3/26/2021

White House News (白宮消息) | Mar. 26, 2021

White House News in Chinese - About (weebly.com)


U.S. President Joe Biden speaks to reporters as he holds his first formal news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., March 25, 2021
Biden: American Rescue Plan is sowing signs of hope for U.S. economy

Mar. 26, Reuters - U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday said the economic outlook is brightening thanks to the recent passage of his $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package, and a majority of economists now expect growth this year to exceed six percent.

“Since we passed the American Rescue Plan, we’re starting to see new signs of hope in our economy,” Biden said during his first press conference since taking office in January. “Since it was passed, a majority ... of economic forecasters have significantly increased their projections on the economic growth that’s going to take place this year. They’re now projecting it will exceed 6% growth in GDP (gross domestic product).”


Indeed, that may understate how quickly the economy may grow this year as COVID-19 vaccine rollouts gather pace, allowing greater freedom of movement and activity, and as the stimulus bill boosts consumer spending.

Just last week, Federal Reserve officials signaled they expect growth of 6.5% this year, which if achieved would mark the fastest expansion since the 1980s, and some private forecasters have predicted the economy will grow in excess of 7% this year. That would mark a dramatic upward swing following the 3.5% contraction suffered in 2020, the steepest annual downturn in more than seven decades.

The first-term Democrat also pointed to signs of a recovering job market. The number of Americans filing first-time claims for jobless benefits fell below 700,000 for the first time since the pandemic triggered a deep recession roughly one year ago.      continue to read

MARCH 25, 2021
President Biden Holds News Conference
President Biden held his first official news conference in the White House East Room, announcing at the top of his remarks a new goal of 200 million vaccination shots in his first 100 days. The president’s original goal was 100 shots, which was surpassed around March 19. He answered a range of questions on immigration policy, the filibuster rule, relations with China, and voting rights. President Biden called the Republican attempts to limit voting rights in the U.S. “un-American” and “sick” and later told reporters that it was his expectation to run for reelection in 2024.

President Joe Biden speaks during a news conference in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, March 25, 2021, in Washington.
Biden reveals 2024 plans and doubles vaccine goals in first press conference


Mar. 26, Washington -- President Biden on Thursday revealed he plans to seek a second term in the White House in 2024 and he said he expects Vice President Kamala Harris would again be his running mate. Mr. Biden talked about his plans in 2024 in a roughly hourlong press conference, the first of his presidency, where he also announced he would doubling his vaccine goals to 200 million doses in his first 100 days and would be detailing an infrastructure plan on Friday.

Mr. Biden has not yet filed for reelection, while former President Trump had already done so at this point in his presidency. But the president told CBS News chief White House correspondent Nancy Cordes it is his "plan" to run again.

"That is my expectation," Mr. Biden said, although he added that he doesn't normally plan that far in advance.

The president fielded questions from reporters for roughly an hour on a range of topics, including the ongoing crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border, the legislative filibuster and foreign policy challenges his administration is confronting.

At the start of his remarks, Mr. Biden said he is increasing his goal for vaccine doses administered in his first 100 days in office to 200 million. The nation surpassed his initial target of 100 million shot last week, on the 58th day of his presidency.

With Mr. Biden's sweeping $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package passed by Congress and signed into law, the president revealed the details of his next major initiative, infrastructure, will be announced Friday during a trip to Pittsburgh.

The proposal will address both physical and technological infrastructure, the president said, "so that we can compete and create significant numbers of really good paying jobs." Mr. Biden said "the future rests" on whether the U.S. has the best airports, ports, railroads and roadways to facilitate business. 


Mr. Biden was repeatedly pressed on his administration's plan to address the flood of unaccompanied minors crossing the southern border into the U.S. and whether he favors changes to the legislative filibuster, a rule under which 60 votes are needed to end debate on a measure and move to a final vote. He was not, however, asked about the coronavirus pandemic or the economy.     quoted from


Xinjiang: China's Muslim Borderland (Studies of Central Asia and the Caucasus)

Eastern Turkestan, now known as Xinjiang or the New Territory, makes up a sixth of China's land mass. Absorbed by the Qing in the 1880s and reconquered by Mao in 1949, this Turkic-Muslim region of China's remote northwest borders on formerly Soviet Central Asia, Afghanistan, Kashmir, Mongolia, and Tibet, Will Xinjiang participate in twenty-first century ascendancy, or will nascent Islamic radicalism in Xinjiang expand the orbit of instability in a dangerous part of the world? This comprehensive survey of contemporary Xinjiang is the result of a major collaborative research project begun in 1998. The authors have combined their fieldwork experience, linguistic skills, and disciplinary expertise to assemble the first multifaceted introduction to Xinjiang. The volume surveys the region's geography; its history of military and political subjugation to China; economic, social, and commercial conditions; demography, public health, and ecology; and patterns of adaption, resistance, opposition, and evolving identities.     source from

On the campaign trail Oct. 28, 2020, in Wilmington, Delaware, Joe Biden talks about the need to build up the Affordable Care Act
What the American Rescue Plan says about President Biden’s health care priorities – and what they mean for you

Mar. 25 - As millions of Americans receive COVID-19 vaccines, the Affordable Care Act just got a booster shot of its own.


After 11 years of existential threat and months after an argument before the Supreme Court, the ACA has been strengthened under President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan, the US$1.9 trillion economic relief package. This means greater access to health insurance at lower costs for millions of Americans.

The ARP is the most noteworthy expansion of health insurance benefits since the passage of the landmark legislation in 2010. Specifically, it contains an important extension of financial assistance to Americans who purchase health insurance on the ACA’s private insurance exchanges.

As a health law professor who focuses on health care finance and delivery, I see this as a key moment to gain insight into President Biden’s preferred policy choices as he seeks to improve health care access and financing in the United States.     more to read

3/25/2021

White House News (白宮消息) | Mar. 25, 2021

White House News in Chinese - About (weebly.com)

 MARCH 24, 2021

President Biden Meets with Immigration Officials
President Biden held a meeting with Cabinet members and immigration officials to discuss the rise in unaccompanied minors at the U.S.-Mexico border. At the start, the president announced that Vice President Harris will lead the White House diplomatic effort on addressing the migration challenges. “This new surge we’re dealing with now started with the last administration but it’s our responsibility to deal with it humanely and to stop what’s happening,” said the president. Following his announcement, Vice President Harris delivered brief remarks on the situation at the U.S. southern border. Other officials at the meeting included Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. 
Biden: I Told Kamala Harris She'd Be The Last Person In The Room, "That Means She Gets Every Assignment"

Mar. 25 - President Biden announced Wednesday that he has asked Vice President Kamala Harris "to lead our efforts with Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries that are going to need help in stemming" the flow of refugees and the migrant crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border.


"I can think of nobody who is better qualified to do this,” Biden said about Harris, the former attorney general of California.

Biden quipped that when he offered her the job, he told Harris she would always be "the last person in the room, but that means she gets every assignment."      source from

MARCH 24, 2021
White House Daily Briefing
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki held a briefing with economic advisers. The advisers spoke about steps the administration is taking to close the gender pay gap and helping women return to the workforce. The press secretary said the administration is weighing options on how to approach gun control legislation. She said they would prefer Congress to pass bills but realize there is stiff opposition, adding President Biden is considering issuing executive orders. She spoke about the White House creating an Asian American and Pacific Islander liaison in response to criticism for the lack of representation at the cabinet level.

Biden eyes executive actions and legislation on gun control: White House

Mar. 25 - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden sees it as vital to take steps via executive actions and legislation to promote gun control, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Wednesday, in the wake of two deadly shootings in Colorado and Georgia.      source from

Picture
US President Joe Biden turns to Vice President Kamala Harris as he meets with immigration advisers in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, US, March 24, 2021. 
Biden names Harris to lead efforts with Mexico, Central America, to stem migrant flow

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday named Vice President Kamala Harris to lead US efforts with Mexico and Central America's Northern Triangle countries to try to stem the flow of migration to the United States.

Mar. 25 - Biden's decision gives a high-profile assignment to his vice president, a daughter of immigrants who has forged a reputation as an ally of immigration advocates. As California attorney general, Harris had to deal with a major influx of unaccompanied minors at the state's border with Mexico in 2014.

It is a task that carries political risks for Harris, a potential future presidential candidate. Border woes have been an intractable problem for multiple presidents.

Biden served in a similar role for then-President Barack Obama when he was vice president. By assigning her to handling diplomatic efforts with Central America, Biden is elevating the migration issue as a top priority.     continue to read

MARCH 24, 2021
President Biden and U.S. Women's Soccer Team Mark Equal Pay Day
President Biden and first lady Jill Biden met with U.S. Soccer Women’s National Team members Margaret Purce and Megan Rapinoe to mark Equal Pay Day. After delivering remarks in support of equal pay for equal work and closing the gender pay gap, the president signed a proclamation commemorating National Equal Pay Day.


US women's team member Megan Rapinoe speaks as President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden look on during an event to mark Equal Pay Day.
US women's football stars Megan Rapinoe, Margaret Purce join President Joe Biden to promote closing pay gap
Biden and his wife, Jill, hosted a roundtable with Margaret Purce and Megan Rapinoe of the US women's national football team, and other members of the squad who attended virtually. The president then signed a proclamation honouring the day.

Mar. 25 - ​Washington: President Joe Biden made the case Wednesday that the pay disparity between men and women has hurt the economy, bringing members of the US women's national football team to the White House to help set new goals for equality.

Wednesday marked "Equal Pay Day" — which is how far into the year women must work on average to make up the pay disparity between what men and women earned the prior year. The Census Bureau estimates that a woman working full-time would earn about 82 cents for each dollar paid to a man.

Biden and his wife, Jill, hosted a roundtable with Margaret Purce and Megan Rapinoe of the US women's national football team, and other members of the squad who attended virtually. The president then signed a proclamation honouring the day.
"Doesn't matter if you're an electrician, an accountant or part of the best damn soccer team in the world," Biden said. "The pay gap is real. And this team is living proof that you can be the very best at what you do and still have to fight for equal pay."     more details

3/24/2021

White House News (白宮消息) | Mar. 24, 2021

 White House News in Chinese - About (weebly.com)

March 23, 2021
President Biden on Mass Shooting in Boulder, Colorado
President Biden spoke about the 10 victims of the Boulder, Colorado, mass shooting from the White House. He offered his condolences to the families and spoke about the lasting impact of gun violence. He also thanked the police response and said Officer Eric Talley, who was killed in the shooting, is an “American hero.” He then called on Congress to pass gun reform legislation, including closing background check loopholes, and banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.


Here's what we know about the Boulder, Colorado, mass shooting suspect

Mar. 24 - (CNN)Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa was identified by authorities Tuesday as the gunman who opened fire at a King Soopers grocery store in Colorado, killing 10 people, including a Boulder police officer.


The name of the 21-year-old suspect, who is in custody, was released at a news conference by Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold, who did not disclose a possible motive for Monday's bloodshed.

A search of the suspect's suburban Denver home turned up other weapons, a senior law enforcement source said Tuesday. The weapon used in the attack was an AR-15-style pistol modified with an arm brace, according to the source.
Authorities believe Alissa was the only person involved and that there was no additional threat to the community.     continue to read

March 23, 2021
News Conference on Mass Shooting in Boulder, Colorado
Governor Jared Polis (D-CO), along with state and federal officials, held a news conference on the mass shooting that killed ten people at a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado. “Not only did we lose ten lives but this is real horror and terror for all of us, the simple act of shopping in a grocery store,” said Governor Polis. In addition, he told reporters the killer would be held responsible to the full extent of the law. At the start of the news conference, Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold read the names of the shooting victims. Other speakers included Representative Joe Neguse (D-CO) and Mayor of Boulder Sam Weaver (D).


In this Friday March 19, 2021, photo a District of Columbia Fire Boat checks buoys in the waterway next to Fort McNair, seen in background in Washington.
Sources: Iran Threatens Army Base in Washington, Top US General


Mar. 21 - Iran has made threats against Fort McNair, an Army base in Washington D.C., and against the Army’s vice chief of staff, two senior US intelligence officials said.

They said communications intercepted by the National Security Agency in January showed that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard discussed mounting “USS Cole-style attacks” against the base, referring to the October 2000 suicide attack in which a small boat pulled up alongside the Navy destroyer in the Yemeni port of Aden and exploded, killing 17 sailors.

The intelligence also revealed threats to kill Gen. Joseph M. Martin and plans to infiltrate and surveil the base, according to the officials, who were not authorized to publicly discuss national security matters and spoke on condition of anonymity. The base, one of the oldest in the country, is Martin's official residence.

The threats are one reason the Army has been pushing for more security around Fort McNair, which sits alongside Washington's bustling newly developed Waterfront District, The Associated Press reported.     continue to read
The Shadow Commander: Soleimani, the US, and Iran’s Global Ambitions

‘An excellent contribution to our knowledge of Iran and Soleimani.’ Kim Ghattas, author of Black Wave

When the US assassinated Qassem Soleimani in January 2020, he was one of the most powerful men in Iran. The military spearhead for Iranian foreign policy, he enacted the wishes of the country’s Supreme Leader, establishing the Islamic Republic as a major force in the Middle East. He masterminded interventions in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen, supporting Iran’s allies and campaigning against the Taliban, US forces, Israel and ISIS. But all this was a long way from where he began – on the margins of a country whose ruler was regarded as a friend of the West.


In this gripping account, Arash Azizi examines Soleimani’s life, regional influence and future ambitions. He breaks new ground through interviews with Iranians, Afghans, Iraqis and Syrians who knew Soleimani for years, including his personal driver, the aides who accompanied him to his Moscow meeting with Vladimir Putin, and his brother. Through Soleimani, Azizi reveals the true nature of Iran’s global ambitions, providing a rare insight into a country whose actions are much talked about but seldom understood.     source from

3/23/2021

White House News (白宮消息) | Mar. 23, 2021

 White House News in Chinese - About (weebly.com)

U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris deliver remarks after meeting with Asian-American leaders to discuss "the ongoing attacks and threats against the community," during a stop at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., March 19, 2021.
Russian envoy to U.S. back in Moscow after Biden calls Putin a killer: TASS

Mar. 21 - MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia’s ambassador to the United States arrived in Moscow on Sunday for discussions on how to address sliding U.S.-Russia relations after U.S. President Joe Biden said he thought Vladimir Putin was a killer, the TASS news agency reported.


The Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Wednesday it was recalling its ambassador, Anatoly Antonov, for urgent talks after Biden said in an ABC interview he thought President Putin was a killer who would “pay a price” for alleged U.S. election meddling - an accusation that Moscow denies.     continue to read


Washington declined Putin-Biden discussion, says Russian Foreign Ministry

Date published on Mar. 22, 2021
The United States has declined Russian President Vladimir Putin’s offer to hold an “open discussion” with U.S. President Joe Biden, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday, March 22. 

“We regret to note that the American side has not supported the proposal made by President of Russia Vladimir Putin to U.S. President Joe Biden to hold a live-broadcast discussion on March 19 or 22, 2021, on the problems that have accumulated in bilateral relations, as well as on the subject of strategic stability. One more opportunity has been missed to find a way out of the deadlock in Russian-U.S. relations created through the fault of Washington. Responsibility for this lies entirely with the United States.”

In conversation with journalists earlier in the day on Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also confirmed that Putin’s schedule for March 22 didn’t include a conversation with Biden. “As far as I understand, the American side wasn’t ready,” he said.


In an interview published on March 17, U.S. President Joe Biden said he considers Vladimir Putin to be a “killer.” The Russian president responded a day later with a schoolyard retort that translates loosely to the phrase: “Look who’s talking!” Several hours later, Putin invited his American counterpart to take part in a “discussion” broadcast online. Putin suggested this take place on March 19 or 22, or at any other time convenient for the U.S. president. Commenting on Putin’s proposal, Biden said: “I’m sure we’ll talk at some point.”     source from

Picture
American Kompromat: How the KGB Cultivated Donald Trump, and Related Tales of Sex, Greed, Power, and Treachery

Kompromat n.—Russian for "compromising information"

This is a story about the dirty secrets of the most powerful people in the world—including Donald Trump.

It is based on exclusive interviews with dozens of high-level sources—intelligence officers in the CIA, FBI, and the KGB, thousands of pages of FBI investigations, police investigations, and news articles in English, Russian, and Ukrainian. American Kompromat shows that from Trump to Jeffrey Epstein, kompromat was used in operations far more sinister than the public could ever imagine.
 
Among them, the book addresses what may be the single most important unanswered question of the entire Trump era: Is Donald Trump a Russian asset?

 
The answer, American Kompromat says, is yes, and it supports that conclusion backs with the first richly detailed narrative on how the KGB allegedly first “spotted” Trump as a potential asset, how they cultivated him as an asset, arranged his first trip to Moscow, and pumped him full of KGB talking points that were published in three of America’s most prestigious newspapers.

Among its many revelations, American Kompromat reports for the first time that:

• According to Yuri Shvets, a former major in the KGB, Trump first did business over forty years ago with a Manhattan electronics store co-owned by a Soviet émigré who Shvets believes was working with the KGB. Trump’s decision to do business there triggered protocols through which the Soviet spy agency began efforts to cultivate Trump as an asset, thus launching a decades-long “relationship” of mutual benefit to Russia and Trump, from real estate to real power.

• Trump’s invitation to Moscow in 1987 was billed as a preliminary scouting trip for a hotel, but according to Shvets, was actually initiated by a high-level KGB official, General Ivan Gromakov. These sorts of trips were usually arranged for ‘deep development,’ recruitment, or for a meeting with the KGB handlers, even if the potential asset was unaware of it. .

• Before Trump’s first trip to Moscow, he met with Natalia Dubinina, who worked at the United Nations library in a vital position usually reserved as a cover for KGB operatives.

And many more...

March 22, 2021
White House Daily Briefing

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki 
held a briefing where she was questioned about the situation at the southern border. She said the administration was airing radio ads and posting targeted social media ads in Central and South American countries conveying that the border was closed and it was not a good time to come to the U.S. She also said they were working on allowing press into migrant holding facilities.

3/22/2021

White House News (白宮消息) | Mar. 22, 2021

 1 - White House News in Chinese (weebly.com)

Biden Says He Has Plans to Visit the US-Mexico Border
Hundreds of teenage asylum seekers have arrived at Dallas' convention center, with more expected.

Mar. 22 - As more migrants cross the U.S.-Mexico border, President Joe Biden says he plans to visit the border to assess the situation.

Hundreds of teenage asylum seekers were brought to the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas under an agreement between the federal government and the city -- and more are expected to arrive.
Now, people are working around the clock to help them figure out what happens next.

The White House occasionally struggled with how to explain its plan on how asylum seekers should be handled in general but made it clear that young, vulnerable children would not be expelled.


Biden said he planned to go to the border at some point. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said last week the U.S. is expected to see the highest numbers of southwest border crossings in 20 years.

The Dallas Convention Center is just one of a couple of planned decompression centers in Texas funded by the Department of Health and Human Services to care for children. Another will be set up in Midland.     source


Nearly 1,000 unaccompanied children have been held at the border for more than 10 days - after Biden REFUSES to turn away kids who arrive like Trump did

Mar. 22 - Nearly 1,000 unaccompanied migrant children have been held by border patrol agents for more than 10 days as the Biden administration scrambles to manage the growing humanitarian and political crisis at the US-Mexico border.
A total of 823 unaccompanied children were held at US-Mexico border facilities for more than 10 days, according to an internal Department of Homeland Security document leaked to Axios.

  
Children are not supposed to be held in border patrol custody for more than three days. As of Saturday 2,226 children had been held in custody for more than five days and 823 for more than 10 days.
 
The number of unaccompanied migrant kids in US custody surpassed 15,000 as of Saturday as the Biden administration announced that they 'would not expel young, vulnerable children.' This is a reverse of Trump administration policy, which was to generally expel all people who tried to illegally cross the border, regardless of age.      continue to read

Over 21,000 US citizens sign request to end blockade against Cuba

Mar. 22 - Washington, Mar 22 (Prensa Latina) More than 21,000 US citizens have signed the support for Bridges of Love project to request President Joe Biden to lift sanctions on Cuba and put an end to the US blockade.
Cuban-American professor Carlos Lazo, one of the promoters, highlighted the scope that the request alone has, exceeding 21,000 signatures and 'we are going for more,' he said.

Anyone interested in joining this initiative to demand the end of sanctions and blockades against Cuba can do so at www.puentesdeamor.com, he called.

We have reached that number of signatures 'with great efforts', with no propaganda or support from big media, it is as if they wanted to bury the fact that people from all over the world support the construction of Bridges of Love, he said in a video on Facebook.

In addition to calling for the end of the US blockade and sanctions on Cuba, the requests in the open letter to Biden include the reopening of the United States embassy in Havana and the restoration of family reunification program, suspended by former President Donald Trump in 2017.

Carlos Lazo also spoke out for establishing 'compassionate and humane policies towards' Cuba, allowing US airlines to once again fly to the country´s provinces, thus authorizing unlimited family remittances and encouraging financial and commercial relations.

The signatories also requested US citizens´ freedom of traveling freely to Cuba and that economic investments and scientific and cultural exchanges between both nations be encouraged.     source from