A bipartisan effort
Link to quote: US House to vote to force ByteDance to divest TikTok or face ban (msn.com)
If all goes according to plan, the U.S. House of Representatives plans to vote on a bill today that would give TikTok's Chinese owner ByteDance about six months to divest the U.S. assets of the short-video app used by about 170 million Americans or face a ban. TikTok, believe it or not is where a lot of the younger generation goes for "news." One of the complaints, among others is that TikTok is a propaganda device used by the Chinese government. It is also gathering & storing the information of users. Last but not least it is a negative influence on the young. That may be why China bans it from its own people. For all these reasons, bipartisan support has grown for a bill that would force ByteDance to sell TikTok.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee last week voted 50-0 in favor of the bill, setting it up for a vote before the full House. Republicans are ready to vote for the bill despite the fact that Donald Trump who once tried to ban TikTok is now in favor of letting it continue as is in order to provide competition to Face Book. On the other side of the aisle democrats are also ready to vote for the bill despite the fact that Joe Biden has aggressively used TikTok to reach younger voters.
Though the bill is likely to pass in the House, it may be a different story in the Senate. The Senate won't be the only hurdle. The big question is whether the Chinese government is willing to approve any such sale.
On Monday, the top U.S. intelligence official released a report saying that the Chinese government had used TikTok to promote its propaganda to Americans and to influence the 2022 midterm elections.
In other news:
Last night Biden and Trump swept primary elections, locking up the nomination for each man.
Representative Ken Buck, a Colorado Republican is planning to retire from congress as early as next week. The Republican House majority is now down to about two votes, as the GOP continues to lose its majority by attrition.
A ship carrying 200 tons of food for Gaza departed Cyprus. It’s the first test of that route for aid. All the aid seemingly ends up in the hands of Hamas.
The White House walked back its "red line" for Israel, but warned against an attack on the city of Rafah without protecting civilians there.
As the end for Hamas nears, Hezbollah fired over 100 rockets into northern Israel.
The Biden administration claims to have found $300 million unused funds in the military budget, which it will use without any congressional authorization for weapons to aid Ukraine.
Somebody attacked Aleksei Navalny’s chief of staff with a hammer & tear gas.
The Kremlin fired its top naval commander. That has to be a tough job since Ukraine has received state of the art anti-ship missiles.
A Boeing whistle-blower who reported problems at the company’s 787 Dreamliner factory in South Carolina was found dead. Officials said the cause appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Overall inflation in the U.S. sped up slightly last month.
Migrant children are illegally selling candy on the NYC subway. Local officials are ignoring it.
Democrat Rep. Eric Swalwell — who was removed from the House Intelligence Committee over his relationship with a Chinese spy — says Special Counsel Hur can't be credible unless he refuses to accept a non-existent presidential appointment.
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What will the CCP do if this bill ever gets past both houses of congress?
Hillary Clinton thinks Putin might try to interfere in the 2024 election as he did in 2016.
Evidently Putin took a breather in 2020.
He was letting Xi have his go at US election interference in 2020 and 2022.
The pandemic had a dramatic effect on the 2020 election. Still Trump got 73 million votes.
Does anyone remember Chinagate?
It's hilarious that Russia (insert action here) always comes up when democrats are looking at a losing election.
Evidently, consistency is not Putin's strong suit
And it runs along with Democrats consistency.
They got China twice.
Could you please provide proof of that?
Hamas doesn't have the resources to send their people out to gather aid packages. They are too busy fighting to hold onto what little scraps of land they still own. I am not saying some of the aid doesn't still end up in their hands- families with members in Hamas are ensuring some of the food/medical supplies reach them. But the vast majority doesn't make it past the rest of the 2 plus million starving Gazans.
As shown by aid convoys from Egypt and US air drops into Gaza there is no authority in charge of Gaza. It has descended into mob rule/survival of the fittest.
Proof that it seems that way?
Here is what I constantly read:
Because helping the people of Gaza inevitably means going through the tight control of Hamas, "you can try all you want to hermetically seal that aid so Hamas’ fingerprints are not on it, but there will always be limitations," Barnett said. "The hope is that it’s always limited."
PolitiFact | Can the U.S. keep aid to Gaza out of Hamas’ hands?
Hamas doesn't have the resources to send their people out to gather aid packages. They are too busy fighting to hold onto what little scraps of land they still own. I am not saying some of the aid doesn't still end up in their hands- families with members in Hamas are ensuring some of the food/medical supplies reach them. But the vast majority doesn't make it past the rest of the 2 plus million starving Gazans.
At least we can now say that Hamas is down to about 25% of the size it was only a year ago and you are right, they are now fighting for their lives. We can only hope the people will get some of the aid.
As shown by aid convoys from Egypt and US air drops into Gaza there is no authority in charge of Gaza. It has descended into mob rule/survival of the fittest.
That is a fact. It is a sad fact of war.
That was prior to the Israeli incursion into Gaza. If Hamas still had control people wouldn't dare be mobbing aid drops.
Hamas is no longer the problem with aid reaching the people. That falls squarely on Israel. They are the power that is in charge of Gaza. But they never have cared about the Palestinians.
The aid that is being sent now is not nearly enough. Over two million people- if that is still even the number with all of deaths caused by the fighting; buried under the rubble; starvation; exposure; and lack of medical treatment. I am sure the real death toll will never be known- and both sides will exaggerate it for their own purposes. Whatever it is- it will be to damn many.
Real aid will not even be able to start coming in until after the fighting ends. At the minimum Israel says it will be two more months just for them to try and clean out Rafah. I am willing to bet there will be still some Hamas, and their surrogates operating after that. Not to mention some of the two million beginning to organize and attack the IDF- even if it is just will rocks and sling shots (what else do they have to do in Gaza besides fight for survival?)
Aid workers (especially those from the US and Europe) will not be looked upon or treated favorably. Palestinians aren't stupid- they know who is responsible for Israel's existence.
The peace process is dead. There will never be a two state solution. The US has handed Israel it's victory after decades of one sided aid. The only question left is how far will Israel expand into their neighbor countries as Palestinians in Lebanon and Syria (the two most obvious with Hezbollah), Jordan, Egypt, and elsewhere decide it is time to take up the fight?
Wonder if Canada can be forced to take all of the displaced Palestinians (they have more than enough open land)- I am sure they will be a discontented lot no matter what country they end up in. Who can blame them- they will have literally lost everything.
At least 4 more of my friend's family members have made it out of the West Bank all female college students two of which already have US VISAS for study here. Tthey are assuming that all of their family in Gaza is dead- as they have had no contact for over a month and a half. Since their 1 lone family member made it out- and is now a nurse in Qatar. Seems the US has too many nurses and rejected her amnesty claim. Family sponsors who are US citizens don't count for much with the state department.
Just remember this- because this is what Zionists want. It will not end with the West Bank and Gaza.
It is important that the IDF takes Rafah. After that Hamas will at the very least be emasculated.
As for Israel dominating the region, Obama took good care of that as Iran is expected to have nuclear weapons very soon.
Assuming that the Palestinians in Gaza don't reorganize Hamas (their leaders are in Qatar and the money comes from Iran); or will they form a different group. There will be plenty of hatred in Gaza to go around and cultivate. Especially if Israel decides to occupy Gaza and start settlements. About the only thing Israel has done is delayed a future attack as Gazans rebuild their lives; rearm; and retrain.
Israel is still the bully on the block in the ME. No country in the ME can match their military strength. The US has made sure of that.
If Iran decides to use nuclear weapons against Israel it will be mutual assured destruction. That is assuming it doesn't become of multi country nuclear war. Saudi Arabia and Egypt will be acquiring nuclear weapons of their own as soon as it is confirmed Iran has them. Whether they are instructed/supplied by the US or Russia. Given how put off Saudi Arabia is with Brandon over his criticizing the Crown Prince; and how disgusted Egypt has been with him over trying to force Palestinian refugees from Gaza on them- the US might lose both allies to Russia influence. Not sure which side they would fall on- given that Saudi Arabia has sought peace with Iran; and are in full negotiations with the Houthi for a peace agreement.
Democratic Congressman Hank Johnson attacks former Special Counsel Robert Hur with false information, then accuses him of releasing a hit job on Biden to help get Trump re-elected and secure a federal judge appointment.
Isn't he the one who thought the island of Guam would tip over if we increased our military presence there?
How could we forget.
Before I forget, the House needs to censor Cori Bush: She referred to Trump as the former White Supremacist in Chief.
The Bill has just passed the House.
"The House of Representatives has passed a bill that could pave the way for TikTok to be banned in U.S. app stores.
Both Democrats and Republicans supported the measure, which advanced out of committee in a unanimous 50-0 bipartisan vote. It's a rare show of bipartisan unity in a heavily fractured political environment.
The bill, led by House China select committee Chair Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., and ranking member Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., would block TikTok in the U.S. if its parent company, Bytedance, does not divest from it within 165 days of passage. It would also require it to be bought by a country that is not a U.S. adversary."
House passes bill that could see TikTok banned in US | Fox Business
As for the Senate: Chuck Schumer will not commit to putting the Bill on the floor.
Democrats will blame Trump for blocking it of course.
The hell with US security. Chuck is doing a study on how many votes it will cost the dems vs how many votes the dems will get if it is passed.