Trump Ads Attack Biden With Deceptive Editing and Hyperbole  by Linda Qiu August 15, 2020, 6:37 PM GMT+3President Donald Trump tosses „Keep America Great” hats to supporters down the road from his golf club during an unscheduled stop, in Bedminster, N.J., July 26, 2020. (Al Drago/The New York Times)President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign has spent tens of millions of dollars on television ads attacking his Democratic opponent, Joe Biden. While their content varies greatly, be it the coronavirus, police funding, taxes or charter schools, the tactics used remain constant: selectively edited remarks and exaggerations.The New York Times reviewed 22 ads from the Trump campaign that have aired since June and that have been tracked by Advertising Analytics. The Times found that 14 of those ads contained clearly misleading claims or videos. Here’s a review.Exaggerations About Criminal Justice Policy Throughout much of June and July, the ads have focused on activists’ calls to defund the police with hyperbolic warnings about the ramifications.One, titled “Break-In,” begins with a voice describing “Seattle’s pledge to defund its police department by 50%, even including a proposal to remove 911 dispatchers from police control” as an older woman notices someone breaking into her house and dials 911.The woman’s call is then answered by a voice recording: “You have reached 911. I’m sorry that there is no one here to answer your emergency call. Leave a message and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.”Seven of Seattle’s nine council members support cutting and reprogramming 50% of the police department’s budget, but have yet to lay out a specific plan, while the city’s Democratic mayor and police chief oppose the goal.Council members did express interest in a proposal from activists seeking to replace the police department’s call center with a system controlled by civilians. It would not end the use of emergency dispatchers altogether, as the voicemail message in the ad suggests.Another spot devotes the entire 30 seconds to a more elaborate version of the emergency call voicemail, overlaid with text claiming that “violent crime has exploded” because of calls to defund the police — a claim echoed in three additional Trump campaign ads.But that’s largely false. Compared with the same time period last year, violent crime and property crime have decreased through June in large American cities this year, though murders have increased.Those ominous ad blitzes have run in major markets in swing states during programs with broad appeal like the “Today” show, “Good Morning America,” “Jeopardy!” and “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” according to data from Advertising Analytics.A Trump campaign ad running during shows popular with Black audiences — “Maury,” “The Steve Wilkos Show” and “The Wendy Williams Show” — is sounding a different message: “Mass incarceration has put hundreds of thousands behind bars for minor offenses. Joe Biden wrote those laws.”But it is wrong to blame Biden, who sponsored the Senate version of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, for mass incarceration. States began passing harsher sentencing laws in the 1970s and 1980s. Though the federal crime bill encouraged the trend, it was not the genesis or principal factor.Distorting Biden’s Positions  Several Trump campaign ads falsely claim Biden supports defunding the police, heavily raising taxes on middle-class families and eliminating charter schools.“Break-In” features Fox News host Sean Hannity claiming, “Joe Biden said he’s absolutely on board with defunding the police” before a clip of Biden saying, “Yes, absolutely.”The former vice president has repeatedly said that he does not support calls to defund the police entirely, but that federal grants to police departments should incentivize reform efforts and best practices while specific decisions about funding should be made at a local level.“I don’t support defunding the police,” Biden said in June in an interview with CBS. “I support conditioning federal aid to police based on whether or not they meet certain basic standards of decency and honorableness.”Asked during a June town hall event about Los Angeles’ decision to shift $150 million from its police department, Biden responded: “Some places, they’re short on having enough people to cover the community or others the police departments have a lot more than they need. And so it depends on the community.”The Trump campaign ad also took Biden’s comment out of context. In a July discussion, prominent liberal activist Ady Barkan asked Biden whether he would support redirecting “some of the funding for police into social services, mental health counseling and affordable housing.”Biden agreed and listed his proposals to increase funding for mental health clinics, more federal oversight of police departments, and restricting military equipment sold to the police.“But do we agree that we can redirect some of the funding?” Barkan asked.“Yes, absolutely,” Biden responded.The published version of that conversation edited out some of Biden’s remarks that made his positions clearer. In the full version, provided to The Times by the Biden campaign, Biden emphasized that his proposals were “not the same as getting rid of or defunding all the police” and repeated that he believed federal grants to departments should be “conditioned.”Other spots warn that Biden “supports massive taxes on working families.” A new ad titled “Takeover” misleadingly cites the Tax Policy Center to claim that he would impose “trillions in new taxes, crushing middle-class families.”Analysis from the center does show that Biden’s tax proposals would generate an additional $4 trillion in federal revenue over the next decade, but the Trump campaign is wrong that this would come from the middle class. Rather, the wealthiest top 1% of taxpayers would bear about three-quarters of tax increases. In contrast, middle-class taxpayers would see an average increase of $260, totaling 2.4% of the total burden.“Takeover” and a similar ad called “In His Own Words” also take a Biden quotation out of context: “If you elect me, your taxes are going to be raised, not cut.”That remark occurred at an event in February in South Carolina, where Biden asked the audience, to laughs, “How many of you did really well with that $1.9 trillion tax cut?” When one audience member answered affirmatively, Biden addressed that person specifically. “I’m glad to see you doing well already,” he said. “But guess what, if you elect me, your taxes are going to be raised, not cut if you benefited from that.”Biden has long criticized the 2017 tax cut as disproportionately benefiting the rich, though his criticisms have veered into exaggerations when he said only the rich received tax cuts. His comment in South Carolina was a riff on that theme.In a Spanish-language ad, the Trump campaign exaggerated Biden’s stance on charter schools: “Democrats and Biden are too extreme. Socialism, cut police funding, take away charter schools and Biden is too weak to defend us.”The ad cites a an education forum MSNBC hosted in December with Democratic presidential hopefuls in which Biden criticized Education Secretary Betsy Devos’ policy on sexual assaults on college campuses.“If I’m president, Betsy DeVos’s whole notion from charter schools to this are gone,” Biden said.That line, however, is not representative of Biden’s position on charter schools. He was referring to his opposition to DeVos’ support for voucher programs for charter schools, according to a spokesman. He supports continuing federal funding for high-performing public charter schools.Personal Attacks on Biden Through Edited Media The Trump campaign has taken shots at Biden’s mental acuity through deceptively edited videos and images.One ad and its Spanish version call Biden “clearly diminished” and include a clip of Biden saying, “Sometimes I wake up and think it’s 1920.”While Biden has been prone to gaffes on the campaign trail, that specific comment is not an example of one. Rather, it is how Biden has occasionally expressed dismay over the current social and political atmosphere.“Some mornings that I wake up, I wonder whether or not we are living in 2020 or 1920,” he said in January in Texas. “I hear the voices of intolerance singing the chorus of hate, intolerance.”“As I said in your church, rev, sometimes I wake up and think it’s 1920 and not 2020,” Biden at a February event in South Carolina. “The way in which we talk to one another today, the way in which — the debasing of politics that has occurred, the way in which this president, Trump, has so demeaned individuals.”This article originally appeared in The New York Times.© 2020 The New York Times Company

The US said federal agents have seized millions of dollars in bitcoin from terrorist groups al-Qaeda and Hamas  by insider@insider.com (Katie Canales)August 14, 2020, 9:38 PM GMT+3An American flag flies outside the Department of Justice in Washington in March 2019. Andrew Harnik/AP

• Federal agents have seized millions of dollars worth of bitcoin that terrorist organizations were using to carry out their violent campaigns, the US Department of Justice said Thursday.
• As part of the operation, officials also seized a website and four Facebook pages that ISIS was using to sell fake personal protective equipment.
• The seizure was just one part of a broader crackdown on the financial operations behind terrorist groups.
• Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Federal agents have seized millions of dollars in bitcoin and more than 300 cryptocurrency wallets controlled by the terrorist organizations al-Qaeda and al-Qassam Brigades, the military arm of the Hamas group.A press release, published by the Department of Justice Thursday, says its the government’s „largest-ever seizure of cryptocurrency” from terrorist organizations. The seizure was just a facet of a broader initiative to dismantle the financial operations of terrorist groups. Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Homeland Security, and the Internal Revenue Service were all involved in the investigation.Al-Qassam Brigades and al-Qaeda had regularly asked for cryptocurrency donations to support their cause, using social media to amplify their requests.Al-Qassam Brigades first started doing so in early 2019 with a social media request for bitcoin donations that the group said would be used for violent causes. But they weren’t anonymous as the organization wished — federal agents from various agencies were able to capture all 150 of the crypto accounts and redirect donated funds to bitcoin wallets operated by the US government.And undercover HSI agents were able to seize 155 „virtual currency assets” connected to al-Qaeda.The US also seized a website and four Facebook pages that ISIS was using to sell fake personal protective equipment. Officials said US customers could have inadvertently bought into the scheme by attempting to purchase PPE, which has been in short supply since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.The investigation still has to go to court, at which point the government will decide if the funds will be forfeited. If it does, funds collected from the wallets „may in whole or in part” be donated to an organization that supports victims of terrorism.Read the original article on Business Insider

World

Asylum seekers on virus frontlines to get Canada residency

Don EMMERT

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AFP•August 14, 2020

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Canada is to offer permanent residency to asylum seekers who put themselves at risk to care for coronavirus patients, Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino said Friday.

They will be able to apply for residency for themselves and their families if they had submitted their application by March 2020, even if their demand had already been rejected.

The measure will apply to asylum seekers who have helped directly care for the sick in a health clinic, a nursing home or a household, Mendicino told a news conference.

„As these individuals face an uncertain future in Canada, the current circumstances merit exceptional measures, in recognition of their exceptional service during the pandemic,” Mendicino said.

„They put themselves at risk. And we are grateful for their service, for their sacrifice. And for their instinct to put the needs of community ahead of all else,” he said.

In May, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised to consider a regularization program for people doing „heroic work” in the midst of the pandemic.

The head of Quebec’s provincial government Francois Legault called them „guardian angels”.

The majority of the asylum seekers work in Quebec, the Canadian region worst hit by the pandemic, with close to 61,000 cases of Covid-19 and 5,715 deaths.

Those numbers are roughly half of all infections and deaths in Canada, which nationwide has recorded 121,000 cases with 9,050 fatalities.

Nursing homes accounted for more than 80 percent of coronavirus-related deaths in Canada.

Nationwide, the new measure is expected to affect at most 1,000 people, lawyers for the asylum seekers told Radio-Canada on Friday.

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World

Israel strikes Gaza targets after arson balloons launched

FARES AKRAM

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Associated Press•August 16, 2020

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A Palestinian boy inspects the damage in his family home following Israeli airstrikes in Buriej refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2020. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli aircraft bombed several sites belonging to the militant Hamas group in the Gaza Strip for a fifth night in a row, the Israeli military said early Sunday.

Shortly after that announcement, the military said Palestinian militants in Gaza fired two rockets into southern Israel that were intercepted by aerial defense systems. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

The military said the airstrikes were in response to arson balloons that Hamas-affiliated groups sent across the Gaza frontier into Israeli territory. The balloons have caused dozens of fires that burned Israeli farmland in recent days.

On Saturday, dozens of Palestinians took part in nighttime protests along the Gaza-Israel perimeter fence. The military said the protesters “burned tires, hurled explosive devices and grenades towards the security fence and attempted to approach it.”

TheGaza health ministry said two demonstrators were wounded by Israeli gunfire.

Israel shouldered Hamas, which rules Gaza, the responsibility for all violent acts from the Palestinian territory.

After months of calm reinforced by the coronavirus pandemic, the Gaza-Israel frontier has turned volatile over the past week.

Khalil al-Hayya, a senior Hamas official, accused Israel on Saturday of not honoring an informal truce to ease the blockade it has imposed on Gaza since Hamas took it over in 2007.

He told Hamas’ al-Aqsa TV that the Palestinian people in Gaza were experiencing “slow death” by the blockade. “The zone of confrontation with the enemy is expanding day after day in response to its continued aggression,” he said.

He said Egyptian mediators were expected to visit the region to discuss reinforcing the truce, but no timing has been set.

Days after deal with UAE, anti-Netanyahu protests resume

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  Israelis hold signs and chant slogans during a demonstration against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu near the Prime Minister’s residence in Jerusalem, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2020. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)

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  Israelis hold signs and chant slogans during a demonstration against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu near the Prime Minister’s residence in Jerusalem, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2020. Hebrew reads:”go to prison „(AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)

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  Israelis hold signs and chant slogans during a demonstration against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu near the Prime Minister’s residence in Jerusalem, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2020. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)
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  Israelis hold signs and chant slogans during a demonstration against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu near the Prime Minister’s residence in Jerusalem, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2020. Hebrew reads:”cuffs on the hands?we’ll spread our wings” (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)

 

SHLOMO MOR

August 15, 2020, 9:43 PM GMT+3

JERUSALEM (AP) — Thousands of Israelis demonstrated outside the official residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday night, resuming their calls for the embattled leader to step down despite his historic agreement to establish diplomatic ties with the United Arab Emirates.

Israelis have been gathering outside Netanyahu’s residence several times a week throughout the summer, protesting his handling of the coronavirus crisis and saying he should not remain in office while on trial for corruption charges.

While Netanyahu has tried to play down the protests, the gatherings appear to be getting stronger. Even Netanyahu’s blockbuster announcement Thursday announcing plans to establish ties with the UAE, making it just the third Arab country currently to have formal diplomatic relations with Israel, appeared to have no effect on the protesters’ momentum.

Thousands of people thronged central Jerusalem late Saturday, blaring horns, hoisting Israeli flags and chanting slogans against Netanyahu. A smaller protest took place near Netanyahu’s private beach home in the upscale coastal town of Caesaria, while other gatherings took place on bridges and intersections across the country.

There was a heavy police presence at the demonstrations but no reports of serious violence. In the central town of Hadera, police said they arrested a 20-year-old man who threw firecrackers at demonstrators.

The rallies against Netanyahu are the largest Israel has seen since 2011 protests over the country’s high cost of living. Even so, they do not appear to pose an immediate threat to Netanyahu.

After moving quickly to contain the virus last spring, many believe Israel reopened its economy too quickly, leading to a surge in cases. The country is now coping with a spike in cases, while unemployment has surged to over 20%.

Many of the demonstrators, including many young unemployed Israelis, accuse Netanyau of mishandling the coronavirus crisis and the economic damage it has caused.

The demonstrations, taking place several times a week at locations around the country, are organized by a loose-knit network of activist groups. Some object to Netanyahu remaining in office while he is on trial. He has been charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in a series of scandals. Many carry black flags, the name of one of the grassroots movements.