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The Punishing Primary Path Continues The Sunday Political Brunch – GoLocalProv

Sunday, May 29, 2022

Mark Curtis, MINDSETTER

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Former VP Mike Pence and former President Donald Trump - now foes, Pence won the first battle big

Georgia on My Mind" To no ones surprise former college and pro football great Herschel Walker easily won the Republican U.S. Senate nomination. Yes, its a big Trump win as he and Walker are long-time friends. But Walker is a legend in Georgia and would have likely beaten any opponent. The real test for Trump is whether he can help Walker knock off Sen. Ralph Warnock (D) Georgia. Warnock preaches at the Ebenezer Baptist Church where Rev. Martin Luther King Sr. and Jr., both presided. In all my years covering politics, this may be the most prominent and consequential race where two popular Black men faced off against each other. It is the marquee Senate race in the nation in 2022 and is key to which party controls the Senate.

Trump-Perdue vs. Pence-Kemp This is like a WWE World Championship tag-team match, and in the world of TV wrestling this is the dreaded loser leaves town match. In 2018 President Donald Trump backed then-candidate Brian Kemp (R) Georgia who won the office. Two years later the relationship soured as Trump blamed Kemp for not overturning the 2020 election results in which Joe Biden won the Peach State. (Kemp has no power to overturn the vote). So, Trump endorsed the Republican challenger David Perdue, while former Vice president Mike Pence split with his old boss and endorsed Kemp. It got ugly, but the Pence-backed Kemp blew Perdue away, 74 percent to 22 percent. So, its a sharp Trump rebuke. The winner still has to face Democrat Stacey Abrams who nearly won four years ago.

Georgia Brawl, Round 3 Another person Mr. Trump targeted this year was Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R), who Trump also blamed for his Georgia loss in 2020. Trump wanted Raffensperger to join Kemp in overturning the election, even though they lacked the authority. Trump-backed the incumbents opponent, Rep. Jody Hice (R) Georgia, but Raffensperger won in a near landslide, 52 to 33 percent. So, Trump is 1-and-2 in the big Georgia races. This now purple state will have huge sway in 2022 and 2024. It certainly did in 2020, when it not only went for Biden, but also replaced two Senate Republicans with two Democrats, thereby seizing control of the U.S. Senate.

The Texas Two-Step Land Commissioner George P. Bush, (R) Texas represents the fourth generation of one of Americas most powerful political families. This year he rolled the dice and ran for Texas Attorney General against incumbent AG Ken Paxton who has serious legal problems. Former President Trump, who despises the Bush family, endorsed Paxton. Despite that Bush still ran ads praising Trump. It didnt work. Paxton crushed Bush 68 percent to 32 percent. One network commentator I was listening to said, The Bush Dynasty is over! Baloney! Bush is only 46. Hes a lawyer with ten years in the U.S. Navy. Hes also half-Latino. He checks a lot of boxes that make him an attractive candidate. Just remember his dad, uncle and grandpa also lost some of their early political races, only to bounce back big. This guy is in for the long haul.

Its All in the Family! In Arkansas, former White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, easily won the Republican nomination for governor, with 83 percent of the vote. She, of course, is the daughter of former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) Arkansas. Sanders had the endorsement of her former boss, President Trump, so put another win in his column. Arkansas has never had a woman governor. To my recollection, I dont think weve ever had a father-daughter combo serve any state as governor. But, for that to happen, Sanders will have to beat Democrat nominee Chris Jones, the first African American nominee for Arkansas governor. Arkansas has sent a lot of Democrats to the Governors mansion, so this is not in the bag until November.

Sweet Home Alabama" In a very strange race, Rep. Mo Brooks (R) Alabama was running to get promoted from the House to the Senate. Donald Trump endorsed Brooks, but later rescinded his endorsement. Brooks lost to fellow Republican Katie Britt, with a vote count of 45 percent, Britt to 29 percent for Brooks, and military veteran Mike Durrant placing third with 23 percent. Congressman Brooks was already in hot water in certain corners of the Republican Party, for telling the January 6th Capitol rioters to fight! Its not over yet. There will be a runoff as Alabama requires a nominee to win a majority of the vote. The winner faces Democrat Mike Boyd.

Gun Politics With two big mass shootings with multiple fatalities in the last few weeks one in Buffalo, New York, and the other in Uvalde, Texas - you can predict that gun legislation and mental health bills will rise to the forefront in Washington, DC (and on the campaign trail). Why are we willing to live with this carnage? Why do we keep letting this happen? Where in Gods name is our backbone to have the courage to deal with it and stand up to the (gun) lobbies? said President Biden in his address to the nation.

An About-Face? -- To the surprise of many, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell instructed Sen. Jon Cornyn (R) Texas, to reach out to Democrats on potential common ground gun legislation. McConnell gave guidance, "in trying to get an outcome that's directly related to the problem. And so, I am hopeful that we could come up with a bipartisan solution that's directly related to the facts of this awful massacre." That may include so-called red flag laws, which allow relatives to get weapons confiscated from family members showing mental illness and threats to others. Another area of bipartisan compromise could be universal background checks. Again, it will be a fight, but the two sides seem willing to talk. Thats new.

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The Punishing Primary Path Continues The Sunday Political Brunch - GoLocalProv

Erdogan the Bully – The Armenian Mirror-Spectator

Although there is no mention of the Armenian-Turkish negotiations, that could also be impacted because they were initiated upon the demand of President Joe Biden. When we see the toughening of Turkeys bargaining position, we will know where Ankara is coming from.

When asked on May 18 how he would convince President Erdogan to drop his objection against Finland and Sweden joining NATO, President Biden answered, Im not going to Turkey, but I think were going to be OK.

But it looks like everything will not be okay, because among other thing, Erdogan savors public attention and wants to be treated by all US officials like he was treated in the Trump era. Erdogan has even complained to reporters that he and President Biden dont have the kind of relationship he had with Presidents Trump and Obama. Of course, there are some meetings from time to time, but they should have been more advanced, he said.

Erdogan would like to get away with murder, in view of the Wests economic sanctions against Russia. Indeed, Turkeys business community is hard at work at this time negotiating trade deals with their Russian counterparts to replace Western companies, which have severed their relations with Russia.

Erdogans macho stand against the West will garner the most dividends on the domestic front. He needed this confrontation to boost his sagging popularity at home in time for the 2023 elections, where his prospects of winning are dimming in light of the runaway inflation.

Mr. Erdogan fails to see the negative, bullying image that he is projecting to the West. Even if he is cognizant of that less-than-complimentary image, he seems not to care.

In an opinion piece written by Joseph Lieberman, the former US Senator from Connecticut, he argues that Mr. Erdogans Turkey would flunk the alliances standards for democratic governance sought in prospective new member states. The essay, which was published in the Wall Street Journal, warned that Ankaras policies, including coziness with Putin, had undermined NATOs interests and the alliance should explore ways of ejecting Turkey.

Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in 2019, after Turkeys incursion into Syria, Turkey under Erdogan should not and cannot be seen as an ally.

Despite those characterizations, Ankara has been selling a bill of goods to the Europeans, extending its repressive rule to that continent.

During Erdogans rule, Turkey has carried out political activities in Germany and the Netherlands, trying to politicize and mobilize Turkish minorities living in those two countries, over the objections of the respective governments of those countries. It had extended the bloody hands of the deep state and the dreaded secret service, MIT, to commit high-profile political assassinations of female Kurdish leaders in Paris in 2013.

Despite such criminal conduct being launched by Turkey in Europe, Mr. Erdogan has issued this admonishment: Let me underscore it once again hereby. Those who back and provide every kind of support to terrorist organizations that pose a threat to Turkey should first of all abandon their unlawful, insincere and arrogant attitude towards us. May no one have any doubts whatsoever that we as Turkey will do our part once we see concrete practices indicating such a change.

Turkey itself is a terrorist state and because of political expediency, has convinced European Union countries to place the PKK on their list of terrorists. Twenty-five percent of Turkeys population consists of Kurds who have been denied their basic human rights; they have been systematically slaughtered by successive Turkish administrations. Article 64 of the Sevres Treaty (August 10, 1920) promised a homeland to the Kurds within the current territory of Turkey; that pledge has not been fulfilled yet. The Kurds have been subjected to mass murder from the Ataturk era to Erdogans administration. The most atrocious mass murders took place in the 1930s in Dersim.

Erdogan himself duped the Kurdish minority by feigning to hold negotiations to observe their human rights and as soon as he was elected with the support of Kurdish voters, he suspended the negotiations and resorted back to the persecution of the Kurdish minority. He even stripped the parliamentary immunity of members including Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag and jailed them. And today, with a straight face, he is accusing Europeans of harboring Kurdish terrorists.

With heavy-handed tactics, Erdogan has intimidated political leaders both in Europe and Russia and has been able to push his expansionist policies.

While Erdogan is playing hardball with the major powers, hopefully he wont focus on Armenia, which is not in the same league as the latter.

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Erdogan the Bully - The Armenian Mirror-Spectator

Turks clash with police on anniversary of anti-Erdogan ‘Gezi’ protests – Reuters

ISTANBUL, May 31 (Reuters) - Turkish police clashed with protesters around Istanbul's main Taksim Square on Tuesday and 170 people were detained as they gathered to mark the anniversary of nationwide anti-government demonstrations that began nine years ago in nearby Gezi Park.

The 2013 demonstrations were the biggest popular challenge to then-Premier Tayyip Erdogan's rule. Erdogan, who is now president, has equated the protesters with Kurdish militants and those accused of orchestrating a coup attempt in 2016.

A Turkish court sentenced eight people to jail last month, including philanthropist Osman Kavala, finding them guilty of organising and financing the so-called Gezi protests. read more

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They denied the charges, saying anti-government demonstrations erupted spontaneously nationwide and were protected by constitutional rights.

Some 1,000 people gathered on streets near Taksim Square on Tuesday evening, carrying pictures of those who were sentenced to jail.

They also held up pictures of those who died when police intervened in 2013, as well as a banner reading, "The darknes will go away, Gezi will remain."

The crowds were blocked by riot police carrying shields when they attempted to walk to Taksim Square and the main Istiklal Avenue. They also used tear gas to disperse the groups.

"Erdogan is going to go. There is no other way," the protesters chanted.

Earlier, smaller groups of people clashed with police in other areas near Taksim as they attempted to walk to the square.

Social media posts showed people hiding in a building after being affected by the tear gas and police standing outside the shuttered doors.

Istanbul governor's office said 170 people were detained on Tuesday. It said the protests were unauthorised and the Beyoglu area was not designated by law as a place where demonstrations and marches can take place.

Earlier in the day, members of parliament from the Workers' Party of Turkey (TIP) hung a giant banner from one of the bridges spanning the Bosphorus.

After a scuffle, police took down the banner that read "Everywhere is Taksim, everywhere is resistance" - a popular slogan during the 2013 protests.

Ankara's Western allies, rights groups and Europe's top human rights court say last month's court decision and jailings were politically motivated and meant to intimidate Erdogan's opponents.

Critics say the verdict was aimed at criminalising Gezi and creating the perception that protesters were funded by foreign powers.

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Reporting by Umit Bektas; Writing by Ali Kucukgocmen; Editing by Nick Macfie and David Gregorio

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Turks clash with police on anniversary of anti-Erdogan 'Gezi' protests - Reuters

Turkish opposition backs Erdogan over Greek island claims – Kathimerini English Edition

[Presidential Press Service via AP, Pool]

The Turkish opposition Republican Peoples Party (CHP) has expressed its agreement with the recent government escalation vis--vis Greece and indicated that it would support President Recep Tayyip Erdogan if he decided to go through with a threat to challenge the sovereignty of Greek islands in the eastern Aegean.

If you have the heart for it, take the step on the occupied and armed islands. We will support you, CHP chief Kemal Kilicdaroglu was quoted by Turkish media as saying in response to one of a series of questions posed to him by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) at the Grand National Assembly on Wednesday.

It is imperative that we increase the pressure in the Mediterranean and the Aegean, he said.

These things arent handled by sending out a ship, then pulling I back and saying: I wish Biden would call me, he added, in reference to US President Joe Biden.

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Turkish opposition backs Erdogan over Greek island claims - Kathimerini English Edition

OPINION: Why this Nigerian doctor is angry at media coverage of monkeypox : Goats and Soda – NPR

Monkeypox was spread by prairie dogs in the U.S. in 2003. Above: The prairie dog Chuckles was a pet belonging to Tammy and Steve Kautzer and their 3-year-old daughter, of Dorchester, Wisconsin. They caught monkeypox from another pet prairie dog that since died. Mike Roemer/Getty Images hide caption

Monkeypox was spread by prairie dogs in the U.S. in 2003. Above: The prairie dog Chuckles was a pet belonging to Tammy and Steve Kautzer and their 3-year-old daughter, of Dorchester, Wisconsin. They caught monkeypox from another pet prairie dog that since died.

The world is in the midst of a monkeypox outbreak. The World Health Organization has recorded more than 500 cases in 30 countries this year including the United Kingdom, the United States and a number of European nations.

And how do Western media outlets illustrate the story? The BBC, the Independent, CNBC and ABC News are among those that have used a stock photo of a Black person with monkeypox blisters.

It would be as if Nigeria, which has seen 247 cases since 2017 and 66 so far this year, would use photos exclusively of white people with monkeypox in covering its national epidemic.

Absurd, right?

Africans and health equity advocates have been swift in reacting to the Western media's use of Black arms and faces with monkeypox. Nigerian journalist Mercy Abang tweeted, "Here is an example of media bias at its finest; monkeypox has been reported in nations worldwide, but a search shows only [photos of] blacks. Tragic."

Dr. Madhu Pai, professor of epidemiology and global health at McGill University, tweeted, "Journalists and editors of global North media outlets badly need training on how to not be racist & stigmatizing in their reporting Ebola, Covid, monkeypox."

The coverage echoes media reporting following the outbreak in Nigeria in 2017. I was a co-author of a BMJ Global Health Journal review of media coverage of monkeypox. Here's how a story from the publication "Voice from Europe" described the first case of monkeypox in England in 2018: a "horrible Nigerian disease called monkeypox spreads in the United Kingdom for the first time."

The message then and now: Blame Africa for monkeypox.

Here are my suggestions for Western journalists on how to frame the monkeypox story and advice for public health officials on how to deal with the spread of this disease.

Present the facts.

The World Health Organization describes monkeypox as a zoonosis: a disease transmitted from animals to humans. The virus primarily occurs in Central and West Africa, often in proximity to tropical rainforests. However, it can crop up anywhere in the world.

In 2003, the first outbreak of monkeypox outside Africa was reported in six U.S. states Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin. That outbreak was caused by human contact with infected prairie dogs kept as pets. Prairie dogs are herbivorous burrowing mammals native to the grasslands of North America; the pets were reportedly infected after an Illinois animal distributor had reportedly housed them near imported small mammals from Ghana.

That outbreak resulted in more than 70 reported cases, all transmitted by contact with an infected prairie dog or with a person who had been infected by a prairie dog.

Genetic evidence shows that the international outbreak likely originated in Nigeria, but the virus has likely been spreading by person-to-person contact in Europe and the U.K. for months.

Investigate the reasons behind the current outbreak.

There has always been a threat of monkeypox spreading internationally. But it hasn't until now. So the job for journalists is to talk to scientists who are trying to see if something changed about the virus and the way it spreads.

Look at how Africa is responding to monkeypox.

There is no need for the affected countries to reinvent the wheel in fighting the spread of this virus. Africa has the expertise to prevent, detect and respond to infectious disease outbreaks. We do this routinely, including for monkeypox. Recently, Ifedayo Adetifa, director-general of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, tweeted about Nigeria's monkeypox experience:

Nigeria's 1st case of #MonkeyPox was identified in 1971 and after a 40-year hiatus, monkeypox revisited in 2017. Since then, we have experienced sporadic cases and managed them. Now that there is increased attention being paid to #Monkeypox, these are @NCDCgov resources on the subject.

The resources Adetifa shared includes the National Monkeypox Public Health Response Guidelines. The document provides important information that would help Western nations in responding to this outbreak as well as improve detection and prevention of future outbreaks. One important lesson from Nigeria is the setting up of a monkeypox emergency operations center to coordinate all aspects of the response, led by a senior staff member of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and supported by other global health agencies working in the country.

In conclusion, here's what I'd tell my kids.

If my two daughters, Yagazie, age 12, and Chimamanda, age 9, were to ask me to explain what's happening with monkeypox, here's what I'd tell them: Monkeypox outbreaks are common in Africa but can happen anywhere. The infection is transmitted from some animals to humans. Human to human transmission happens when one comes into contact with sores and body fluids of those infected. Cases are now being reported in countries outside Africa, and this is scaring people in those countries.

I would also give them some monkeypox prevention advice: Monkeypox is not as deadly as it looks. The strain currently circulating is not typically fatal. However, they must always remember to wash their hands anytime they get back home from an outing, just as their mother and I have taught them to do that's one of the measures that helps keep you safe from infection

And if they wanted to know why there's biased reporting in Western media, I'd tell them that global health has a colonial history and some Western media outlets are holding on to the vestiges of colonialism by depicting Africa as a backwards, disease-ridden continent.

I would also tell them not to allow the media or for that matter, anyone make them feel inferior because they are Black, and they must keep pushing back.

Ifeanyi Nsofor is the director of policy and advocacy at Nigeria Health Watch and is a senior New Voices fellow at the Aspen Institute.

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OPINION: Why this Nigerian doctor is angry at media coverage of monkeypox : Goats and Soda - NPR