Latest News Clips 2016.03.03.07

                 

1.      Mitt Romney Aims at Donald Trump, Hits G.O.P.

The New York Times   MARCH 3, 2016

Holy Mitt, what a meltdown.

Add this one to Donald Trump’s lengthening list of firsts: He’s forced a Republican Party reckoning overdue for years, all in a few days. It took the Trump-dominated Super Tuesday contests to awaken Republican leaders to the fact that the darkest elements of the party’s base, which many of them have embraced or exploited, are now threatening their party.

Last week, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, elected to the Senate partly on their appeal to extremists, seemed to realize that they weren’t attractive enough to win Mr. Trump’s crowd. Just in time for Super Tuesday, they could see that ignoring or cozying up to Mr. Trump wasn’t working, and began attacks that have so far done nothing to slow his march. They were then joined by the G.O.P. campaign money machinery, which this weekbegan frantically tossing more millions at — what? An anti-Trump ad campaign? A third-party effort?

Then came an open letter from 95 Republican national security experts, who declared themselves “united in our opposition to a Donald Trump presidency.” Of Mr. Trump they wrote: “He swings from isolationism to military adventurism within the space of one sentence.” Yet some among them have swung wildly in those same directions. Some were Bush administration officials who supported some of the worst foreign policy disasters this country has ever experienced, including the Iraq war. It is rich that they should now criticize Mr. Trump for policies that could make America less safe.

Then, on Thursday morning came Mitt Romney’s rambling indictment of Mr. Trump. After months of silence, Mr. Romney spent 20 minutes calling Mr. Trump a fraud and a phony with a record of business failures, whose economic ideas would put the United States into recession and whose foreign policy approach would endanger Americans.

Mr. Romney did not endorse any specific alternative to Mr. Trump. Instead, he seemed to advocate a course of action that would force a nomination brokered by party leaders, saying that Republicans should vote for the Republican candidate who has the best chance of beating Mr. Trump in each state. Of course, in terms of domestic and foreign policy positions, Mr. Cruz is probably more extreme than Mr. Trump, and Mr. Rubio is hardly different.

It was a surprising moment, since Mr. Romney relished Mr. Trump’s endorsement in 2012. And Mr. Romney, who was rejected by the Republican electorate in 2008 and the rest of the country in 2012, is exactly the kind of politician that the aggrieved crowds backing Mr. Trump are voting against. Indeed, Mr. Romney’s denunciation might well help Mr. Trump with his supporters.

At one point, Mr. Romney said: “Mr. Trump is directing our anger for less than noble purposes. He creates scapegoats of Muslims and Mexican immigrants” — with absolutely no sense of self-awareness. Mr. Romney himself played to the worst kind of xenophobia when he proposed getting rid of 11 million undocumented immigrants by forcing them to “self-deport.” He also listed Mr. Trump’s offenses — “the bullying, the greed, the showing off, the misogyny, the absurd third-grade theatrics.” Did Mr. Romney have any sense of irony when he said those words? For far too long, they could have been used to describe many in his party: legislators, congressional leadership, its policy makers.

It is an excellent thing that the Republican leaders have noticed the problem they’ve fostered, now embodied in the Trump candidacy. But until they see the need to alter the views and policies they have promoted for years, removing Mr. Trump will not end the party’s crisis.

2.      China's National People's Congress: What You Need to Know

 The Bloomberg   March 3, 2016

     

Each year, some 3,000 of China’s most powerful officials descend on Beijing for about 10 days of parliamentary pageantry known as the National People’s Congress.

While the country’s top legislature is constitutionally charged with vast powers, the mechanics of one-party rule ensure most important decisions are hashed out in closed-door Communist Party meetings long before reaching the floor. That said, the public proceedings at the Great Hall of the People represent the one time each year that many of the people who run the world’s second-largest economy face the press, providing rare insight into their thinking and policy plans.

Who are they?

This year’s NPC consists of 2,943 party chiefs, government officials, company executives and military commanders hailing from 35 constituencies, including provinces, regions, municipalities and the semi-autonomous former colonies of Hong Kong and Macau. Members include everyone from so-called model workers to President Xi Jinping.

Delegates have even been assigned to represent Taiwan, which China still considers a province even though it’s been ruled independently for almost seven decades. The party officially holds 72 percent of the seats, with the remainder occupied by eight authorized "non-Communist" parties and people with no affiliation. In reality, only one party picks the delegates.

Are they a rubber stamp?

Yes, mostly. With its membership controlled entirely by the ruling party, the legislature largely serves to ratify decisions handed down from other organs of state power. The government drafts most new legislation, and the full session of the NPC has never turned down a bill put to it for a final vote by government agencies, according to a Caixin magazine report citing research by the late China University of Political Science and Law Professor Cai Dingjian. 

The party pledged in 2014 to "perfect the NPC’s constitutional rights to supervise and monitor" the government. But there’s a catch: the body must also "unswervingly adhere to the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party."

Why should you care?

The NPC’s impact pales next to the plenums that the party’s Central Committee usually holds in October or November, but those gatherings are largely discreet affairs, with decisions announced by communique after the fact. The NPC, along with a concurrent meeting of the country’s top political advisory body, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, fill the void, drawing thousands of journalists from around the world seeking any clue to the government’s thinking. 

This year’s meeting will focus on crafting China’s development plan for the next five years. And the proceedings may provide crucial details on how the government plans to control a slow down in growth while avoiding the dreaded "middle-income trap."

The highlight will be Premier Li Keqiang’s closing press conference. The remarks made at the event can echo through the vacuum for months such as last year, when Licompared China’s economic reform plans to "taking a knife to one’s own flesh."

Who’s missing?

The NPC has not been spared as Xi’s anti-corruption crackdown reverberates around the government, with the campaign now into its fourth year. Of the 48 delegates from last year who are not attending this year’s session, at least 25 were suspected of violating state law or party disciplinary rules, according to Caixin. 

The highest-ranking is former Hebei party secretary Zhou Benshun. Zhou, an ex-secretary to disgraced security chief Zhou Yongkang, was kicked out of the party in October and faces trial on bribery charges. Nine of the 48 died since last year’s NPC.

3.      North Korean leader urges nuclear readiness

BBC  2016.03.04

Image copyrightReutersImage captionKim Jong-un made his announcement at a military drill, KCNA reported

Kim Jong-un has said North Korea's nuclear weapons should be ready for use "at any time", state media report.

He told military leaders North Korea would revise its military posture to be ready to launch pre-emptive strikes, the Korean Central News Agency said.

On Wednesday the UN imposed some of its toughest ever sanctions on North Korea, following its recent nuclear test and missile launch.

In response, the North fired six short-range projectiles into the sea.

KCNA said Mr Kim was speaking at a military exercise on Thursday, which is thought to be when the projectiles were fired.

He said North Korea "must always be ready to fire our nuclear warheads at any time" because enemies were threatening the North's survival.

"At an extreme time when the Americans... are urging war and disaster on other countries and people, the only way to defend our sovereignty and right to live is to bolster our nuclear capability," he was quoted as saying.

Such rhetoric is not unusual from North Korea, but despite its recent nuclear and ballistic tests, analysts still doubt it has the ability to make a nuclear bomb small enough to put on a feasible missile.

Kim Jong-un's announcement brought a swift response from the US.

"We urge North Korea to refrain from provocative actions that aggravate tensions and instead focus on fulfilling its international obligations and commitments," Pentagon spokesman Commander Bill Urban said.

The US and South Korea began talks on Friday on the possible deployment of a US missile defence shield in the South.

Initial talks will focus on the costs, effectiveness and environmental impact of installing the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, among other issues, the Yonhap news agency reported.

What exactly is banned?

• The export of coal, iron and iron ore used for North Korea's nuclear or ballistic missile programmes.
• All gold, titanium ore, vanadium ore, rare earth minerals and aviation fuel exports.
• Any item (except food and medicine) that could develop North Korea's armed forces.
• Small arms and light weapons are now included in an arms embargo.
• Upmarket watches, watercraft, snowmobiles and other recreational sports equipment added to a ban on luxury goods.
• No vessels or planes can be leased or registered to North Korea.

What are the other measures?

• Member states must inspect all cargo to and from North Korea, not just those suspected of containing prohibited items.
• An asset freeze on North Korean funds linked to nuclear and missile programmes.
• Foreign financial institutions cannot open new offices in North Korea without approval, and North Korean banks cannot open offices abroad.