Trump allies intensify Harris attacks as Biden replacement talk builds

Reuters:

Trump allies intensify Harris attacks as Biden replacement talk builds

July 4, 2024, 8:03 PM GMT+10, Updated 3 hours ago

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during the Constitutional Convention of UNITE HERE, the nation?s largest hospitality workers' labor union, in New York City, U.S., June 21, 2024. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

WASHINGTON, July 4 (Reuters) - Donald Trump's campaign and some of his allies have launched a pre-emptive political strike on Vice President Kamala Harris, moving swiftly to try to discredit her amid talk among some of her fellow Democrats that she might replace President Joe Biden atop the party's 2024 presidential ticket.

On social media and in a flurry of statements over the past 48 hours, Trump's campaign and his Republican allies appear to be laying the groundwork for an all-out assault on Harris should the 81-year-old Biden decide to end his re-election bid following his feeble debate performance last week.

While Biden has insisted he is not quitting the race four months before the Nov. 5 election, and Harris has stood firmly behind him, the Trump campaign has little to lose by attacking the vice president now, so that if Harris does emerge as the nominee, she might do so in a weakened state.

Republicans have regularly criticized Harris, 59, during Biden's term in office, but the attacks this week represented a sharp and seemingly coordinated escalation that appeared to be linked to increased talk about her possibly replacing Biden as the Democratic presidential candidate.

The National Republican Congressional Committee, which oversees House Republican races, called her Biden's "enabler in chief."

MAGA Inc., a fundraising super PAC supporting Trump, meanwhile released a statement calling her the "invasion czar." In March 2021 Biden said Harris would lead efforts with Mexico and Central American nations to address illegal immigration.

Republicans have since seized on that to accuse her of failing to stem the flow of millions of migrants crossing illegally into the United States, although she was never directly responsible for securing the southern border.

"Kamala Harris is incompetent. She's proven to be the weakest, worst vice president in history, and she has 100% supported Joe Biden in every single disastrous policy that he has implemented over the last four years," said Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign.

The Biden campaign pushed back against the escalating Republican criticism without addressing the question of whether the vice president is waiting in the wings.

"Vice President Harris is proud to be President Biden's running mate," said Rhyan Lake, a campaign spokesperson for Harris. "No matter what false attacks Trump and his extreme allies make, she will continue to defend the Biden-Harris record and prosecute the case against Donald Trump."

The swipes at Harris by Trump's camp were reminiscent of a similar tactic that the Republican Trump, president from 2017-2021, used to successfully undermine Ron DeSantis, his main Republican rival, before the Florida governor jumped into their party's 2024 election primary race last year.

Corey Lewandowski, a longtime Trump adviser, told Reuters Harris was politically vulnerable given her role in addressing illegal immigration, among other issues that are part of extensive research the party has gathered on her record.

TRUMP'S UNUSUAL SILENCE

A former senior staffer in the Trump White House who is still in contact with the Trump campaign said the newfound emphasis on Harris made sense.

"If Joe Biden stays on top of the ticket, given what we've seen, she takes on even more importance. But if he does step aside, she's the potential candidate. This is about defining her," the staffer said, pointing to her low approval ratings in public opinion polls.

Despite her consistently low approval ratings, a Reuters/Ipsos poll earlier this week showed Harris to be as formidable an opponent to Trump as Biden. In a hypothetical matchup, Trump led Harris by a single percentage point, 43% to 42%.

The clamor by Trump's allies is in stark contrast with the unusual silence from the normally voluble former president. Since Biden's poor debate performance, Trump has laid low, making few public appearances or public statements.

"This shows a maturation of the candidate himself. You can teach an old dog new tricks. He's showing increased discipline and message control," said a senior adviser to the Trump campaign familiar with internal discussions.

Even before the June 27 debate, the Trump campaign was beginning to turn its attention to Harris, releasing an attack ad online that mocked her for repeating lines in her speeches.

An online meme promoted by Republicans showed Harris repeating the same phrase "unburdened by what has been" again and again in remarks.

Harris' defenders say she has become more of a target because of her leading role in attacking Trump over abortion rights and her vigorous defense of Biden on the campaign trail.

If Biden were to exit the race before the Democratic National Convention in August, there is no guarantee Harris would be the nominee. But as vice president, she likely would be first in line. She would benefit from Biden's immense campaign war chest and likely see a large segment of Democrats rally around her in a bid to avoid a bitter intra-party battle.

And as the first Black vice president in U.S. history, she provides a bridge to the party's most dependable voting bloc. Her background and relative youth would make for a sharp contrast with Trump, 78.

Auditor-General’s shows the National Professors Council (NPC) is the epitome of what's wrong with higher education

Murray Hunter


Auditor-General’s shows the National Professors Council (NPC) is the epitamy epitome of what's wrong with higher education


JUL 04, 2024





Malaysiakini has reported “The National Professors Council (NPC), a government-funded council of professors at Malaysian universities, has been found to have abused its funding, the Auditor-General Department found. This includes paying large allowances totalling RM207,000 to the permanent chairperson and deputy chairperson without ministerial approval. The auditors also found that RM373,516 of NPC funds were used to pay the operations of two companies owned by board of trustee members.”

The NPC website states its chairperson since 2019 is UKM anthropologist Shamsul Amri Baharuddin while UUM political scientist Mohamed Mustafa Ishak is deputy chairperson.

The NPC is a special organization created by the government to report to the Prime Minister’s Department (PMO) about issues regarding education. The NPC is supposed to have Malaysia’s best intellectual and academic minds in the membership. The NPC is supposed to be a body of wisdom, integrity and spirit of justice.

The National Professors' Council (MPN) has clarified it was independent of the government between May 2018 and January 2022, after the Auditor-General flagged it for misuse of funds between 2019 and 2023 in its latest report. Only in January 2022, that MPN was brought back under the government's purview and received funding from Putrajaya.

The NPC’s service scheme manual only allocates RM400 per month in fixed allowances for senior management. However, the chairperson and deputy chairperson received RM5,000 and RM4,000 per month respectively for a total of RM115,000 for the chairperson and RM92,000 for the deputy chairperson. In addition, the audit found that during the same period, payments of RM3,000 per month for fixed allowances to the NPC president, making a total of RM66,000, were also not approved by the board. RM46,000 and RM16,000 were paid to the NPC president-cum-CEO as well as the chief operating officer respectively from April 2022 to Jan 2024 without the board of trustees’ approval.

The NPA are the nation’s intellectual elite. With the values, ethics, integrity, and honesty shown above, how can Malaysia’s next generation of leaders be any better.

King's Counsel to represent Muhyiddin in power abuse case

King's Counsel to represent Muhyiddin in power abuse case

Published: Jul 4, 2024 5:48 PM


A King’s Counsel (KC) from the United Kingdom is set to appear for Muhyiddin Yassin during next week’s Court of Appeal hearing of the ex-premier's review to quash his power abuse charges.

Steven Perian, who is the first KC to be admitted to the High Court of Malaya, will beef up the Pagoh MP’s legal team when the review hearing before a five-person bench begins next Tuesday.

A member of Muhyiddin’s legal team confirmed the participation of Perian, who has also become a partner in the law firm RDS Partnership which is acting for the lawmaker.

The Legal 500, a company that researches and evaluates members of the legal sector around the world, lauded Perian for his exceptional legal acumen.

It stated that the KC “has an analytical mind and an encyclopaedic knowledge of the law.”

The 2023 edition of its ranking further praised him as “an industrious, approachable, and charming silk.”

As KCs wear silk gowns of a particular design, appointment as one is known informally as taking silk and they are often colloquially called silks.

Perian, a distinguished criminal lawyer, has acted for the Crown in prosecuting various economic offences and financial crimes, including conspiracy to defraud the UK’s financial institutions of United States Treasury Bonds worth US$2.3 trillion (RM10.8 trillion), computer-related crimes, and money laundering.

He has also defended clients in diverse fraud matters in the UK, including public sector fraud, advance fee fraud, conspiracy to defraud, and money laundering.

The charges

In March last year, before the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court, Muhyiddin claimed trial to four counts of abuse of power and three money laundering charges involving RM232.5 million linked to the Jana Wibawa programme.

Under Section 23(1) of the MACC Act 2009, he is accused of using his position as then-prime minister and Bersatu president for an inducement of RM232.5 million from three companies and an individual, between March 1, 2020, and Aug 20, 2021.

Muhyiddin Yassin

The three companies are Bukhary Equity, Nepturis Sdn Bhd, and Mamfor Sdn Bhd, while the individual in question is Azman Yusoff.

The three money laundering charges were laid out under Section 4(1)(b) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing, and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 - read with Section 87(1) of the same act.

The 77-year-old was accused of abusing his powers for Bersatu to receive RM125 million of proceeds from illegal activity from Bukhary Equity between Feb 25, 2021, and July 8, 2022.

The charges did not allege that payment was made to Muhyiddin but the money was allegedly laundered by receiving money banked into Bersatu’s account.

In August last year, the Kuala Lumpur High Court struck out the four power abuse charges against Muhyiddin.

However, in February this year, the Court of Appeal reinstated the charges.

Muhyiddin now is seeking the appellate court to review this earlier ruling, contending that the criminal charges are vague and defective in law.

The Perikatan Nasional chairperson also contended that the case against him was a form of political persecution.

EU slaps Chinese electric cars with tariffs of up to 38%

 

FMT:

EU slaps Chinese electric

cars with tariffs of up to

38%

AFP-04 Jul 2024, 06:20 PM

Probe concludes the industry benefits from state subsidies, unfairly undercutting European automakers.

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Chinese electric car producers that cooperated with the EU will face a 20.8% tariff, while those that did not will be subject to a 37.6% duty. (Reuters pic)

BRUSSELS: The European Union on Thursday slapped extra provisional duties of up to 38% on Chinese electric car imports because of “unfair” state subsidies, despite Beijing’s warnings the move would unleash a trade war.

Brussels launched an investigation last year into Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers to probe whether state subsidies were unfairly undercutting European automakers.

Since announcing the planned tariff hike last month — on top of current import duties of 10% — the European Commision has begun talks with Beijing to try to resolve the issue, with China threatening retaliation.

“Our investigation… concluded that the battery electric vehicles produced in China benefit from unfair subsidisation, which is causing a threat of economic injury to the EU’s own electric car makers,” the EU’s trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis said.

In response, the commission said it has imposed provisional duties on Chinese manufacturers including 17.4% for market major BYD, 19.9% for Geely and 37.6% for SAIC.

The rates were adjusted slightly downwards for Geely and SAIC, from an initially-announced 20% and 38.1%, after further information provided by “interested parties”, it said.

They will kick in from Friday, with definitive duties to take effect in November for a period of five years, pending a vote by the EU’s 27 member states.

Electric car producers in China that cooperated with the EU will face a tariff of 20.8%, while those that did not cooperate would be subject to a 37.6% duty.

‘Intensive’ talks with China

The move comes despite talks between Chinese and EU trade officials on June 22, but Brussels will continue “to engage intensively with China on a mutually acceptable solution”, trade chief Dombrovskis said.

“Any negotiated outcome to our investigation must clearly and fully address EU concerns and be in respect of WTO rules,” he said in a statement.

Beijing has already signalled its readiness to retaliate by launching an anti-dumping probe last month into pork imports, threatening Spanish exports. Chinese media suggest Beijing will trigger further probes.

Chinese officials have also railed against probes targeting state subsidies in the green tech sector including wind turbines and solar panels.

“It is plain for all to see who is escalating trade frictions and instigating a ‘trade war’,” a spokesperson for the Chinese commerce ministry said on June 21.

The US has already hiked customs duties on Chinese electric cars to 100%, while Canada is considering similar action.

But Brussels faces a delicate balancing act as it seeks to defend Europe’s auto industry — the jewel in its industrial crown with iconic brands such as Mercedes — while avoiding a showdown with China and meeting its targets for slashing carbon emissions.

The EU aims to get more Europeans driving electric vehicles as it plans to outlaw the sale of new fossil fuel-powered cars from 2035.

Chinese-made vehicles’ market share in EU electric car sales climbed from around 3% to more than 20% in the past three years, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association.

Chinese brands account for around 8% of that share, it said.

Germany’s Kiel Institute for the World Economy, alongside Austrian institutes, predicted the provisional higher taxes would reduce vehicle imports from China by 42%. They added that electric car prices could rise by an average of 0.3 to 0.9% in the EU.

German displeasure

Germany, a significant trade partner to China, is unhappy about the EU’s move. German auto manufacturers fear any retaliation could hurt their activities in China.

Germany’s vice chancellor Robert Habeck visited Beijing last month on an 11th hour mission to find a way out of a damaging trade war.

But Germany’s moves to appease China, like reportedly offering a compromise to lower tariffs to 15%, were described by some in the automotive industry as a stunt.

In contrast, French automakers have welcomed the tariffs to level the playing field.

Electric automaker Tesla, owned by tech billionaire Elon Musk, is the only company that has asked Brussels for its own duty rate calculated based on evidence it has submitted.

Minister corrects DAP MP’s ‘longkang otak’ term

 

FMT:

Minister corrects DAP

MP’s ‘longkang otak’ term

FMT Reporters-03 Jul 2024, 03:56 PM

Sibu MP Oscar Ling had asked the federal territories minister a question about the brain drain but had given it a literal translation in Bahasa Melayu.

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Federal territories minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa said the backbencher’s translation of the term ‘brain drain’ was too literal. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: Oscar Ling (PH-Sibu) was left slightly red-faced in the Dewan Rakyat today after being corrected by federal territories minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa over his Bahasa Melayu translation of the term “brain drain”.

In his question listed in the order paper of proceedings, Ling had asked Zaliha to state the government’s measures to overcome the issue of brain drain.

However, he had made a literal translation of the term and said “longkang otak”.

In correcting the backbencher, Zaliha pointed out that his translation was too literal.

“The translation that has been introduced by academics is ‘hijrah cendekiawan’, some mention ‘penghijrahan bakat’, but that is not accurate,” she said.

Meanwhile, netizens took sarcastic jibes at Ling over his mistranslation, saying the DAP MP should have referred to the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka website beforehand.

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kt comments:

All incorrect, mine's the best 😂😁😀

'Brain drain' should be (in Bahasa): 'yang ada akal 'dah cabut liao lah' 😅😆😇