone app as a screening tool. The results of the assessments are not disclosed in the report. “This is another example of the Biden-Harris DHS’s failure to be transparent with Congress and the American people,” Grassley said. “These redactions raise significant questions about what the administration is trying to hide about the potential risks to our national security posed by its use of the CBP One app and program.” Grassley is seeking a full unredacted copy of the report, as well as information on how many noncitizens were allowed into the U.S. without confirming their identities, how many were high-risk and how many were allowed to fly on domestic flights. DHS has pushed back against the report, calling its conclusions inaccurate. “OIG’s report contains inaccurate statements, lacks important context, and is misleading about the Department’s efforts to verify the identity of noncitizens seeking entry into the United States and screening noncitizens flying domestically,” the agency said in response. “OIG’s report also does not reflect policy and procedural updates DHS implemented this year to improve security in accordance with TSA’s normal risk assessment process.” The agency says that vetting is a point-in-time check, with all individuals being vetted against multiple databases, including Interpol Notices and the terror watch list. ‘IT’S ABSURD’: CONGRESS TAKES BIPARTISAN ACTION AFTER CUBAN OFFICIALS’ TOUR SECURE PARTS OF MAJOR AIRPOR The agency says that all travelers, including migrants, must present an acceptable form of ID to enter secure areas of an airport. Those who do not have ID are subjected to additional screening. “If noncitizens do not have an acceptable ID and do not submit to facial recognition technology, they will be denied entry into the secure areas of the airport and will be denied boarding. If TSA cannot match their identity to DHS records, they will also be denied entry into the secure areas of the airport and will be denied boarding,” the agency said. It also emphasized that CBP One and DHS records are not considered acceptable forms of ID, and that facial recognition done using the app is separate from the appointment-scheduling function. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE But the report marks the latest concern from Republicans about the entry of migrants into the U.S. and whether the vetting that is taking place is effective. Multiple lawmakers have repeatedly expressed fears about migrants getting on planes without ID, and who is being released into the U.S. “This administration’s actions – and lack thereof – speak volumes: President Biden and Vice President Harris do not care to enforce our laws that say it’s illegal for noncitizens to enter our country without proper identification,” Grassley said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “The findings in this independent watchdog report are yet another reminder America is less safe under their watch. My oversight is demanding concrete answers on what DHS is doing to fix the lax screening practices putting people in harm’s way.” Fox News’ Bill Melugin and Greg Wehner contributed to this report.

NC’s Omar Abdullah meets LG, stakes claim to form J-K government, swearing-in ceremony on…

During his meeting with Sinha, Abdullah presented the letters of support from the coalition partners, hours after Congress extended its support to the NC vice president

Vaping advocate warns Dem crackdown on ‘common sense’ tobacco alternatives could backfire in swing states

A leading vaping industry advocate tells Fox News Digital that Democrat positions cracking down on vaping and using nicotine pouches could backfire as many Americans across the country are single issue voters on that issue. Tony Abboud, Executive Director of the Vapor Technology Association, told Fox News Digital that the Biden administration has “made it clear” that they have “no desire to have less harmful nicotine products on the market.” “I don’t know how to explain that except to say special interest groups in this country that are often funded by the likes of Mike Bloomberg, who has made it clear that he wants to rid the marketplace of flavored e-cigarettes,” Abboud said. “That is what is at issue here, it is an ideological fight. It has nothing to do with science, and it certainly doesn’t have anything to do with what the FDA is legally required to do.” Abboud’s trade association represents companies in the independent vaping industry throughout the entire supply distribution chain, from manufacturers to mom and pop retailers and consumers. CONSERVATIVE GROUPS LAUNCH 6-FIGURE CAMPAIGN TO DEFEAT DEM CRACKDOWN ON ZYN: ‘SAVE OUR POUCHES’ “Those consumers are the ones that are using the variety of flavored vaping products that are available to help them quit smoking, because this is the first thing that has helped them, so many smokers who have tried to quit over many years, it’s the first thing that’s really helped them succeed and so that is at the core. I think one of the reasons why this product is so important to people, and we cannot forget that in everything that we’re doing, we’re talking about a product that has changed people’s lives.” Democrats across the country, from Sen. Chuck Schumer to VP candidate Tim Walz, who supported heavy taxes on Zyn in Minnesota, have stood up in opposition to flavored vapes and nicotine pouches, which Abboud says could motivate voters in the upcoming election. SCHUMER’S CALL FOR FEDERAL CRACKDOWN ON ZYN NICOTINE POUCHES FACES BACKLASH: ‘NANNY STATE ALIVE AND WELL’ “So we looked at this issue back in 2019 and we looked at it again this year and what’s very clear from the numbers is that vaping voters can be single issue voters, because as I noted at the outset, this is an incredibly important product to them,” Abboud told Fox News Digital. “And the notion that the government is going to take away their freedom to vape, their freedom to make choices over what they use and don’t use affects them greatly.” “The same is true with our small business owners. They have built businesses that support their families that creates jobs. Tens of thousands of jobs in various states, over 100,000 jobs across the United States,” he continued. “This is a real industry with real people and the calls by mostly Democrats to rid the market of these products is a call to shut down these small businesses. We fought hard for those in 2019, and President Trump did the right thing. He said, I’m not going to ban flavors. I’m going to raise the age to 21 to address the youth vaping epidemic at the time, and it’s effectively been solved. The youth vaping rate is now 71% lower than it was at the time that that law was changed.” Abboud told Fox News Digital that voters who are concerned about being able to easily access tobacco alternatives are going to be more likely to support former President Trump. FETTERMAN REJECTS TOP DEMOCRAT’S ATTEMPTED CRACKDOWN ON ZYN: ‘ON THE SIDE OF MORE FREEDOM’ “I think voters really just have an option, right?” Abboud said. “They have an option of a president who has in the past supported their freedom to vape, has defended their small businesses, has ensured that they had access to safer, low, safer nicotine alternatives to smoking cigarettes versus what they’ve had in the last three and a half years, which is an administration which has done everything in its power to eliminate these products from the market, while at the same time, by the way, authorizing, like I noted, hundreds of new cigarettes.” “We know where President Trump stood in 2019 and if you think about the common sense approach that he took, it changed everything in this country as it relates to youth vaping and so, yeah, we are hopeful that that thinking will continue and that common sense regulations will replace this mess that this current administration’s FDA has created.” “We’ve already seen in our data that significant majorities of swing state voters agree that we should not be banning vaping products or banning flavored vaping products, but instead the FDA should focus on harm reduction and doing everything in its power to fill the marketplace with these new technologies. And if you look at the states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, the majorities I’m talking about are 60%, 59% and 58% and what that tells you is Americans are smart, voters are smart, and they know when government is not acting in their interests.” Abboud also pointed out that crackdowns on smoking alternatives often hit minority communities the hardest. “The people that smoke and suffer from smoking-related disease and death are predominantly people in lower income communities,” Abboud said. “The people in lower income communities today are already getting just hurt so badly by the high cost of groceries, the high cost of housing.” “So for politicians like Governor Walz to impose a 95% tax, it is a regressive tax, and it is a regressive tax on people who need relief,” Abboud said. “In this case, he’s making it harder and more expensive to use the safest and safer form of nicotine available on the market.” Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris-Walz campaign for comment but did not receive a response.

Aftermath of Israeli air strikes in central Beirut

At least 22 people were killed and 117 others wounded in Israeli air strikes in central Beirut on Thursday, Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health said, in the third such attack on the centre of the Lebanese capital since Israel escalated its bombing campaign last month. Reporting from Beirut, Al Jazeera’s Laura Khan said many people who had been displaced from southern Lebanon in recent weeks had sought shelter in the capital. “Many people who had fled southern Lebanon had found shelter here, and it’s just becoming re-traumatising, unpredictable and dangerous,” Khan said. The injured were brought to local hospitals, which sent out a warning asking people not to donate blood because they were already overwhelmed by the number of casualties and the inflow of family members. Al Jazeera correspondents on the ground said a family of five people that had fled southern Lebanon was killed alongside three relatives who were hosting them. The attacks, which came without warning, mark the third time since Israel expanded its campaign on Lebanon in late September that its bombs have hit outside Dahiyeh, a southern suburb that has seen near-daily air raids in recent weeks. A Lebanese security source, without giving further details, said a “Hezbollah figure” was targeted after a series of killings of top officials in the Iran-aligned movement. Adblock test (Why?)

Israel attacks UN peacekeepers in Lebanon: Why it’s such a big deal

The Israeli military has fired on the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon twice in less than 48 hours, the UN says. Israeli forces repeatedly fired at a guard tower at the headquarters of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) on Thursday, injuring two members of the force, and again fired at a watchtower, injuring two more peacekeepers, on Friday. It is almost unheard of for a UN member state to take aim at a UN peacekeeping force, so how significant are these incidents in the unfolding war in Lebanon? UNIFIL armoured personnel carriers depart from a base to patrol the Lebanon-Israel border on October 5, 2024 in Marjayoun, Lebanon [Carl Court/Getty Images] What happened? On Thursday morning, Israeli forces used a Merkava tank to fire at an observation tower belonging to UNIFIL in Naqoura, a small border-area town in southern Lebanon where UNIFIL has been headquartered since 1978. Two Indonesian peacekeepers were directly hit, causing them to fall. “The injuries are fortunately, this time, not serious, but they remain in hospital,” a UN statement issued on Thursday read. The statement added that on Wednesday, Israeli soldiers had “deliberately fired at and disabled” the monitoring cameras at UNIFIL’s headquarters. On Friday, UNIFIL released a second statement saying two more peacekeepers had been injured when two explosions occurred close to an observation tower. One was taken for treatment at a hospital in the Lebanese city of Tyre while the other was being treated in Naqoura. Israel’s attacks were condemned by members of the international community, including Indonesia, Italy, France, Spain, Ireland, Turkey, the European Union and Canada. What is UNIFIL? UNIFIL is a peacekeeping force in Lebanon originally set up by the UN Security Council in March 1978 after Israel first invaded Lebanon in what became known as the South Lebanon Conflict. In 1978, Israel deployed its troops along the border with Lebanon after Palestine Liberation Organization members entered Israel from Lebanon by sea. UNIFIL was established to oversee the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon and to restore peace and security in the area. After a 34-day war in Lebanon between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006, in which 1,100 Lebanese people were killed, UNIFIL’s mandate was expanded to monitor the cessation of hostilities and support Lebanese armed forces deployed throughout southern Lebanon. As of September 2, 10,058 UNIFIL soldiers are deployed in Lebanon. They come from 50 countries. The largest number of UNIFIL peacekeepers – 1,231 – come from Indonesia. Italy, India, Nepal and China also contribute a large number of soldiers to the peacekeeping force. How common is it for UN peacekeepers to be harmed? From 1948 to the end of August 2024, 4,398 UN peacekeepers on missions all over the world have been killed. Of these fatalities, 1,629 were due to illness, 1,406 were caused by accidents, 1,130 by malicious acts and 233 were due to “other reasons”, according to data from the UN. UNIFIL is the most dangerous of the peacekeeping missions, having suffered the most casualties. In its 46 years, 337 peacekeepers have been killed. It is followed by the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali, which has suffered 311 fatalities. The highest number of peacekeeper fatalities in one year took place in 1993 when 252 peacekeepers died during missions in Somalia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia and other locations. In 2010, the second highest number of fatalities took place when 173 peacekeepers were killed. They included three peacekeepers with the African Union-UN Mission in Darfur during confrontations with unknown attackers. In the same year, 43 members of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) died on January 12 in an earthquake in Haiti. Ten other MINUSTAH personnel died in 2010 in “acts of violence”, the UN website reported. In 2017, the UN said an attack on peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was suspected to have been carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces armed group. That attack killed 14 Tanzanian peacekeepers and injured 44. What is the legal position on targeting UN peacekeepers? The deliberate targeting of UN missions amounts to a war crime, observers said. “Under the laws of war, UN personnel involved in peacekeeping operations, including armed members, are civilians, and deliberate attacks against them and peacekeeping facilities are unlawful and amount to war crimes,” a report from Human Rights Watch (HRW) explained. HRW cited Article 8(2)(b)(iii) of the Rome Statute, which established the International Criminal Court in The Hague. It lists the intentional targeting of humanitarian and peacekeeping missions as war crimes. The UN statement that reported Thursday’s attack said not only was the deliberate attack a violation of international law but also a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701. After Israel’s attack on Friday on the UNIFIL headquarters, the UN said: “This is a serious development, and UNIFIL reiterates that the safety and security of UN personnel and property must be guaranteed and that the inviolability of UN premises must be respected at all times. “Any deliberate attack on peacekeepers is a grave violation of international humanitarian law and Security Council resolution 1701 (2006).” UN peacekeepers from a Spanish brigade of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) clean their weapons at their base on August 16, 2024 in Kafarkila, Lebanon [Chris McGrath/Getty Images] Has Israel attacked UN peacekeepers before? Military analyst Elijah Magnier told Al Jazeera that the recent incident was not the first time UNIFIL had come under fire from Israel. In 1987, an Israeli tank squad opened fire on a village where a UNIFIL command post was located, killing an Irish peacekeeper. In 1996, Israel shelled UNIFIL’s Fijian battalion in southern Lebanon’s Qana. More than 120 Lebanese civilians were killed and about 500 injured. Four UN soldiers were also injured. In late November 2023, Israeli forces fired at a UNIFIL patrol close to Aitaroun in southern Lebanon, but no peacekeepers were injured. Magnier said the recent attacks were happening “because Israel needs to go through the UNIFIL position in Naqoura and start the invasion

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