News of the World

[kyonides]

US NEWS

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Boston Democrats Look to Extend Voting Rights to Foreign Nationals

Councilwoman Kendra Lara (D) introduced the measure, which would allow foreign nationals on green cards, visas, and other forms of legal status to vote in Boston municipal elections. The measure is likely to gain widespread support from the council, which is made up of 12 Democrats.
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Though immigrants, particularly those with legal status, pay taxes and contribute to Boston’s economy, they are not able to participate in the electoral process, in what I believe is a violation of one of our foundational American principles. By moving this home rule petition forward, Boston can begin the process of making good on our promise to build a city that is for everyone. [Emphasis added]

Councilman Ricardo Arroyo (D) has already praised giving foreign nationals the right to vote as an initiative that would boost voter turnout in Boston.
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Nearly three in ten Boston residents are foreign-born, though it is unclear how many would be eligible to vote under Lara’s plan.

Biden and Xi Emerge from Four-Hour Meeting with Deal to Restore Military Contact

President Joe Biden and Chinese dictator Xi Jinping had their much-touted face-to-face meeting in San Francisco on Wednesday, spending about four hours dining and walking the grounds at the historic Filoli estate.

The two major outcomes touted by the White House were that Xi agreed to resume U.S.-China military communications and to help reduce production in China of the deadly drug fentanyl.

The White House did not portray the meeting as a summit, which would have entailed a longer list of accomplishments and a joint statement.

Biden and Xi gave a joint press conference from the Filoli estate before their talks, but it consisted mostly of diplomatic pleasantries, with the two leaders talking about how long they have known each other, how much they value each other’s candor, and how important the relationship between the United States and China is to the rest of the world.

Xi used his remarks at the press conference to press China’s view that the coronavirus pandemic – which he refused to take responsibility for – is over and the worldwide economy is “sluggish.”

“Industrial and supply chains are still under the threat of interruption and protectionism is rising. All these are grave problems,” Xi said, as though he were not the autocratic ruler of one of the most protectionist economies in the world.

 Yeah, I wonder  who should we blame for that mess.

Pro-Palestinian Protesters Clash with Police Outside DNC, Arrests Made

Several arrests have been made outside the DNC offices in Washington, DC, where pro-Palestinian protesters violently clashed with police on Wednesday.

“U.S. Capitol Police said they were making arrests at a pro-Palestinian protest on Wednesday night in Southeast D.C.,” noted NBC Washington.

“The protesters had gathered outside of the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) just south of the Capitol before authorities said several dozen demonstrators got into a shoving match with officers,” it added.

Police then used pepper spray and pushed back on protesters to move them a block away from the building. Members of the DNC were evacuated. People have also been asked to avoid the area.

“Right now our officers are working to keep back approximately 150 people who are illegally and violently protesting in the area of Canal Street and Ivy Street, SE,” police said in a post on X.

Banks are in troubles

Jim Jordan Subpoenas Bank of America over Giving Americans’ Bank Info to FBI After January 6

The Judiciary Committee said that BoA, voluntarily and without legal process, provided the FBI with a list of individuals who made transactions in the D.C. area using a BoA debit or credit card between January 5 and 7, 2021.

Steven Jensen, the FBI’s then-Section Chief of the Domestic Terrorism Operations Section, said he acted to “pull” the BoA information from FBI systems because the “leads lacked allegations of federal criminal conduct.”

The committee’s findings contradict the BoA claim that the information provided to the FBI went through a lawful process:

Contrary to these assertions, however, documents on file with the Committee and Select Subcommittee indicate that the FBI—not the U.S. Department of the Treasury—initiated contact directly to BoA, and without legal process. As a result, it is unclear what “legal” process permits the FBI or BoA to share the sensitive customer information of potentially thousands of BoA customers and implicate them in a federal law enforcement investigation without any clear criminal nexus. To that end, BoA’s letter claimed that certain federal laws—namely, the Anti-Money Laundering Act and the Bank Secrecy Act—permit such an arrangement. However, these laws and corresponding regulations primarily contemplate information-sharing with the U.S. Department of Treasury and its components, not external correspondence with the FBI.
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Bank of America told Politico it “followed all applicable laws in our interactions with the Trump Administration’s Treasury Department and law enforcement.”

This is the latest subpoena in this investigation; Jordan subpoenaed Citibank to “to determine the extent to which financial institutions, such as Citibank, have worked with the FBI to collect Americans’ financial data.”

Federal Regulators Warn Wells Fargo to Stop Customers’ Financial Crimes

Federal regulators have issued Wells Fargo formal orders demanding they get better at catching customers who misuse their services for criminal acts, as the bank faces a lawsuit alleging they allowed a $460 million Ponzi scheme to operate.

A Wall Street Journal report with inside sources revealed that the Federal Reserve is coming down on Wells Fargo for their struggle to get in compliance with its regulatory obligation to monitor financial crime, and a “public penalty such as a consent order” may be on the table.

The bank has been wrapped up in controversy for years, with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announcing charges against them in May 2022 for failing to file at least 34 Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) in a timely manner between April 2017 and October 2021.

When Wells Fargo failed to file those reports, they were in violation of the Bank Secrecy Act— a law requiring financial institutions to assist government agencies in preventing money laundering and other criminality. The broker-dealer agreed to pay $7 million to settle the charges at the time.

The new Journal report revealed that after regulators privately brought up those concerns, Wells Fargo replaced their executive who was responsible for keeping the company in compliance with the legislation in an effort to “rebuild its sprawling risk and control apparatus so it can better prevent and catch problems.”

ASIAN NEWS

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Chinese Communist Party Pushes Private Sector ‘Partnerships’ to Grab Business Assets

Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported on Monday that the Communist government wants private companies to become “deeply involved” in joint ventures with state-owned corporations to develop infrastructure projects that would supposedly “stimulate domestic demand and reboot the flagging economy.”

“The idea is to hand out ‘franchises’ for projects that could benefit from private-sector assets and know-how, under a scheme that Beijing is hoping will bring local government finances ‘into the sunshine’ and ‘curb new, hidden debt carried by local governments,’” RFA said, quoting Chinese State Council guidelines.

Skeptical analysts noted this vision of public-private partnerships building everything the “public” government wants because it might eventually help the “private” partners make a little money, sounds a lot like the ruinous centrally-planned economy China seemingly escaped from with the economic reforms of the 1980s.

Chinese private business owners could not help noticing their government “partners” are holding ominous regulatory whips and muttering about how only “Marxist theory” can tame China’s “unruly” financial sector. Being called “unruly” by a Communist means you’re about to get ruled, good and hard.

China's new home prices drop in 80% of major cities

The latest data from China shows that prices of new homes dropped in 80 percent of major cities in October.
This indicates the real estate market slump continues to spread despite the central government's measures to prop up the economy.

The National Bureau of Statistics says prices fell in 56 out of the 70 cities. The number is up by two from September. Prices rose in 11 cities and remained flat in three.

The government has introduced measures such as easing mortgage-related regulations since summer. But analysts say the effects are limited.

China's real estate sector, including related industries, is said to account for about a quarter of the country's GDP.

Japan, Philippines agree to boost security cooperation

The foreign ministers of Japan and the Philippines have agreed to enhance security cooperation between the two countries with China's increasing maritime activities in mind.

Japan's Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko met with her Philippine counterpart Enrique Manalo in San Francisco on Wednesday. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

Referring to Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio's visit to the Philippines earlier this month, Kamikawa said it was meaningful that the leaders of the two countries confirmed they would maintain and strengthen a free and open international order based on the rule of law.

Manalo responded that he would like to further enhance relations with Japan.

Amid China's growing maritime presence, Japan will provide the Philippines with coastal surveillance radar systems under its new security assistance program.

The two ministers agreed to boost the bilateral security partnership and steadily promote trilateral cooperation with the United States.

Kamikawa also met with her Peruvian counterpart Javier Gonzalez-Olaechea. They agreed to deepen economic cooperation, including strengthening supply chains of critical minerals such as copper and lead.