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Former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence Ends His 2024 Presidential Bid

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Former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence Ends His 2024 Presidential Bid

Former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence called it quits on his cash-strapped presidential campaign on Saturday, following months of trying to persuade Republican voters that he was the best option to Donald Trump.

With his stunning statement at the Republican Jewish Coalition donor gathering in Las Vegas, Pence became the first high-profile candidate to withdraw. Trump is the clear favourite in the contest.

“After travelling across the country for the past six months, I’ve come to the conclusion that this is not my time.” So, after much prayer and contemplation, I have chosen to stop my presidential campaign effective today,” Pence addressed the gathering, eliciting gasps and later extended claps and chants of approval.

In his speech, Pence avoided endorsing anyone, but he appeared to take a shot at Trump.

“I implore all my Republican colleagues here to elect a Republican standard bearer who will, as Lincoln said, appeal to the better angels of our nature,” Pence said, adding that the candidate should also lead the country with “civility.”

When asked if Pence would back Trump, a source close to him scoffed.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Trump did not mention Pence in their speeches, which came after Pence’s announcement. Haley commended Pence as a fighter for America and Israel. Later, DeSantis said on the social media platform X that Pence was a “principled man of faith.”Remaining GOP Candidates

More candidates may soon join Pence in withdrawing, narrowing the field of contenders. With more than a half-dozen candidates to choose from, donors looking for alternatives to Trump have been hesitant to open their wallets.

Trump’s lead is so great that it may not matter, and candidates may also opt to stay in the race for a longer period of time. Since the DeSantis campaign faltered after a slow start, no clear alternative has arisen.

Pence, 64, publicly defied Trump, blasting the former president for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurgency at the United States Capitol. Pence bet that Republican primary voters would reward him for upholding the US Constitution rather than Trump’s orders to reverse the 2020 election results when, as vice president, he served as president of the Senate.

But Trump’s fans never forgiven Pence for his role in certifying Democrat Joe Biden’s election.

According to polls, Trump has one of the largest primary leads in US electoral history. They reveal that the majority of Republican voters have accepted, or do not care about, Trump’s fiction that the 2020 election was stolen from him, as well as his efforts to overturn the outcome.

Pence began his White House quest in June, but he has unable to draw enough primary voters and financiers to maintain a candidature that has been polling in the low single digits.

Pence, a stolid campaigner who lacked flair, ran out of money by October. Despite devoting time and resources in Iowa, the first Republican nomination state, he failed to catch fire.

Pence Campaign Debt

On Oct. 15, Pence’s third-quarter fundraising totals revealed that his campaign was $620,000 in debt, with only $1.2 million cash on hand. That was significantly less than some better-performing Republican opponents and insufficient for a presidential campaign.

Former vice presidents who ran for president have been successful in previous elections, including Republican George H.W. Bush in 1988 and Democrat Al Gore in 2000. Biden served as former President Barack Obama’s vice president.

However, Pence was unable to defeat Trump’s electoral juggernaut, as well as candidates who attracted more to primary voters and donors, such as former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and DeSantis.

Pence campaigned as a conventional social and fiscal conservative, as well as a foreign policy hawk, asking for increased military aid to Ukraine and welfare cuts. In the Trump era, full-throated populism and “America First” isolationism have surpassed his brand of Republicanism.

Meanwhile, according to The Hill, Former President Trump’s edge over other GOP presidential hopefuls has grown in a recent poll of Pennsylvania Republicans.

According to the most recent Franklin & Marshall College poll of registered Republican voters in Pennsylvania, Trump currently leads his closest challenger, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, by 41 points, with 55 percent backing Trump and 14 percent supporting DeSantis.

 

 

Trumps GOP Lead

Trump’s lead is a 16-point increase from earlier polling in August 2023, when Trump’s popularity was at 39%. Trump received 40% of the vote in the April 2023 poll. In addition, he got a majority of GOP voters’ support in Pennsylvania for the first time in months, according to the October poll.

The new figures for DeSantis continue a continuous decline in support among GOP registered voters in Pennsylvania. DeSantis received 14 percent support in October 2023, 21 percent support in August 2023, and 34 percent support in April 2023.

The October poll also showed a shift in support among the GOP field as a whole. The preceding poll was conducted in the run-up to the first Republican primary debate in August.

Apart from Trump, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who is now in third place, has seen the most progress in the previous several months of any candidate. She received 9% of the vote in October, up from 5% in August and 4% in April. Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie received 4 percent support in October, up from 3 percent in August and 0 percent in April. Following the two debates, both candidates received mainly positive media coverage.

The rest of the contenders’ popularity dropped only in October, after several witnessed an increase in surveys ahead of the August debate.

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Millennials in Canada Have Turned their Backs on Justin Trudeau

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Millennials are increasingly distancing themselves from Trudeau
Millennials are increasingly distancing themselves from Trudeau - CBC Image

Justine Trudeau and his Liberal Party are currently engaged in a fierce battle for second place against Jagmeet Singh’s socialist NDP, as both parties find themselves trailing by 20 points behind Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives.

A recent poll indicates that 38% of Canadians consider Trudeau to be the most ineffective leader the nation has encountered in over fifty years. An impressive 47% of Canadian Millennials indicated they would support Poilievre if an election were to take place today, while nearly half of all Canadians express a desire for an election to be called this year.

Pierre Poilievre’s strong appeal among young voters can be attributed primarily to economic factors: soaring inflation, a pressing cost-of-living crisis, and the challenge of housing affordability are pushing many away from the Liberals, who have held power for nearly nine years.

According to UnHeard, Millennials are increasingly distancing themselves from Trudeau due to his stringent measures aimed at controlling the internet to combat alleged disinformation, as well as his climate change initiatives, notably the carbon tax.

protest in downtown Toronto against mass immigration took place on Canada Day

Protest in downtown Toronto against mass immigration on Canada Day – TNC Image

An increasing number of Canadians are becoming aware of Trudeau’s ineffective policies and his approach to mass immigration. This past summer, there was significant outrage among parents of teenagers and young adults as they observed their children remaining at home without jobs.

The primary concern stemmed from the fact that most low-skilled and entry-level positions were being filled by unskilled, temporary foreign workers, predominantly from India.

There has been a notable rise in criminal activities linked to international students and unvetted temporary residents who are becoming involved with Punjabi gangs in Canada, contributing to a surge in auto thefts nationwide.

Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives are actively seeking to alter Trudeau’s approach to mass immigration and prioritize the construction of more housing should they come into power.

Significantly, Pierre Poilievre is perceived as more trustworthy than Trudeau, with over half of Canadians characterizing Poilievre as “open and honest about his actions, decisions, and intentions,” while only 39% share that sentiment regarding Trudeau.

The characteristics in question may shed light on Poilievre’s favorable polling, particularly among younger voters and women, who have historically leaned towards the Liberals or the NDP rather than the Conservatives.

The Liberal Party’s support has dwindled to an estimated 7% of Canadians, revealing a significant number of disillusioned voters eager for transformation. Poilievre is emerging as the type of leader that resonates with the desires of many Canadians.

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Trudeau Now Using Abortion Scare Tactics to Recapture Voters

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U.N. Special Rapporteur Calls on Thailand’s Banks to Cut-Off Myanmar Junta

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UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar Tom Andrews speaks during a press conference after a meeting with Thailand's Parliamentary Committee

The U.N special rapporteur for human rights in Myanmar has said the Bank of Thailand, commercial banks, and the anti-money laundering office are working on measures to stop the Myanmar Junta from acquiring weapons through Thailand’s banking system.

Tom Andrews the U.N. special rapporteur for human rights in Myanmar, said that some banks commercial in Thailand had aided Myanmar Junta’s by facilitating transactions that supplied military equipment to the Junta through the international banking system.

He called on the Bank of Thailand and financial institutions to do more to stop Myanmar’s junta acquiring weapons which they use on civilians to maintain power.

The special rapporteur was in Bangkok to address a parliamentary committee on security, he called on the Thai government to stop financial transactions that help supply weapons to Myanmar’s junta in line with a plan promoted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that sets out an end to violence as a first step toward peace.

In his 2023 report “The Billion Dollar Death Trade,” Andrews noted that Singapore had implemented a clear policy opposing the transfer of weapons to Myanmar.

Thailand's Banks

Thai Baht – File Image

Thailand’s Banks Lacked Clear Policy

As a result, exports of weapons and related materials from Singapore-registered entities using the formal banking system dropped from almost U.S. $120 million in fiscal year 2022 to just over $10 million over the next 12 months.

However, he said Thailand had no explicit policy position opposing weapons transfer to the Myanmar Junta, which saw exports from Thai-registered entities more than double in 2023, from just over $60 million to nearly $130 million.

He called on Thai Government to conduct a thorough investigation into transfers as Singapore had done into its companies’ dealings.

Andrews told the the committee that five Thai commercial banks and Thai-based companies were assisting Myanmar’s junta obtain weapons, dual-technology items and jet fuel, enabling Military Junta to conduct atrocities against the people.

But said he had found no evidence that the Thai government was involved or was aware of the transactions or that Thai commercial banks had knowledge.

Thailand's Banks

Photo courtesy of The Nation

Banks Condemn Myanmar Junta Violence

Meanwhile representatives from Thailand’s central bank, anti-money laundering office and the commercial banks named in the report were also present at the parliamentary meeting at government house in Bangkok.

A representative of the Bank of Thailand said officials were working with the commercial banks and the anti-money laundering office to make sure that enhanced oversight was properly practiced.

The Thai Bankers Association that was also at the parliamentary meeting said it did not have the means to investigate and monitor such irregularities beyond Thailand’s borders.

Mr. Pongsit Chaichatpornsuk, a Thai Bankers Association representative told the committee that If government security agencies tell us, we will stop transactions. We don’t support arms procurement by Myanmar Junta or any military government to violate human rights.

Thailand, which shares a long border with Myanmar and hosts many thousands of refugees fleeing conflict there, has tried to promote dialogue between Myanmar’s military rulers and opposition forces but no progress has been made.

This Article was first published in RFA

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People Rushing Sign Online Petition to Impeach South Korea’s President Crash Site

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South Korea's President

The Speaker of the National Assembly of South Korea said in a statement that an online petition calling for South Korea’s President Mr. Yoon Suk-yeol’s impeachment crashed due to the enormous number of individuals attempting to sign the petition. Saying the National Assembly would resolve the matter as quickly as possible.

Since the petition was launch on the National Assembly’s website on June 20, more than 811,000 people have signed it. The petition urges Parliament to introduce legislation to impeach President Yoon on the grounds that he is unfit for office.

Late on June 30, National Assembly Speaker Mr. Woo Won-shik issued an apology for the disturbance and stated that Parliament would take action to protect the public’s fundamental rights.

People attempting to access the petition on July 1 experienced delays of up to four hours. At one point, an error message indicated that more than 30,000 individuals were waiting to access the site.

South Korea’s Parliament Hesitant

The online petition accuses Yoon of corruption, escalating the risk of conflict with North Korea, and endangering South Koreans’ health by failing to prevent Japan from leaking treated radioactive water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear power plant.

By law, Parliament must assign every petition signed by more than 50,000 people to a committee, which will then decide whether to put it to a vote in the assembly.

However, the opposition Democratic Party, which has a majority in Parliament, is hesitant to turn the petition into an impeachment bill, according to media reports, with a spokesperson stating that the party has yet to address the topic.

The Parliament can impeach a president with a two-thirds majority. The Constitutional Court then deliberates the motion and decides whether to remove or reinstall the president.

Meanwhile, on Monday Reuters reported North Korea criticized a joint military exercise performed this month by South Korea, Japan, and the United States, according to official media, saying such drills demonstrate the three nations’ alliance has evolved into “the Asian version of NATO”.

On Thursday, the three countries began large-scale combined military drills named “Freedom Edge” featuring navy destroyers, fighter fighters, and the nuclear-powered US aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, with the goal of strengthening defenses against missiles, submarines, and air strikes.

The drill was designed at a three-way meeting at Camp David last year to boost military cooperation amid concerns on the Korean peninsula caused by North Korea’s weapons testing.

Pyongyang will not overlook the strengthening of a military bloc led by the United States and its allies, and it would respond aggressively and decisively to defend regional peace, according to North Korea’s foreign ministry, as reported by KCNA.

 

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