- The Trilateral Commission is a non-governmental, non-partisan discussion group founded by David Rockefeller in July 1973, to foster closer cooperation among North America, Western Europe, and Japan.
constitution
- https://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21729735-if-it-did-would-be-dangerous-thing-america-might-see-new-constitutional-convention
http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20151224/00180_001.html中東局勢升溫及恐怖主義蔓延，令歐美和俄羅斯猜忌加深，核武威脅亦隨之增加。半世紀前的美國機密文件於此際曝光，披露冷戰高峰時期，美軍曾訂下核戰略目標，計劃向前蘇聯莫斯科、中國北京等地投下大量核彈，甚至以平民為轟炸目標，有系統地摧毀敵對國家的大城市，被批評違反國際間不傷平民的公約。
Supreme court vacancy
- http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21693209-death-antonin-scalia-comes-supreme-court-has-never-been-so-neatly-divided
Federalism
- http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21693609-why-armed-men-vowing-defend-constitution-keep-cropping-up-finding-keepers
democrats
- Bourbon Democrat was a term used in the United States in the later 19th century (1872–1904) to refer to members of the Democratic Party who were ideologically aligned with conservatism or classical liberalism, especially those who supported presidential candidates Charles O'Conor in 1872, Samuel J. Tilden in 1876, President Grover Cleveland in 1884–1888/1892–1896 and Alton B. Parker in 1904. After 1904, the Bourbons faded away. Woodrow Wilson, who had been a Bourbon, made a deal in 1912 with the leading opponent of the Bourbons, William Jennings Bryan, who endorsed Wilson for the Democratic nomination and Wilson named Bryan Secretary of State. Bourbon Democrats were promoters of a form of laissez-faire capitalism which included opposition to the high-tariff protectionismthat the Republicans were then advocating as well as fiscal discipline. They represented business interests, generally supporting the goals of banking and railroads, but opposed to subsidies for them and were unwilling to protect them from competition. They opposed imperialism and American overseas expansion, fought for the gold standardand opposed bimetallism and promoted hard and sound money. Strong supporters of reform movements such as the Civil Service Reform and opponents of the corrupt city bosses, Bourbons led the fight against the Tweed Ring. The anti-corruption theme earned the votes of many Republican Mugwumps in 1884. The term "Bourbon Democrats" was never used by the Bourbon Democrats themselves. It was not the name of any specific or formal group and no one running for office ever ran on a Bourbon Democrat ticket. The term "Bourbon" was mostly used disparagingly by critics complaining of viewpoints they saw as old-fashioned.
- The electoral system elevated Bourbon Democrat leader Grover Cleveland to the office of President both in 1884 and in 1892, but the support for the movement declined considerably in the wake of the Panic of 1893. President Cleveland, a staunch believer in the gold standard, refused to inflate the money supply with silver, thus alienating the agrarian populist wing of the Democratic Party. The delegates at the 1896 Democratic National Convention quickly turned against the policies of Cleveland and those advocated by the Bourbon Democrats, favoring bimetallismas a way out of the depression. Nebraska Congressman William Jennings Bryan now took the stage as the great opponent of the Bourbon Democrats. Harnessing the energy of an agrarian insurgency with his famous Cross of Gold speech, Congressman Bryan soon became the Democratic nominee for President in the 1896 election.
- economist 20oct18 "still on the line" democrats try to rebuild relationship with rural america
Mass media taking sides
- http://paper.takungpao.com/resfile/PDF/20160930/PDF/a16_screen.pdf綜合美聯社及法新社消息：美國總統大選首場電視辯論才剛落幕，立場保守的亞利桑那州最大報紙《亞利桑那共和報》（The Arizona Republic）27日發佈社論，表態支持民主黨總統候選人希拉里，這也是《亞利桑那共和報》自1890年創報以來，首度轉向支持民主黨總統候選人，該報更直言，希拉里的氣質與經歷夠格擔任總統，反觀共和黨總統候選人特朗普則是完全不適任。希拉里先前已經獲得關鍵戰區俄亥俄州大報《辛辛那提問訊報》、得州《達拉斯晨報》及《休斯頓紀事報》三份保守派大報表態力挺，《亞利桑那共和報》則是第四份公開支持希拉里的老字號保守派報紙，加上希拉里和特朗普在亞利桑那州的支持度呈現五五波，該報的表態，可望拉抬希拉里選情。亞利桑那州有11張選舉人票。
health insurance
- in 2012 us department of health and human services mandated all health insurance to cover sterilizations and contraceptives, led to lawsuits and ongoing efforts by United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to fight against
immigration
- Jan Brewer, Governor of arizona from 2009 to 2015, introduced in apr 2010 one of the toughest laws against illegal immigrants
- in 2012 us department of health and human services mandated all health insurance to cover sterilizations and contraceptives, led to lawsuits and ongoing efforts by United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to fight against
immigration
- Jan Brewer, Governor of arizona from 2009 to 2015, introduced in apr 2010 one of the toughest laws against illegal immigrants
Legislative/policy suggestions by chinese
- http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20160207/00180_011.html 美國紐約市於去年除夕夜發生一宗升降機慘劇，一名二十五歲男子被一部突然下墜的升降機夾死。在事發前兩日，同市一名八十一歲老翁也在踏出升降機時跌倒身亡。由於發生多宗涉及類似致命事故，有議員呼籲通過法例加強檢驗。紐約市現時有約近十萬部升降機，平均每部每日運行五百多次，因此保養對安全操作有直接的影響。紀錄顯示，幾乎所有發生重大事故的升降機，在事發前就被驗出存在安全方面的問題，但遲遲未有解決。紐約州參議員史葛靜早前便敦促州參議院，通過一條規定只有持牌人士才能檢修的法案，同時加強培訓專業人員。另外，當地華裔律師吳聖洋呼籲當局縮短修理期限，指現時法例規定業主或樓宇管理者，需在驗出問題後四十五日內才修理實在太長，應縮短期限。
korean participation
- 隨着17日加州第39選區眾議員選票全部開出，民主黨候選人西斯內羅斯擊敗韓裔共和黨候選人金映玉（Young Kim），加州中期選舉的眾議院席位全部塵埃落定，民主黨大獲全勝，佔據了53個席位中的45席，比2016年多出5席。值得注意的是，曾為共和黨南加州大本營的奧蘭治縣已全部轉藍。金映玉一直熱衷於為韓裔美國人謀福祉，她經常在自己的電視節目《與金映玉一起在洛杉磯和首爾》中，討論那些政策可能對韓裔美國人造成影響。在第39選區的開票過程中，她曾一度領先，但最後以3000票之差落後於西斯內羅斯。她的落敗使新澤西州第3選區的民主黨候選人金安迪（Andy Kim）成為首個也是唯一一個躋身美國國會的韓裔議員。http://paper.takungpao.com/resfile/PDF/20181119/PDF/a23_screen.pdf
chinese participation
- http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21715066-long-slumbering-voter-block-awakes-chinese-americans-are-becoming-politically-active
obama government
- 美國傳媒指，前總統奧巴馬在任期間，為改善與伊朗關係，涉嫌阻撓毒品管制局（DEA）一項針對恐怖組織的調查計劃，包括黎巴嫩回教武裝組織真主黨販毒一事。司法部長塞申斯上周五發聲明指，當局將審視有關調查計劃，希望上屆政府沒有特意阻撓執法。http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20171224/00180_006.html
- post presidential work
trump government
- Appointees to President-elect Donald Trump's administration will be asked to sign a form barring them from being a registered lobbyist for five years after they leave government service, officials announced Wednesday -- following up on the D.C. outsider's pledge to "drain the swamp." Republican National Committee chief strategist Sean Spicer said on a conference call with reporters that the prohibition would help to ensure people won't be able to use government service "to enrich themselves." In addition, Spicer announced that Trump transition team members would be barred from lobbying about the issues they had worked on for six months after their departure. He did not immediately explain how either ban would be enforced. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/11/17/trump-transition-team-announces-five-year-lobbying-ban-for-appointees.html
- President-elect Donald Trump has brought in lawyers with U.S. Department of Justice and congressional ties from Kirkland & Ellis and Jones Day to lead the Justice Department transition, his camp announced today. The team will include Kirkland partner Brian Benczkowski, who previously worked for Trump's recently announced U.S. attorney general pick Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Alabama, on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Benczkowski will be joined by Jones Day partner Gregory Katsas and associate James Burnham. Katsas is a former head of the Civil Division and served as acting associate attorney general.
http://www.nationallawjournal.com/home/id=1202772829835/Trump-Taps-Kirkland-Jones-Day-Lawyers-to-Lead-DOJ-Transition?mcode=1202617074964&curindex=4&slreturn=20161021043543
korean participation
- 隨着17日加州第39選區眾議員選票全部開出，民主黨候選人西斯內羅斯擊敗韓裔共和黨候選人金映玉（Young Kim），加州中期選舉的眾議院席位全部塵埃落定，民主黨大獲全勝，佔據了53個席位中的45席，比2016年多出5席。值得注意的是，曾為共和黨南加州大本營的奧蘭治縣已全部轉藍。金映玉一直熱衷於為韓裔美國人謀福祉，她經常在自己的電視節目《與金映玉一起在洛杉磯和首爾》中，討論那些政策可能對韓裔美國人造成影響。在第39選區的開票過程中，她曾一度領先，但最後以3000票之差落後於西斯內羅斯。她的落敗使新澤西州第3選區的民主黨候選人金安迪（Andy Kim）成為首個也是唯一一個躋身美國國會的韓裔議員。http://paper.takungpao.com/resfile/PDF/20181119/PDF/a23_screen.pdf
chinese participation
- http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21715066-long-slumbering-voter-block-awakes-chinese-americans-are-becoming-politically-active
obama government
- 美國傳媒指，前總統奧巴馬在任期間，為改善與伊朗關係，涉嫌阻撓毒品管制局（DEA）一項針對恐怖組織的調查計劃，包括黎巴嫩回教武裝組織真主黨販毒一事。司法部長塞申斯上周五發聲明指，當局將審視有關調查計劃，希望上屆政府沒有特意阻撓執法。http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20171224/00180_006.html
- post presidential work
- http://money.cnn.com/2018/05/21/media/barack-michelle-obama-netflix-deal/index.html Barack and Michelle Obama will work both in front of and behind the camera in a multi-year production deal with Netflix. The unique pact was announced on Monday. The first content from the Obamas will appear in 2019 at the earliest, according to a person involved in the deal. Netflix did not specify a timeline. But the company's announcement of the deal said "the Obamas will produce a diverse mix of content, including the potential for scripted series, unscripted series, docu-series, documentaries and features." Sometimes the former president and first lady will be on camera as hosts or moderators, the source said on condition of anonymity. In other cases they will stay behind the scenes as producers.
trump government
- Appointees to President-elect Donald Trump's administration will be asked to sign a form barring them from being a registered lobbyist for five years after they leave government service, officials announced Wednesday -- following up on the D.C. outsider's pledge to "drain the swamp." Republican National Committee chief strategist Sean Spicer said on a conference call with reporters that the prohibition would help to ensure people won't be able to use government service "to enrich themselves." In addition, Spicer announced that Trump transition team members would be barred from lobbying about the issues they had worked on for six months after their departure. He did not immediately explain how either ban would be enforced. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/11/17/trump-transition-team-announces-five-year-lobbying-ban-for-appointees.html
- President-elect Donald Trump has brought in lawyers with U.S. Department of Justice and congressional ties from Kirkland & Ellis and Jones Day to lead the Justice Department transition, his camp announced today. The team will include Kirkland partner Brian Benczkowski, who previously worked for Trump's recently announced U.S. attorney general pick Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Alabama, on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Benczkowski will be joined by Jones Day partner Gregory Katsas and associate James Burnham. Katsas is a former head of the Civil Division and served as acting associate attorney general.
http://www.nationallawjournal.com/home/id=1202772829835/Trump-Taps-Kirkland-Jones-Day-Lawyers-to-Lead-DOJ-Transition?mcode=1202617074964&curindex=4&slreturn=20161021043543
- https://www.publicintegrity.org/2016/12/19/20564/donald-trumps-sons-behind-nonprofit-selling-access-president-elect?utm_source=email&utm_campaign=watchdog&utm_medium=publici-email&goal=0_ffd1d0160d-8c8c33415c-100254277&mc_cid=8c8c33415c&mc_eid=6ae09a9083
- foreign policy
- tpp
- import tax
- trade deficit
- 自二○一二年起開始實施的DACA是一項特赦政策，向合資格的非法移民批發時效一般為兩至三年的工作簽證，以讓他們繼續逗留美國；部分申請資格包括自○七年起，已在美國逗留連續至少五年，及隨父母抵美時，年齡為十六歲以下等。桑德斯指，特朗普與其幕僚還在努力商討最終定案。
- climate/environment
- natural resources
- coal
- steel
- vaccine
- foreign policy
- http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21714337-incoming-foreign-policy-team-has-mind-revolution-great-power-relations-how
- U.S. President Donald Trump's fellow Republicans in Congress on Tuesday assailed his proposed cuts in the diplomatic and foreign aid budget, making it unlikely the cutbacks in global health, peacekeeping and other programs will take effect. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-budget-foreign-aid-idUSKBN18J2DC?il=0
- 美國外交人員協會(AFSA)早前向旗 下會員發信，指國務卿蒂勒森今年 2 月上任以來，國務院大幅削減職業外 交人員職位，屬外交官中最高級別的 職業大使，人數由 5 人減至兩人。國 務院否認「裁員」，強調 63 名資深 職業外交人員正等待國會完成確認晉 升程序，程序完成後，資深外交人員 數目將回升至 1,039 人，與去年相 若。http://pdf.wenweipo.com/2017/11/10/a20-1110.pdf
- 記者卡舒吉神秘失蹤一事，因美國駐沙特阿拉伯及土耳其外交大使一職至今仍然懸空，導致協調工作進展不佳。除了上述兩國外，華府仍未提名駐澳洲、新加坡及墨西哥等二十個國家的大使人選，另有四十六個提名尚待參議院通過，未能就任，亦有十三個重要外交職位懸空。http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20181014/00180_016.html
- 特朗普當選總統近兩年，一直未有委任駐澳洲大使。白宮於周一晚發表聲明，指總統已提名著名律師、七十歲的科爾瓦豪斯（Arthur B Culvahouse Jr）為駐澳洲大使，提名尚需參議院通過。前總統列根在任時發生軍售伊朗醜聞，科爾瓦豪斯當時為列根出謀獻策。二○○八年的總統選舉，科爾瓦豪斯為共和黨候選人麥凱恩找來時任阿拉斯加州女州長佩林作競選拍檔。http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20181107/00180_015.html
- US president Donald Trump’s proposals to slash overseas aid risk destabilising the world’s most fragile nations and inflaming extremism, aid groups and former US officials warn. https://www.ft.com/content/24d15b1a-145b-11e7-80f4-13e067d5072c
- http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20170508/00192_001.html在這樣的原則指導下，美國國務院的機構、人員和預算都大幅調整，原本負責國際開發援助的機構和人員被大幅裁撤，外交官人數減少五分之一，開發援助預算更被腰斬。而特朗普上任後的外交行動，亦身體力行地對人權外交說不。比如，特朗普早前在白宮會見到訪的埃及總統西西，特朗普不僅表示願意與埃及加強在反恐領域的合作，並對西西政府在埃及國內的領導地位表示支持。這與奧巴馬的態度截然相反，奧巴馬曾斷然拒絕西西的訪美請求，理由是西西涉嫌軍人干政和侵犯人權。特朗普亦與菲律賓總統杜特爾特通話，並邀請他訪美，而之前奧巴馬強烈批評杜氏在掃毒問題上進行「草菅人命式的大屠殺」。可以預計，在特朗普任內，曾肆虐全球的顏色革命將告一段落。
- withdrawal from international accord
- https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-diplomacy-treaty/u-s-withdrawing-from-vienna-protocol-on-dispute-resolution-bolton-idUSKCN1MD2CP The U.S. national security adviser John Bolton slammed the highest United Nations tribunal as “politicized and ineffective” as he announced that the United States would review all international agreements that could expose it to binding decisions by the ICJ.Bolton, citing what he called “Iran’s abuse of the ICJ,” said the United States would also withdraw from the “optional protocol” under the 1961 Vienna Convention of Diplomatic Relations. “We will commence a review of all international agreements that may still expose the United States to purported binding jurisdiction, dispute resolution in the International Court of Justice,” Bolton said on Wednesday. “The United States will not sit idly by as baseless politicized claims are brought against us.” The decision to withdraw from the optional protocol follows a complaint brought by the Palestinians in September, which challenged Washington’s decision to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The Vienna Convention is an international treaty setting out diplomatic relations between states. It is often cited as a means to provide diplomatic immunity.
- eu
- https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jan/08/trump-administration-downgrades-european-union-status The Trump administration has downgraded the diplomatic status of the EU mission in Washington, without informing the mission or Brussels, officials confirmed on Tuesday. The downgrade from nation state to international organisation status reverses an Obama administration decision in 2016 to grant the EU an enhanced diplomatic role in Washington, and is being seen in Brussels as a snub reflecting a general antipathy to the EU in the Trump administration. The president has supported Brexit and has described the EU as a “foe”.
- asia reassurance initiative act
- https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3608137 In Washington D.C., just before ushering in the New Year on Dec. 31, U.S. President Donald Trump signed the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act (ARIA) into law along with 12 other bills. The ARIA Act calls for increased U.S. engagement in the Indo-Pacific region and strengthened support, including arms sales, for U.S. allies like Taiwan and others. The act was designed to counter the encroaching influence and growing threat from China, and to reinvigorate U.S. leadership in the region.
ARIA requests a budget of US$1.5 billion over a five year period to enhance economic, diplomatic and security cooperation with strategic regional allies.
It advises the U.S. government to sell arms to Taiwan on a regular basis to meet the country's legitimate self-defense needs, as well as recommending top administration and military officials visit Taipei in accordance with the Taiwan Travel Act.
- syria
- trade policy
- http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20170408/00180_024.html 希拉妮周四在紐約出席世界女性高峰會，是她去年在總統選舉中落敗後首次受訪。她被問及出任國務卿時，未有強硬處理敍利亞危機，是否其最大的外交錯誤。對此，希拉妮直言應該要炸毀敍利亞的空軍基地，防止他們轟炸及用化武殺害無辜平民。她更強調，離開政府後曾提出在敍利亞設立禁飛區，但奧巴馬政府沒有採納其建議。
- https://www.ft.com/content/badd42ce-05b8-11e7-ace0-1ce02ef0def9 A civil war has broken out within the White House over trade, leading to what one official called “a fiery meeting” in the Oval Office pitting economic nationalists close to Donald Trump against pro-trade moderates from Wall Street.
- World bodies defend global trade as protectionism advances ft 11apr17
- tpp
- https://www.cosmeticsbusiness.com/news/article_page/Trump_rejection_of_TPP_hits_beauty_industry/125592/cn123357 The 23 January presidential memorandum from President Donald Trump, pulling the US from participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal has disappointed the American cosmetics and personal care products sector. This is not only because of the tariff barriers it would have eliminated, but also because the TPP would have pushed regulatory controls in all TPP countries in the same direction. Speaking to SPC, Francine Lamoriello, Executive Vice President, Global Strategies at the US’ Personal Care Products Council (PCPC), called on the Trump administration to redouble its efforts to secure overseas market access, following its abandonment of the TPP.
- import tax
- Dozens of US exporters including GE and Boeing are squaring off against Walmartand other retailers as a radical Republican plan to tax imports divides the giants of corporate America. https://www.ft.com/content/cf3f1d98-e356-11e6-8405-9e5580d6e5fb The Financial Times has learnt that GE, Boeing, Dow Chemical and dozens of other manufacturers are in advanced talks over forming a coalition to lobby in favour of the import tax, just as Walmart and other big importers, including the billionaire Koch brothers, rally against it.
- Taking sides in the US tax war ft 14feb17
- https://www.ft.com/content/b65070ae-0050-11e7-96f8-3700c5664d30 A proposal for a new levy on imports included in a Republican tax reform plan has set off a lobbying war in the US business community and raised fears of looming trade skirmishes. But economists have also begun focusing on another potentially worrying aspect: what it means for the global economy.
- 美國眾議院周三重新表決後，以二百二十四票贊成、二百零一票反對，國會正式通過減稅一萬五千億美元（約十一萬七千億港元）的「世紀稅改」方案，總統特朗普要求於聖誕節前簽署落實，圓其自去年大選期間已傾力推銷的改革夢。然而，有傳媒在此時大潑冷水，指稅改引發歐洲多國財長不滿，警告或會觸發貿易戰。http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20171222/00180_023.html
- https://www.ft.com/content/14216fc4-eb67-11e7-bd17-521324c81e23 The US’s hastily enacted tax overhaul is set to pile pressure on a government agency already grappling with a prolonged funding squeeze and cuts to staffing. Tax experts say that the $1.5tn tax cut signed into law by President Donald Trump last week will lead to implementation and enforcement challenges for the Internal Revenue Service, even though it was long trailed as reducing complexity for taxpayers. “Republicans, in particular, have been very harsh on the IRS in terms of budget cuts and taking away some of their resources,” said Scott Hodge, the president of the Tax Foundation, an independent think-tank. He predicted a “rocky” first year for both the IRS and taxpayers.
- Oil giant BP (BP.L) will take a one-off $1.5 billion charge to adjust to new U.S. tax rules, but expects a long-term boost from the corporate-friendly tax rates, it said on Tuesday.https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bp-outlook-tax/bp-sets-1-5-billion-charge-for-u-s-tax-changes-but-sees-long-term-boost-idUSKBN1ER0E0
- http://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2127591/lenovo-take-one-time-us400-million-hit-due-us-tax-reform-eyes Lenovo Group, one of the world’s largest personal computer makers, said on Wednesday it would book a one-off, US$400 million charge for the nine months ended in December stemming from US President Donald Trump’s tax overhaul, due to a reassessment of its US deferred tax assets.
- charity
- https://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21737089-local-non-profits-and-churches-will-be-affected-most-recent-tax-reforms
- trade deficit
- http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-trade-idUSKBN15Y0V1U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is mulling changes to how it calculates U.S. trade deficits in a way that would likely help bolster political arguments to renegotiate key trade deals, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing people involved in the discussions. The main idea being discussed is whether to exclude "re-exports" from the calculation of U.S. exports, sources told the newspaper. Re-exports refer to goods that are imported into the United States, then transferred to another country. Trump has been highly critical of trade deals including the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Mexico and Canada. By using a metric that widens the trade deficit, it could give him political leverage to make sweeping changes, the paper reported.
- https://www.ft.com/content/a298de4c-08a3-11e7-97d1-5e720a26771b The legislation set to be introduced in the Senate on Tuesday by Republican Charles Grassley and Democrat Debbie Stabenow come amid growing bipartisan demands for more rigorous vetting of Chinese investment in the US, which reached record levels last year. The bill would present President Donald Trump with a way to deliver on campaign promises to take a hard line on Beijing that would likely be popular in agricultural states such as Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa. The president’s plans to rip up or renegotiate deals such as the North American Free Trade Agreement are the source of increasing angst among export-dependent farmers in those states worried that they would be the first target of retaliation in any trade war.
- 特朗普上任後首次外訪中東大國沙特阿拉伯，為國內軍火商帶來總值一千一百億美元的軍火交易，涉及反導系統、戰機、軍艦等。他先在貿易逆差及貿易不公的問題上狠批日韓，之後要求兩國買軍備。日本安倍晉三政府便提出購買陸基神盾系統，更傳出追加F-35A戰機訂單，甚至另購F-35B作為航母艦載機。南韓亦同樣傳出增購F-35B。至於歐洲地區方面，特朗普多次公開批評這些傳統盟友在地區安全上毫無貢獻，更曾威脅退出北約。結果，波蘭及羅馬尼亞，便向美國購買愛國者導彈系統。http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20180122/00180_008.html
- http://fortune.com/2017/02/08/donald-trump-deregulation-softbank-sprint/ SoftBank Group's (sftby, +1.66%) CEO Masayoshi Son said on Wednesday the Japanese firm should benefit from President Donald Trump's promised deregulation of the American economy and that he is keeping his options open about U.S. telecoms unit Sprint
- http://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/26/trump-to-raise-defense-spending.html
- http://www.economist.com/news/business/21719520-more-700-companies-are-vying-business-many-them-are-local-hispanic-owners
- economist 24aug19 "headless chickens" what a raid on poultry procesors say about trump administration's immigration strategy
- 自二○一二年起開始實施的DACA是一項特赦政策，向合資格的非法移民批發時效一般為兩至三年的工作簽證，以讓他們繼續逗留美國；部分申請資格包括自○七年起，已在美國逗留連續至少五年，及隨父母抵美時，年齡為十六歲以下等。桑德斯指，特朗普與其幕僚還在努力商討最終定案。
- 早前有消息指，美國總統特朗普有意撤銷前朝奧巴馬政府的「幼年抵美暫緩遣返計劃」（DACA）。白宮發言人桑德斯上周五表示，特朗普將於周二宣布其決定。一旦特朗普撤銷這又稱為「夢想者計劃」的政策，將有約八十萬人受影響；多個州政府、國會議員和商界人士皆冀望計劃能夠得以繼續。http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20170903/00180_015.html
- 美國一對華裔夫婦因被指偷渡並匿藏康涅狄格州廿年，而被當局要求離開。兩人原定於大年初一（16日）被遣返中國，但因康州州長、議員，以及各界人士出面求情，終獲美國移民及海關執法局（ICE）暫緩遞解，可留美與兒子度過新年，不用在佳節骨肉分離。http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20180219/00178_015.html
- http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/2080164/hong-kong-based-pakistanis-planning-study-america
- Trump allows 15,000 new visas for seasonal workers ft 18jul17
- 緬甸及老撾早前拒絕美國要求，不肯接收遣返原籍的非法移民。美國周二（10日）宣布對緬甸及老撾實施簽證制裁，直至兩國讓步為止，預計兩國的高級官員將受影響。http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20180713/00180_009.html
- 美國總統特朗普於去年簽署「第一號太空政策指令」，指示重啟登月計劃，確保美國在全球事務的領導地位。有美媒取得美國太空總署（NASA）內部文件，指華府有意於二○二五年起停止資助國際太空站，其後或把它私有化。有國會議員及參與太空站營運的企業反對，指這危害美國的「太空一哥」地位。http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20180213/00180_015.html
- 新一代美國總統專機「空軍一號」預計二○二一年服役，美媒指新專機外形可能大變身，在現有的藍白色基調上加添紅色，更具美國味，報道稱最終設計仍有待落實。空軍一號對上一次大翻新是於一九六二年甘迺迪執政時期，特朗普曾批評新專機造價高昂，反覆磋商後終與製造商波音達成協議。http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20180715/00180_004.html
- climate/environment
- http://www.afr.com/news/politics/world/exxon-calls-on-donald-trump-to-stick-with-paris-climate-accord-20170329-gv8t3n ExxonMobil, the largest US oil group, has urged the Trump administration to remain in the Paris climate accord, joining the ranks of big businesses opposing Washington's move to disengage from efforts to tackle global warming. Its views, set out in a letter to President Donald Trump's top aide on international energy policy, echo the arguments in favour of the Paris agreement made by Rex Tillerson, Exxon's former chief executive and now Mr Trump's secretary of state.
- http://edition.cnn.com/2017/06/01/politics/trump-paris-climate-decision/index.htmlIvanka Trump and her allies, including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Trump's chief economist Gary Cohn, pressed Trump to alter the US commitments to the Paris agreement without fully pulling out of the accord. Trump was also pressured heavily by his foreign counterparts during last week's G7 meetings in Sicily to remain in the deal, though his advisers say he felt little obligation to concede to that point of view. In the end, anti-Paris voices, led by chief strategist Steve Bannon and EPA administrator Scott Pruitt, won out, and Trump's remarks Thursday reflected the nationalist viewpoints espoused by Bannon and his cohorts.
- http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20170604/00180_001.html美國總統特朗普宣布美國將退出《巴黎氣候協定》，在國內外引起的抗議聲音不絕，不少支持協定的美國民眾大失所望。有民主黨人直言，退出協定的幕後推手是從事化工業務的科赫兄弟，此舉讓旗下的科氏企業（Koch Industries）不受嚴格的環境條例管制。更有民主黨人認為，可利用特朗普失去民心的機會，於明年中期選舉追擊共和黨。
- http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20180929/00178_002.html 雖然美國本身已退出《巴黎氣候協定》，但有美國環保組織近日卻發布報告及衞星圖像，指摘中國正秘密建設大量燃煤發電廠，違反中國有份簽署的巴黎協定。
- Step up effort to cut emissions, US utilities told. Funds cite long-term risk for investors as European peers progress faster. ft 8jun17
- Leading corporations support US carbon tax campaign ft 21jun17
- https://www.vox.com/2018/12/28/18159509/mats-mercury-epa-toxic-coal-power-plant The Environmental Protection Agency proposed yet another weakening of an Obama-era regulation on Friday, this time targeting toxic chemicals from oil and coal-fired power plants. The regulation in question, the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS), was established in 2011. It was the first set of federal rules to limit hazardous pollution from coal-burning and oil-burning plants, targeting chemicals like mercury, a neurotoxin that can lead to tremors, respiratory failure, and death. Coal power plants are the biggest emitters of mercury. According to the EPA’s own projections, these rules save upward of 17,000 lives per year in the United States. The Center for American Progress found that MATS reduced mercury emissions from power plants by 81 percent since going into effect. However, the energy industry and some states filed lawsuits to block MATS.
- Donald Trump’s administration is finalizing plans to roll back the US government’s only direct efforts to curb coal-fired power plant pollution that is heating the planet.Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency will replace an Obama-era climate change rule with a regulation that experts warn could help some of America’s oldest and dirtiest coal plants to keep running.Obama’s Clean Power Plan would have pushed power companies to shift away from coal and toward natural gas and renewable power. Trump’s rule instead sets out ways for states to direct coal plants to increase their efficiency, with hardware fixes or operational changes. Trump’s rule will not significantly tackle the heat-trapping gases entering the atmosphere that cause extreme heatwaves, floods and other disasters. And it will lead to higher levels of air pollution, compared with the Clean Power Plan. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jun/19/trump-climate-crisis-coal-pollution-clean-power-plan
- [action asia jan/feb 2018] goosenecks state park (on the edge of bear's ears national monument) - protected area was set up in dec 2016 by president obama. Less than a year on, egged on by utah's republican-legislature, trump has cut it more than 85%. The goosenecks are for the chop, along with a bunch more amazing spots and thousands of ancient puebloan and native american sites
- https://www.ft.com/content/96160542-1a18-11e7-a266-12672483791a Just as the Republican healthcare plan that Mr Trump backed foundered in Congress in part because it would have hurt many of the white working poor who voted for him, his trade plans risk alienating supporters in the country’s rural heartland. Looming particularly large over states like Kansas are the Trump administration’s plans to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico. Kansas is dependent on agricultural exports and stood to benefit greatly from the TPP, which Mr Trump pulled the US out of on his third day in office. But the TPP was about future gains. Any disruption to Nafta would mean a hit to existing business, with more than a third of the $10.2bn in beef, grains and other goods that Kansans exported last year destined for Canada or Mexico.
- https://www.ft.com/content/92bb5636-a95b-11e7-ab55-27219df83c97 The Trump administration has joined a group of countries objecting to a deal between the UK and EU to divide valuable agricultural import quotas, in a sign of how the US and others plan to use Brexit to force the UK to further open its sensitive market for farm products. President Donald Trump has been one of the most prominent international backers of Brexit and has vowed quickly to negotiate a “beautiful trade deal” with the UK after it leaves the EU. But his administration’s objection to a preliminary plan, agreed to by Brussels and London over how to split the EU’s existing “tariff rate quotas” under World Trade Organisation rules after the UK assumes its own WTO obligations following Brexit, illustrates how Washington is likely to drive a hard bargain.
- 原來歐盟與美國打貿易戰，累積多年經驗，早已由研究人員開發咗一套完整嘅「現代貿易報復系統」，選擇美國貨品徵收高關稅，並非隨機抽樣亂咁嚟，而係根據政治科學專家、經濟師、美國國情研究專家等等精心挑選出嚟嘅，所有在「報復清單內」嘅貨物，皆有數據支持，有政治目標。歐盟選小紅莓、威士忌，背後有計算。小紅莓盛產於威斯康辛州（佔世界產量五成），歐盟每年輸入1億3千萬美元，相等於美國小紅莓出口之38%，中國買入5千萬美元，相等於15%。威斯康辛州種植小紅莓嘅農場，冇咗歐盟及中國市場就會叫苦連天，2016年大選，威州投票畀特朗普，現任美國眾議院議長瑞安就係威州資深眾議員。另外，美國參議院議長麥康奈，係代表肯塔基州嘅，肯塔基盛產美式威士忌供出口用，肯塔基亦係在總統大選時，支持特朗普嘅。中歐唔買美國小紅莓，威士忌，好容易向愛爾蘭、日本、蘇格蘭入貨代替，但美國生產商冇咗中歐市場就會叫苦連天。中國從歐洲方面偷師，一定已經針對中美貿易情況，制定一份階段性嘅「貿易報復清單」，目的係以最少金錢代價（如小紅莓），收得最大政治效果，例如瑞安與麥康奈係民選議員，一定要聽選民意見，向特朗普面陳農民聲音，爭取特朗普讓步。因是之故，中國宣佈向美國大豆（Soybean）徵收高關稅，即刻令大豆期貨價格下跌，美國中西部農民即時向CNBC訪問大吐苦水。調番轉頭，美國宣佈向中國貨物徵關稅，中國商人有無意見呢？當然係一啲都冇，中國國企聽黨的話，點會出聲，中國民企受慣管制，邊個敢嘈，福建更有人搞抵制美國貨運動，故此中美貿易戰如果真正展開，美國方面噪音齊鳴，農民、商人、工業家齊聲反對特朗普，中國呢方面好似一致團結對外。https://hk.lifestyle.appledaily.com/lifestyle/columnist/%E5%B7%A6%E4%B8%81%E5%B1%B1/daily/article/20180411/20357511
- china daily 13apr18 "us producers hope for resolution"
- 中國針對美國農產品作出反制，對準美國農民生計作打擊。特朗普自言早有後着，準備成立300億美元（約2,340億港元）補助基金，協助受影響農民。美國中期選舉將於十一月舉行，相信特朗普此舉是為了穩住農業大州共和黨票倉的民心。http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/news/20180707/00176_014.html
- ft 13dec18 "us farmers suffer double blow from tariffs as surplus crops face inflated storage costs"
- 總統特朗普周一表示，已指示農業部發放第二筆最多一百二十億美元（約九百三十八億港元）補助。由於大部分資金撥予豆農，令同受貿戰影響的粟米農感不滿。http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20181219/00182_001.html
- 美國特朗普政府早前決定給予部分煉油廠生物燃料法律豁免權，允許它們不在汽油添加乙醇，被指打擊乙醇需求。農業帶大感不滿，有人明言不再支持總統特朗普，或令其選情蒙上陰影，特朗普隨即在周一召開內閣會議商討對策。艾奧瓦州是全美粟米及乙醇最大生產州份，亦是傳統搖擺州份，特朗普於上屆大選成功擊敗前國務卿希拉妮，部分原因是他支持使用乙醇。有農民斥責特朗普違反競選承諾，不會再投票給他，轉投民主黨的前副總統拜登。https://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20190822/00180_012.html
- natural resources
- http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20170303/00180_005.html 美國參議院周三以六十八票贊成、三十一票反對，確認蒙大拿州眾議員津凱（Ryan Zinke）出任內政部長，管理國內逾四億英畝公眾土地。津凱提倡以多用途模式管理聯邦土地，容許伐木、採煤、和鑽探石油及天然氣。他又承諾處理國家公園積壓的維修保養，及堅定反對企圖出售、贈送或轉讓聯邦土地。
- The abrupt reversal came days after officials announced a proposal to allow drilling in virtually all coastal water.The Trump administration on Tuesday said it would not allow oil drilling off the coast of Florida after pressure from the state's Republican governor.The abrupt reversal came days after officials announced a proposal to allow drilling in virtually all coastal waters, drawing immediate criticism from environmentalists.http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-5253029/US-declares-Florida-exempt-offshore-drilling-plan.html
- https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-6258543/In-pre-vote-boost-farmers-Trump-ease-ethanol-fuel-rules.html US President Donald Trump supports raising the ethanol content level in gasoline that can be sold year round, delivering a win for farmers ahead of hotly contested midterm elections, the Agriculture Department said Tuesday.
- coal
- New plants are more likely to use cheap gas, even as the US president seeks to dismantle carbon emission regulations. Why US coal jobs are not coming back https://www.ft.com/content/7dd52826-13a8-11e7-80f4-13e067d5072c
- Donald Trump is engineering a sharp shift in US energy policy by using natural gas exports as an instrument of trade policy, championing sales to China and other parts of Asia to create jobs and reduce US trade deficits. In a bid to unleash US energy, Mr Trump is trying to promote more liquefied natural gas exports to Asia while extending Barack Obama’s efforts to use LNG as a geopolitical weapon in Europe aimed at Russia. The goal of the push is to help US LNG companies land sales contracts in energy-hungry nations across Asia, including Japan and India. https://www.ft.com/content/c5c1958c-5761-11e7-80b6-9bfa4c1f83d2
- steel
- The Trump administration began an investigation of steel imports as U.S. Steel Corp.asked a trade agency to investigate its claims that rival Chinese manufacturers colluded to fix prices and undercut American competitors. President Donald Trump signed a memorandum Thursday encouraging the Commerce Department probe, which had already started and will explore whether steel imports hinder national security under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act. In an Oval Office ceremony, Trump declared the opening of the Commerce Department investigation ”a historic day for American steel and most importantly for American steel workers.” Imports have risen "despite repeated Chinese claims that they were going to reduce their steel capacity,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a briefing for reporters at the White House. “It’s a very serious impact upon the domestic industry.” Still, when a reporter asked Trump whether the investigation would raise tensions with China as he seeks that country’s help in slowing North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, Trump said the trade investigation “has nothing to do with China” and addresses “a worldwide problem.” https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-20/u-s-steel-seeks-china-trade-probe-amid-trump-s-buy-america-push
- https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-shinzo-abe-us-tariff-japan-exemption-talks-mar-a-lago-florida-a8311996.html Donald Trump and Shinzo Abe have failed to reach a deal which would exempt Japan from the US’s steel and aluminium tariffs.
- 法國經濟部長勒邁爾前日公開談論美國的貿易策略，認為美國如想和歐盟在貿易議題上合作，應該「全面且永久」的豁免歐盟鋼材和鋁材的進口關稅，並拒絕捲入中美之間的貿易爭端，形容爭端「徒勞和無意義」。http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20180422/00178_006.html
- 美國對主要盟友加徵鋼鋁產品關稅的豁免期，原定昨日屆滿，白宮在前一日發佈總統公告，延長對歐盟、加拿大、墨西哥、阿根廷、澳洲和巴西的豁免期限，以繼續就應對全球鋼鋁產能過剩進行談判。http://pdf.wenweipo.com/2018/05/02/a19-0502.pdf
- https://www.ft.com/content/d104c68a-4145-11e7-82b6-896b95f30f58 Describing the 2009 trip was Hilary Geary Ross, socialite wife of Wilbur Ross, the billionaire investor who is now Donald Trump’s commerce secretary. Their hosts at Casa de Campo, a Dominican Republic luxury resort: José “Pepe” Fanjul, the Cuban-born Florida sugar baron, and his wife Emilia. Please use the sharing tools found via the email icon at the top of articles. Eight years on, Mr Ross and Mr Fanjul are star players in a negotiation to resolve a bitter sugar dispute over Mexican exports to the US by a June 5 deadline. Mexican negotiators fear Mr Fanjul — a longtime Republican donor and part owner of the UK sugar producer Tate & Lyle, which lobbied for Brexit — is secretly pulling the political strings. The sugar talks are a dress rehearsal for bigger negotiations due later this year to update the North American Free Trade Agreement that governs Canada, Mexico and the US’s commerce in everything from cars to corn. And that makes them an early test for President Donald Trump, who regularly boasts of his dealmaking prowess. But they also serve as an example of the minefield of interests and powerful lobbies the Trump administration has to navigate as it sets out to renegotiate Nafta. And they are drawing attention to the unusual personal relationships that billionaire members of Mr Trump’s cabinet such as Mr Ross, a former Rothschild banker who made his fortune turning around distressed businesses, have brought into government. Please use the sharing tools found via the email icon at the top of articles.The dispute between Mexico and the US grew out of a collision between Washington’s long-running and controversial support for sugar growers and its obligations under Nafta, which in 2008 required the US to remove restrictions on Mexican imports. Angered by what they claimed was a flood of cheap sugar, US producers responded by launching an anti-dumping case in 2014. Before punitive tariffs were introduced, a deal was negotiated that set a floor price and strict quotas for Mexican imports. But that deal collapsed last year after US producers accused Mexico of gaming the system. Under the 2014 agreement Mexico, which expects to send almost 1m tonnes of sugar to the US this year, was allowed to send 53 per cent of its exports to the US as higher-value refined sugar. The US is pushing for Mexico to be forced to send 85 per cent of exports as less profitable raw sugar to be refined in US mills. That has angered the Mexican sugar industry and prompted its own protectionist calls. In a letter last week Enrique Bojórquez, president of Sucroliq, Mexico’s biggest liquid sugar producer, urged the government to crack down on imports of high fructose corn syrup from the US. “The US does well to defend its farmers. In Mexico, they are sacrificed,” he says. US farmers and refiners still accuse the Mexican industry of mounting a state-subsidised assault on their livelihoods and communities, pointing to a 2001 government rescue of the Mexican industry that saw 27 sugar mills nationalised with the last two returning to private hands only last year.
- vaccine
- http://edition.cnn.com/2017/01/10/politics/robert-f-kennedy-jr-donald-trump-vaccine-commission/
President-elect Donald Trump met with notable anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Tuesday, further stoking unfounded fears about vaccine safety and efficacy by asking the Democrat to chair a commission on the issue. But the Trump transition says no decision has been made on setting up a commission on autism, despite Robert Kennedy Jr. telling reporters he was asked by Trump to chair a committee on vaccination safety. "The President-elect enjoyed his discussion with Robert Kennedy Jr. on a range of issues and appreciates his thoughts and ideas. The President-elect is exploring the possibility of forming a commission on Autism, which affects so many families; however no decisions have been made at this time. The President-elect looks forward to continuing the discussion about all aspects of Autism with many groups and individuals," said Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks in statement. Kennedy, the son of late presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, told reporters after his meeting with Trump that the President-elect asked him to head a look into "vaccination safety and scientific integrity." Kennedy said he agreed to chair the commission. "President-elect Trump has some doubts about the current vaccine policies and he has questions about it," Kennedy said. "His opinion doesn't matter but the science does matter and we ought to be reading the science and we ought to be debating the science." Kennedy added that both he and Trump are "very pro-vaccine" but that they want to make sure vaccines are "as safe as they possibly can be." Neither Trump nor Kennedy are expressly pro-vaccine, though.
- health care / obama care
- Insurers threaten Obamacare pullout ft 6feb17
- Republican leaders risk missing another self-imposed deadline to reform US healthcare this week as they face growing criticism from both the most conservative and moderate members of their party.https://www.ft.com/content/aad78c34-59bb-11e7-9bc8-8055f264aa8b
- 美國特朗普政府在當地時間周二宣布，解禁基因改造病毒研究計劃。此舉意味着相關研究人員往後將更容易透過病毒的基因改造，從中了解高風險病毒的變異，不過有專家憂慮禁令一撤，相關病毒有機會變得更為致命。http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20171221/00180_005.html- civil service
- banks
- carbon tax
- https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jan/10/trump-could-slash-civil-service-pay-to-1-armageddon-rule Before he even won, Donald Trump had already threatened civil liberties and the central tenets of democracy when he said he wanted to jail his political opponent and sue the New York Times. Now Congress has made it possible for him to undermine something even bigger: government writ large. An arcane procedural rule allowing lawmakers to slash the pay of specific federal workers down to as low as $1 was quietly revived as part of appropriations negotiations last week. The so-called Holman Rule, named for the congressman who dreamed it up in 1876, is just the latest sign the Trump administration might target members of the civil service – the nation’s single largest employer – for politically motivated reasons. While such amendments would still have to be approved by majorities in the House and US Senate, with Republicans in control of both chambers and voting in unison, that’s not an implausible scenario. Take, for instance, the fact that all but three Republican members of the House ultimately voted for the passage of this rule as part of the spending package, despite early Republican grumblings behind closed doors. It’s not just this newly revived rule that makes federal workers vulnerable. As Maureen Gilman, legislative director for the National Treasury Employees Union, told the Washington Post last week: “This is part of a very chilling theme that federal workers are seeing right now.” We were ethics lawyers for Bush and Obama. The rule’s reinstatement follows a string of chilling moves by the Trump administration’s transition team, which already announced a freeze on federal hiring during Trump’s first 100 days, and a series of cabinet nominations that are antithetical to the agencies represented. (Consider, for starters, the climate denier who Trump would have lead the Environmental Protection Agency). Last week, the New York Times reported that the Trump administration, in a break with precedent, would be denying politically appointed ambassadors a grace period in vacating their posts.
- http://www.attn.com/stories/15072/programs-potentially-budget-chopping-block The Trump administration hasn't released their inaugural budget proposal yet, but word has spread of a draft kill list of federal programs and agencies to be eliminated that includes the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
- 美国特朗普政府17日宣布停止来往硅谷和三藩市的“加州火车”（Caltrain）的拨款计划。此前奥巴马政府已承诺拨出6.47亿美元，以支持“加州火车”的电气化升级计划，但特朗普政府的运输部将延后这笔拨款，重启时间未定。http://paper.takungpao.com/resfile/PDF/20170219/PDF/a20_screen.pdf
- banks
- https://www.ft.com/content/845247a6-f23d-11e6-95ee-f14e55513608 The “Trump bump” has prompted investors to load up on shares in US banks. But it has also rekindled interest in another form of bank investment — building one from scratch. The FDIC is weighing six applications for bank charters from five investor groups, across California, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida and Texas.
- https://www.ft.com/content/9e9b9b34-f5f4-11e6-bd4e-68d53499ed71 The American Bankers Association is hoping to capitalise on Donald Trump's vow to "do a number" on the Dodd-Frank act as it fights limits on swipe card charges included in post-crisis reforms.
- Mnuchin moves to ease banks' regulatory chains. Shares rise as investors look for lighter capital standards and gentler supervision. ft 14jun17
- http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-oil-gas-anti-corruption-remove-rules-deregulation-energy-industry-companies-a7581691.html
- Nebraska regulators approved a route for TransCanada Corp’s (TRP.TO) Keystone XL pipeline through the state on Monday, removing a big regulatory obstacle for the long-delayed project backed by President Donald Trump, but leaving its future shrouded in legal and market uncertainty.https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-pipeline-keystone/nebraska-clears-path-for-keystone-xl-pipeline-challenges-remain-idUSKBN1DK177
- Earlier Monday, President Trump laid out his vision for overhauling the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) — the agency that oversees all aspects of civil aviation. Part of Trump’s vision involves privatizing the agency’s air traffic control (ATC) function. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/06/05/trump-wants-to-privatize-air-traffic-control-heres-what-that-means/
- https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-10-16/airbus-to-buy-majority-stake-in-bombardier-c-series-jet-program Airbus SE agreed to acquire a majority stake in Bombardier Inc.’s C Series program and will start assembling the jetliner in the U.S., vaulting a technologically advanced but slow-selling plane onto the front lines of the battle with Boeing Co. over global aircraft sales.
- carbon tax
- https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-02-08/prominent-republicans-begin-push-to-tax-carbon-cut-regulations
- germany
- https://www.ft.com/content/e2d04cda-028f-11e7-ace0-1ce02ef0def9
One of President Donald Trump’s top trade advisers has called for bilateral negotiations with Berlin to reduce the US trade deficit with Germany, accusing Europe’s top economic power of hiding behind its membership of the EU.
- notable donations
- http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20170420/00180_015.html 美國聯邦選舉委員會周三公布的文件顯示，美國總統特朗普的就職委員會破紀錄獲一億七百萬美元（約八億三千萬港元）捐款。其中拉斯維加斯金沙集團主席艾德森（Sheldon Adelson）捐出五百萬美元（三千九百萬港元），為史上對就職典禮的最大筆捐款。
- 聯邦土地
- http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20170428/00180_016.html美國總統特朗普將於本周六迎來上任一百日，他周三再簽署行政命令實踐選舉承諾，下令內政部重新評估數十幅被指定為國家紀念區的聯邦土地。特朗普批評前屆政府霸佔龐大的聯邦土地，屬於濫用聯邦權力的行為。
- corporate communications
- http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/mike-dubke-quits-donald-trump-spin-doctor-resigns-no-explanation-president-us-a7762956.htmlDonald Trump's director of communications, Mike Dubke, has resigned without explanation after just three months in the role. The PR chief reportedly offered to stay on until the end of the US President's first foreign visit to ensure a smooth transition. The 47-year-old arrived in mid-February after Mr Trump had already taken office, and had not previously worked on his campaign or transition.
- conflict of interest
- Hussain Sajwani met with leaders in the two European nations and addressed local journalists, many of whom referred to his ties to President Donald Trump or simply called him “the Donald of Dubai.” Sajwani's trips, as well as a recent deal in Oman, show that Trump's business partner in Dubai wants to expand his development empire beyond the Mideast and a tower under construction in London. Enter Sajwani's DAMAC Properties, which launched a new effort this week to sell Trump-branded villas at the golf course bearing the American president's name. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/donald-of-dubai-billionaire-trump-name-conflict-of-interest-questions-hussain-sajwani-damac-a7893776.html
- http://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/28/politics/trump-tower-plan-moscow-during-election/index.html
- https://www.ft.com/content/8c6d9dca-882c-11e7-bf50-e1c239b45787 When Donald Trump sued Deutsche Bank in late 2008, it was “classic Trump”, according to the German bank, which sued him back. The New York property developer was trying to wriggle out of $40m of personal guarantees he had supplied on a $640m loan to build Trump International Hotel & Tower in downtown Chicago. The Lehman Brothers crisis was an unimaginable event that should get him off the hook, he argued. The future US president sought damages of $3bn — because the Deutsche-led consortium of lenders had just played a part in wrecking the world economy. The two sides sparred for a while before settling out of court. And within a couple of years Deutsche was back as Mr Trump’s go-to lender, continuing a relationship that has endured for decades, even as other big banks have deserted the litigation-prone developer. In June, Mr Trump disclosed outstanding loans from Deutsche of at least $130m, secured against properties in Miami and Washington in addition to the condominium-hotel in Chicago. The total is likely to be about $300m, according to people familiar with his borrowings.
- 美國總統特朗普長女伊萬卡除了是白宮高級顧問外，旗下公司的生意亦遍及全球，其公司更有多個在華商標註冊申請正等待中國政府批核。繼去年中美首腦在美國見面舉行當天，其公司即獲中國批准三個申請後，日前她又獲批至少五個商標。由於特朗普隨即放寬對中資的中興通訊的制裁，再度引起利益衝突之嫌。http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20180528/00178_012.html
- https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jun/11/ivanka-trump-jared-kushner-outside-income-white-house Financial disclosure forms released on Monday revealed how much Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner have earned from outside income while working at the White House, resurrecting concerns over possible conflicts of interest. The disclosures showed that the president’s daughter and son-in-law earned more than $82m in outside income in their first year serving as senior advisers to the president, the Washington Post first reported. Ivanka made $3.9m from her stake in the Trump International Hotel and reported more than $5m in earnings from her personal brand.
- Donald Trump has been accused by New York state prosecutors of illegally using his charitable foundation as a personal piggy bank, improperly tapping its funds to support his presidential campaign and settle legal claims against his businesses.https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/us/trump-accused-of-using-charitable-foundation-as-personal-piggy-bank-1.3530734
- 美國總統特朗普女兒兼白宮高級顧問伊萬卡，早前因獲中國政府批出多個在華註冊商標，被指涉及利益衝突。雖然她已經關閉同名自家品牌業務，但有組織發現她於上月仍獲中國政府批出十八個新的商標註冊，更耐人尋味的是，其中一項商標涉及投票機。http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20181107/00180_011.html
- https://www.ft.com/content/d8936214-bd8d-11e9-b350-db00d509634e
Two resorts bearing the Trump family name have begun sales of luxury villas and other residences in Indonesia, as the US president’s son dismissed suggestions that the projects represented a conflict of interest for his father. At a press conference in Jakarta on Tuesday, Donald Trump Jr, the president’s son and executive vice-president at The Trump Organization, said the Indonesian ventures were two of the last deals the company agreed before his father entered politics four years ago.
Removal of colonial/slavery monuments
- washington national cathedral announced removal of robert lee and thomas jonathan stonewall jackson's stained glass 教聲17sep17
- washington national cathedral announced removal of robert lee and thomas jonathan stonewall jackson's stained glass 教聲17sep17
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