國際時事政治選舉集中理性討論區（四）

Trump vows 'no concessions' to Turkey over US pastor

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45254325

US President Donald Trump has insisted he will not back down in a standoff with Turkey over a detained US pastor.

"I think it's very sad what Turkey is doing," he said. "I think they're making a terrible mistake. There will be no concessions."

He said he had thought Turkey would release pastor Andrew Brunson after the US helped persuade Israel to free a detained Turkish citizen.

Mr Brunson denies allegations he was in a plot against Turkey's president.

Mr Trump has imposed tariffs on imports of Turkish steel and aluminium in response to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's refusal to free Mr Brunson.

"I'm not concerned at all," he said in an Oval Office interview on Monday with Reuters news agency. "I'm not concerned. This is the proper thing to do."

Trump-Reuters Exclusive interview

Exclusive: Trump worries that Mueller interview could be a 'perjury trap'

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-mueller-exclusive/exclusive-trump-is-worried-that-mueller-interview-could-be-a-perjury-trap-idUSKCN1L526P

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he was worried that any statements under oath he provides to Special Counsel Robert Mueller could be used to bring perjury charges against him as part of the probe into Russia’s electoral interference.

In an interview with Reuters, Trump echoed the concerns of his top lawyer in the probe, Rudy Giuliani, who has warned that any sit-down with Mueller could be a “perjury trap.”

The president expressed fears that investigators could compare his statements with that of others who have testified in the probe, such as former FBI Director James Comey, and that any discrepancies could be used against him.

Exclusive: Trump doesn't expect much from China trade talks this week

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-china-exclusive/exclusive-trump-doesnt-expect-much-from-china-trade-talks-this-week-idUSKCN1L5226

Trump said in an interview that he had “no time frame” for ending the trade dispute with China, which threatens to impose tariffs on virtually all goods traded between the world’s two largest economies.

Trump said Chinese negotiators would be arriving shortly, adding he did not “anticipate much” from the mid-level discussions.

He said resolving the trade dispute with China will “take time because China’s done too well for too long, and they’ve become spoiled. They dealt with people that, frankly, didn’t know what they were doing, to allow us to get into this position.”

Trump also accused China of manipulating its yuan currency to make up for having to pay tariffs imposed by Washington, while arguing the U.S. central bank should be more accommodating.

Exclusive: Trump says 'most likely' to meet North Korea's Kim again

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-northkorea-exclusive/exclusive-trump-says-most-likely-to-meet-north-koreas-kim-again-idUSKCN1L524A

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he would “most likely” meet again with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, while defending his efforts to convince Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons.

While insisting that “a lot of good things are happening” with North Korea, Trump complained that China was not helping as much as it had in the past because of its trade dispute with the United States.

Exclusive: Trump demands Fed help on economy, complains about interest rate rises

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-fed-exclusive/exclusive-trump-says-not-thrilled-with-feds-powell-for-raising-rates-idUSKCN1L5207

Exclusive: Trump vows 'no concessions' with Turkey over detained U.S. pastor

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-exclusive/exclusive-trump-vows-no-concessions-with-turkey-over-detained-u-s-pastor-idUSKCN1L5223

Exclusive: Trump says it is 'dangerous' for Twitter, Facebook to ban accounts

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-tech-exclusive/exclusive-trump-says-dangerous-when-companies-like-twitter-regulate-own-content-idUSKCN1L521D

Instant View: Trump takes Fed to task for rate hikes in Reuters interview

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-fed-instantview/instant-view-trump-takes-fed-to-task-for-rate-hikes-in-reuters-interview-idUSKCN1L523N

Key quotes from Reuters interview with Trump

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-highlights/key-quotes-from-reuters-interview-with-trump-idUSKCN1L52BD

The ABC understands Law Enforcement and Cyber Security Minister Angus Taylor has offered his resignation, after also backing Peter Dutton in the leadership ballot.

This brings the tally to three ministers (Taylor, Fierravanti-Wells and Dutton himself) and two assistant ministers (Sukkar and McGrath) who have offered their resignation from those positions to the Prime Minister.

At this stage the ABC understands that the only resignation the PM has accepted is Mr Dutton's.

歴史重演：投俾輸果個既辭職

LDP: Leadership election to take place on Sept. 20

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180821_16/

Japan's main ruling Liberal Democratic Party has decided that voting for its leadership election will take place on September 20th.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's term as party president is set to expire at the end of September.

The party's presidential election committee met on Tuesday and officially decided that notices for the election will go out on September 7th.

LDP former Secretary-General Shigeru Ishiba has already announced his candidacy. Prime Minister Abe is eager to be re-elected again for his 3rd term.

It will be the first time in 6 years that the party has held a leadership campaign. The committee will begin arranging schedules for public debates and campaign speeches.[url][/url]

自民 総裁選 ７日告示 20日投開票 正式決定

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20180821/k10011584141000.html?utm_int=news-politics_contents_list-items_009

総裁選挙をめぐっては、石破元幹事長がすでに立候補を表明し、安倍総理大臣も３選に強い意欲を示していて、６年ぶりの選挙戦となる見通しで選挙管理委員会では今後、公開討論会や街頭演説会などの日程調整を進めることにしています。

Russian hackers targeting conservative US thinktanks, Microsoft says

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/aug/21/russian-hackers-targeting-more-us-political-groups-microsoft-says

The Russian group linked to the hacking of Hillary Clinton’s presidential election campaign has been launching fresh attacks in the US, including against two conservative thinktanks, in the run-up to the midterm elections.

According to Microsoft, which uncovered the new attempts, the hackers created fake websites that appeared to mimic the Hudson Institute and the International Republican Institute, two rightwing thinktanks broadly allied against Donald Trump. Three other fake domains were designed to look as if they belonged to the Senate.

Microsoft attributed the hacking attacks to a group that it calls Strontium, which is known to other security firms as Fancy Bear and APT28. The group was previously linked to the email hacking of the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton campaign. According to the US special counsel Robert Mueller, Fancy Bear has ties to the Russian intelligence agency, the GRU.

He said the company had shut down 84 fake websites associated with Fancy Bear over the past two years by obtaining court orders to transfer control of the domains. As to where responsibility for the hacking attacks lay, Smith said: “We have no doubt in our minds.”

Trump-Reuters Exclusive interview

Exclusive: Trump worries that Mueller interview could be a 'perjury trap'

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-mueller-exclusive/exclusive-trump-is-worried-that-mueller-interview-could-be-a-perjury-trap-idUSKCN1L526P

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he was worried that any statements under oath he provides to Special Counsel Robert Mueller could be used to bring perjury charges against him as part of the probe into Russia’s electoral interference.

In an interview with Reuters, Trump echoed the concerns of his top lawyer in the probe, Rudy Giuliani, who has warned that any sit-down with Mueller could be a “perjury trap.”

The president expressed fears that investigators could compare his statements with that of others who have testified in the probe, such as former FBI Director James Comey, and that any discrepancies could be used against him.

THEN DON'T FUCKING LIE

庭上係講證據, 唔係自由心證, 咁撚樣都講得出, 真係癡撚線新境界

Cohen plead guilty

Michael Cohen pleads guilty to eight counts

http://thehill.com/regulation/administration/402906-cohen-pleads-guilty-to-federal-charges

Michael Cohen, who worked for years as President Trump’s personal attorney, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to charges of bank fraud, tax fraud and campaign finance law violations, delivering a potentially significant legal blow to the president.

Cohen pleaded guilty to eight counts total, including five counts of tax evasion and one count of making a false statement to a financial institution.

Deputy U.S. Attorney Robert Khuzami said at a press conference Cohen failed to disclose $4.1 million in reported income, which allowed him to obtain various loans to which he would otherwise have not have been able to access.

He also pleaded guilty to one count of making an excessive campaign contribution on Oct. 27, 2016, which is the same date Cohen finalized a payment to adult-film star Stormy Daniels as part of a nondisclosure agreement over an affair Daniels alleges she had with Trump. Cohen said he did so at the direction of “a candidate for federal office.” He did not mention Trump by name.

Cohen's lawyer, Lanny Davis, said Cohen pled guilty so that he could move on with his live. He also suggested that if Cohen were guilty over the payments to the two women, so was the president.

"Michael Cohen took this step today so that his family can move on to the next chapter," Davis said. "This is Michael fulfilling his promise made on July 2nd to put his family and country first and tell the truth about Donald Trump.

"Today he stood up and testified under oath that Donald Trump directed him to commit a crime by making payments to two women for the principal purpose of influencing an election," Davis said. "If those payments were a crime for Michael Cohen, then why wouldn't they be a crime for Donald Trump?”

Giuliani says no allegations of wrongdoing by Trump, knocks Cohen for 'lies'

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/402934-giuliani-knocks-cohen-for-lies-and-dishonesty

Jury convicts Manafort on eight felony counts

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/402125-manafort-guilty

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was found guilty in a Virginia courtroom on Tuesday of eight charges of bank and tax fraud.

The jury found Manafort guilty on five charges of filing false income tax returns, one count of failing to report foreign bank accounts and two counts of bank fraud.

Judge T.S. Ellis III declared a mistrial on the remaining 10 counts — three counts of failing to report foreign bank accounts, five counts of bank fraud conspiracy and two counts of bank fraud.

The decision is a victory for special counsel Robert Mueller's team of prosecutors, which faced its first test in court on the Manafort case. Russia and the 2016 election, however, were not major parts of the trial against Manafort.

It was also part of a difficult day for President Trump, who saw his former campaign chairman convicted on the same day that his former personal lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty in a New York courtroom to eight counts related to charges of tax evasion, false statements to a financial institution and and illegal campaign contributions.

Manafort’s lead defense attorney Kevin Downing told reporters outside the courtroom that his client was “disappointed” by the verdict and is evaluating all of his options. Downing also said Manafort got a “fair trial.”

Trump on Manafort verdict: 'Nothing to do with Russia collusion'

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/402916-trump-on-manafort-verdict-nothing-to-do-with-russia-collusion

President Trump on Tuesday sought to distance himself from his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort's criminal conviction, saying it did not involve his presidential bid.

“This has nothing to do with Russian collusion," Trump told reporters in West Virginia, where is he scheduled to hold a campaign rally. "It's a witch hunt and a disgrace."

The president said he feels "very badly" about Manafort's conviction and called him a "good person." But he also stressed that the crimes Manafort was found guilty of committing were not related to his work on the Trump campaign.

The Manafort verdict and how we got here

https://www.politico.com/interactives/2018/paul-manafort-trial-latest-news/

Trump競選團:

國防顧問Michael Flynn: 認罪協議

外交顧問George Papadapolous: 認罪協議

副競選主席Rick Gates: 認罪協議

私人律師暨共和黨全國委員會財政副主席Michael Cohen: 認罪協議

競選主席Paul Manafort: 八項罪名成立, 9月有另一輪裁判

Liberal MPs have confirmed to Fairfax Media there is a petition circulating Parliament House tonight calling on Malcolm Turnbull to call a party room meeting for another leadership spill.

It is a strong indication Peter Dutton and his supporters believe they now have the numbers to topple Mr Turnbull as leader.

But they will need a majority of the Liberal party room - 43 out of 84 members - to put their names to the petition to force Mr Turnbull to call a meeting and spill the leadership.

If successful the meeting could be held as soon as tonight, or perhaps tomorrow.

Turnbull 可能今晚/聽朝就無得做總理

笑左

如果Trump 仔仲連到任就真係佩服

Liberal moderates are telling us the Dutton camp doesn’t have the numbers. Take that with a grain of salt, obviously. Let’s wait and see how the night plays out.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2018/aug/22/malcolm-turnbull-fights-to-hold-cabinet-together-as-dutton-hits-airwaves-politics-live

Venezuela 'paralysed' by launch of sovereign bolivar currency

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-45262525

Venezuela came to a standstill on Tuesday as the country tried to deal with its newly introduced currency.

Thousands of businesses closed in order to adapt to the "sovereign bolivar", and many workers stayed at home.

President Nicolás Maduro launched the new banknotes on Monday, revaluing and renaming the old bolivar currency.

The government says this will tackle runaway inflation, but critics say it could make the crisis worse. The notes went into circulation on Tuesday.

President Maduro had declared Monday to be a bank holiday.

The new currency lops five zeroes off the old "strong bolivar" - meaning a cup of coffee worth 2.5m strong bolivars in the capital Caracas last month now costs 25 sovereign bolivars.

However, people in Caracas told the BBC they were restricted to withdrawing only 10 sovereign bolivars on Tuesday from cash machines.

Sanctions on Iran having effect, but regime change is not U.S. policy: Bolton

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-nuclear-usa-bolton-interview/sanctions-on-iran-having-effect-but-regime-change-is-not-u-s-policy-bolton-idUSKCN1L70A1?il=0

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - U.S. sanctions are having a strong effect on Iran’s economy and popular opinion, though regime change there is not part of Washington’s policy, President Donald Trump’s national security adviser said on Wednesday.

“Let me be clear, the reimposition of the sanctions, we think, is already having a significant effect on Iran’s economy and on, really, popular opinion inside Iran,” National Security Adviser John Bolton told Reuters on a visit to Israel.

“Just to be clear, regime change in Iran is not American policy. But what we want is massive change in the regime’s behavior,” Bolton said.

“But Iranian activity in the region has continued to be belligerent: what they are doing in Iraq, what they are doing in Syria, what they are doing with Hezbollah in Lebanon, what they are doing in Yemen, what they have threatened to do in the Strait of Hormuz.”

Trump adviser Bolton says Russia 'stuck' in Syria, Iran must leave

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-usa-russia-inter/trump-adviser-bolton-says-russia-stuck-in-syria-iran-must-leave-idUSKCN1L709R?il=0

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Russia is “stuck” in Syria and looking for others to fund post-war reconstruction there, U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton said, describing this as an opportunity for Washington to press for Iranian forces to quit the country.

Bolton, speaking to Reuters while on a visit to Israel, said U.S. contacts with Russia did not include any understanding over a push by Damascus’s forces against the rebels in Idlib. But he warned against any use of chemical or biological weapons there.

“Our interests in Syria are to finish the destruction of the ISIS (Islamic State) territorial caliphate and deal with the continuing threat of ISIS terrorism and to worry about the presence of Iranian militias and regular forces,” he said in an interview.

Washington wields leverage in its talks with Moscow because “the Russians are stuck there at the moment,” Bolton said.

“And I don’t think they want to be stuck there. I think their frenetic diplomatic activity in Europe indicates that they’d like to find somebody else, for example, to bear the cost of reconstructing Syria - which they may or may not succeed in doing.”

今晚應該唔會有party room meeting

Michael Cohen's lawyer says he will not accept pardon from 'criminal' Donald Trump


Michael Cohen's lawyer has said his client will refuse any pardon from Donald Trump, branding the US president a "criminal".

Lanny Davis, who was hired by Mr Cohen last month, told National Public Radio Mr Trump's former attorney would "never" accept a pardon from "a man that he considers to be a corrupt and a dangerous person".

(...)

"He has flatly authorised me to say under no circumstances would he accept a pardon from Mr Trump, who uses the pardon power in a way that no president in American history has ever used," Mr Davis said.

He accused Mr Trump of using the power to "relieve people of guilt" for "political cronies" who "committed crimes", adding, "Mr Cohen is not interested in being dirtied by a pardon from such a man".

Mr Davis said Mr Trump directed Mr Cohen to commit campaign finance laws, meaning he was "guilty of a crime" that was "far beyond what has classically been called impeachable offences".

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/michael-cohen-donald-trump-pardon-trial-guilty-russia-investigation-a8502451.html?utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1534934741


等等, 做咩個進度突然仲快過10倍界王拳

Peter Dutton says Malcolm Turnbull no longer has majority support of the Liberal party room and he has asked the PM for another meeting.

In a tweet on Thursday morning, Dutton said he had spoken with Turnbull to tell him he "believed the majority of the party room no longer supported his leadership".

He said wanted the PM to convene another meeting so he can challenge for the top job.

一切都係 Abbott 個條撚樣搞屎棍
煩到西，輸左咁多年都仲成個怨婦咁
Peter dutton 個鳩樣點投得落
俾我揀我會揀 Julia bishop 或者 Scott Morrison 囉

Mathias Cormann is speaking now:

"It's with great sadness and a heavy heart that we went to see the Prime Minister yesterday afternoon to advise him that in our judgement he no longer enjoyed the support of the majority of members in the Liberal Party party room and that it was in the best interests of the Liberal Party to help manage and orderly transition to a new leader.

Mathias Cormann, Mitch Fifield and Michaelia Cash went to the Prime Minister yesterday to offer their resignations.

完

Peter who? Dutton an unknown quantity – even in his own seat

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/aug/22/peter-who-dutton-an-unknown-quantity-even-in-his-own-seat

Peter Dutton remains an unknown quantity to voters – even in his own seat, where GetUp focus groups conducted last week found his signature issue, immigration, did not rate as a major concern.

Guardian Australia has seen a preliminary report from five separate focus groups of Dickson voters, conducted by an independent consultant but paid for by GetUp. The political action group has made Dutton its top target at the next federal election. He holds the seat by 1.6%.

The studies found the cost of living, health spending, education and employment were voters’ top concerns in Dickson.

When asked specifically about Dutton, some Dickson voters had never heard of their local MP. Comments from the focus groups included that he was “uncompromising”, “hard” and “cruel”.

“The idea that Peter Dutton is popular with Queensland voters is not borne out in his own electorate, and we’ve seen that in the hundreds of conversations we’ve had in the electorate and in our focus groups,” GetUp’s Queensland director, Ellen Roberts, said.

Sky News is reporting that the treasurer Scott Morrison will run as a surprise candidate in any leadership ballot. We’re confirming that report as we speak.



https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2018/aug/23/turnbull-dutton-liberal-canberra-chaos-spill

🇦🇺今日內應該有新總理

Mola Mola，又走三件

Alan Tudge, the citizenship and multicultural affairs minister, has also tendered his resignation.

The demise continues. Health minister Greg Hunt and law enforcement minister Angus Taylor have both tendered their resignations. Turnbull is looking increasingly isolated. in that office.

Our reporter Gareth Hutchens tells me Taylor and Hunt have just left Turnbull’s office, alongside Steve Ciobo and Alan Tudge.