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Biden losing ground with independents

By
IFP Media Wire
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Biden has lost support among a key bloc of voters that helped catapult him to the White House: independents. 

The current gridlock on Capitol Hill coupled with the messy withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan and his handling of the ongoing crisis at the Mexican border has contributed to the lag in support from independent and more moderate voters.  

Recent polls show Biden’s numbers falling drastically with the key demographic.

A Gallup poll last week found Biden’s approval rating among independents falling to 37 percent, the lowest it has been since Biden took office, and slipping 24 points below his 61 percent approval rating at the beginning of his administration. 

An ABC/Ipsos poll this week showed independents souring on Biden’s handling of key issues, including the pandemic, infrastructure and the Afghanistan withdrawal. The poll found the president’s approval on his handling of the pandemic dropped 7 percentage points from August to September among independents, and Biden saw a 9-point drop among independents on his handling of infrastructure.

And an Associated Press poll released Friday found Biden’s approval rating among independents had dropped from 62 percent in July to 38 percent in September. Friday’s poll has Biden’s overall approval rating at 50 percent, down from 54 percent in August.  

Political analysts link the bad numbers to a difficult few months for Biden, and to a lack of results with his legislative agenda, which is stuck in Congress.

“Independents are seeing, after an arguably successful six months of his presidency, a significant lack of results and a lot of consternation on Capitol Hill,” said Democratic strategist Mike Morey, a former aide to Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.). 

“They just want things to get done and be well. I think if you look at the numbers around Afghanistan, they didn’t see the withdrawal as neat and they don’t see what’s happening on Capitol Hill as neat,” Morey added.

Biden has seen two key pillars of his economic agenda stalled on Capitol Hill in recent weeks. A $1.1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill that passed the Senate in August has yet to pass the House after progressive Democrats vowed to oppose it until a larger reconciliation package was finalized containing commitments to spending on health care, education and climate programs.

Polls show the infrastructure bill is popular with both parties and independents, and its passage has been seen as Biden’s best chance for a significant bipartisan victory given its support from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and other Republicans.  

The president has similarly seen pledges to act on gun violence, voting rights and immigration run into a brick wall in the Senate, where a 50-50 split has allowed Republicans to block major bills.

Privately, some Democrats have expressed concern about the recent polling numbers they’re seeing for Biden. They wonder if the surveys have lasting power, particularly as critical gubernatorial races loom in the coming weeks and as next year’s midterm elections draw nearer.

Biden ran on a promise to break Washington’s fever after the Donald Trump years, but has had limited success. Opposition to the infrastructure bill from progressives in his party could be particularly problematic in reaching independents who just want to see things get done.

“I think there is definitely some concern that Biden isn’t really doing the things he said he’d be doing, like making things run smoothly again after four tumultuous years,” said one Democratic strategist. 

“A lot of people feel like they haven’t seen much of that lately, especially if you’re not drinking the Biden Kool-Aid,” the strategist added.

Matt Bennett, the co-founder and executive vice president of the centrist think tank Third Way, threw cold water on the Gallup poll, calling it an outlier.

“It’s very temporary,” Bennett stated, noting, “It’s a snapshot in time.”

He said Biden could drive his approvals back up again if the two bills are able to pass in the coming days. The passing of those measures would “put some wind in his sails”.

“That’s what independents want government to do,” he stated of Congress passing the bill, adding, “It will resonate with them.”

Biden’s slide among independents is part of a broader dip in his poll numbers that began in early August as coronavirus cases spiked and the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan led to turmoil. White House officials have largely shrugged off the latest polls, arguing it can be chalked up to anxieties about the pandemic. 

Biden, in fact, still has higher approval numbers when it comes to dealing with the pandemic. The ABC News/Ipsos poll, for example, shows Biden receiving 57 percent on the handling of COVID-19. The survey is helping to ease some of the anxiety Democrats are feeling when it comes to Biden’s numbers on other issues. 

“It’s all about COVID, at least right now,” one strategist said, adding, “Some people will disagree with me but I think that’s all that really matters now. The closer he can come to bringing the country back from the brink, the better.” 

There is optimism that the country has moved past the peak of the delta variant surge as cases and hospitalizations begin falling across much of the country, further feeding into the belief among Democrats that if Biden can get his economic agenda in place it will benefit the president and party members down the ballot.

“Democrats win when they unify behind popular policies that help people, instead of letting the outliers set the agenda,” a coalition of progressive groups said in a statement after Thursday’s infrastructure vote was delayed, adding, “Today, Democrats’ best hope is to unify behind what the people who voted for them want, not cater to the unpopular views of extremist outliers whose priorities resemble those of corporate lobbyists.”

Report: 330k children abused in France’s Catholic Church

By
IFP Media Wire
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An estimated 330,000 children have been victims of sexual abuse within the French Catholic Church over the past 70 years, a report has found.

Jean-Marc Sauve, head of the commission that led the investigation into child sexual abuse, stated on Tuesday that the Church had showed complete and sometimes cruel indifference to the victims.

Responding to the findings, Pope Francis said “his thoughts go to the victims, with great sorrow, for their wounds”. In a statement the Vatican announced that the Pope had “learned with sorrow” about the contents of the investigation and hoped that “the Church of France, in the awareness of this terrible reality … may embark on … redemption”.

The report, which is the first major examination of the abuse perpetuated within the Church, included abuses committed by priests and other clerics as well as by non-religious people involved in the church.

Sauve, speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, noted that about 80 per cent of the victims were male.

An estimated 216,000 children were said to have been victims of abuse directly at the hands of the clergy over the same time period.

“The consequences are very serious,” Sauve continued, stating, “About 60 per cent of men and women who were sexually abused encounter major problems in their sentimental or sexual life.” 

He added, “These numbers are more than worrying, they are overwhelming and can in no way go unanswered.”

The 2,500-page report is the work of a commission that has worked for two and half years listening to victims and studying church, court, police and press archives from the 1950s onwards. The Independent Commission on Abuse in the Church (Ciase) was made up of 22 legal professionals, doctors, historians, sociologists and theologians and worked independently from the Church.

It was set up in 2018 after Pope Francis passed a measure instructing those who know about sex abuse in the Catholic Church to report it to their superiors.

President of the Bishops’ Conference of France and archbishop of Reims, Eric de Moulins-Beaufort, spoke at the press conference on Tuesday, saying, “We have heard the voices of the victims, we have heard the numbers, they are beyond what we could imagine. 

“It is truly unbearable. I express my shame, my fear, my determination to act. You, the victims, some of whom I know by name, I want today to ask for your forgiveness,” he added.

Olivier Savignac, head of the victims association “Parler et Revivre” (Speak out and live again), who helped with the research, stated that the high ratio of victims to abuser is particularly “terrifying for French society, for the Catholic Church”.

The phone hotline that was launched at the beginning of the probe received 6,500 calls from alleged victims or people who said they knew a victim of child sexual abuse within the Church.

The commission’s research uncovered a “minimum estimate” of between 2,900 and 3,200 paedophile priests or other members operating within the Church from 1950 to 2020.

Sauve denounced the Catholic Church’s attitude to abuse as “a deep, cruel indifference toward victims”. He added that they were “not believed or not heard” and were sometimes seen as being “in part responsible” for what happened”.

Twenty-two alleged crimes have been forwarded to prosecutors, he said. More than 40 cases, that are too old to be prosecuted but involve alleged perpetrators who are still alive, have been forwarded to church officials.

Sauve called for urgent reform of the Catholic Church’s approach to teaching on the subjects of sexuality, obedience and the sanctity of priesthood.

He concluded his presentation of the report by noting, “We have contributed as much as possible to uncovering the truth … Our hope cannot and will not be destroyed. The Church can and should do whatever is necessary to restore what has been damaged, and to rebuild what has been broken.”

The bombshell report comes a year after the Catholic Church was rocked by the trial of Bernard Preynat, the French Catholic priest who was sentenced to five years in jail for sexually abusing scouts in his care between 1971 and 1991.

One of Preynat’s victims, Francois Devaux, said that “with this report, the French [Catholic] Church for the first time is going to the root of this systemic problem. The deviant institution must reform itself.” He warned that “some victims did not dare to speak out to trust the commission”.

Russia says Iran to resume nuclear talks in due course

By
IFP Media Wire
-

In late September, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian stated that Tehran would soon return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) negotiations in Vienna.

“Participation in the Vienna Talks is voluntary. It corresponds to the interests of all participants, including Iran. We have no reasons to believe that Tehran is unwilling to continue the process. The return to the negotiating table is a matter of time, not in a distant future,” Ulyanov wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.

In 2015, Iran signed the nuclear deal with the P5+1 group, which includes the United States, China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, Germany and the European Union. It required Tehran to scale back its nuclear program and severely reduce its uranium reserves in exchange for sanctions relief, including the lifting of an arms embargo five years after the deal was inked.

In 2018, the US abandoned its conciliatory stance, withdrawing from the JCPOA and implementing hardline policies against Iran, prompting the latter to largely abandon its own obligations under the accord.

Since April of this year, the JCPOA joint commission has held sessions in Vienna, which also hosted several informal meetings designed to prevent the agreement from collapsing after Washington’s exit. The sixth round of discussions ended on June 20.

U.S., Israel discuss Iran nuclear deal

By
IFP Media Wire
-

The US-Israel Strategic Consultative Group was established in March, with Tuesday’s meeting being the first time the group has met in person. The group consists of members from the military, diplomatic, and intelligence communities from both countries.

The most pressing topic was Sullivan and Hulata’s discussion over the US’ belief that the best way to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon is through diplomacy.

“Mr. Sullivan explained that this administration believes diplomacy is the best path to achieve that goal, while also noting that the president has made clear that if diplomacy fails, the United States is prepared to turn to other options,” a White House statement read.

Israel does not share the same sentiments in regards to preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, but has agreed to not campaign against the US re-engaging in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The JCPOA, a Barack Obama-era agreement with Iran from 2015 that former US President Donald Trump withdrew the US from in 2018, allowed signatories to monitor and curtail Iran’s nuclear capabilities over a 15-year period.

Israel has long opposed the agreement, because it allows Iran to develop some nuclear capabilities. While the US wants to reengage in negotiations with Iran, they haven’t lifted sanctions against the county and “are not going to pay upfront”.

On other matters, the two nations remain on good terms. Sullivan summed up their relationship: “We’re very closely aligned on how we see the bigger picture. We don’t see eye-to-eye on every single issue, but there’s a great deal of alignment both on how we see the challenges presented by Iran and how to ensure that we are effectively utilizing the full range of tools at our disposal.”

CIA admits several informants overseas killed, captured

By
IFP Media Wire
-

Leading counterintelligence officials issued a memo to all of the CIA’s global stations saying that a concerning number of U.S. informants were being captured and executed.

The CIA’s counterintelligence mission center investigated dozens of incidents in the last few years that involved killings, arrests or compromises of foreign informants. In an unusual move, the message sent via a top secret cable included the specific number of agents killed by other intelligence agencies.

Officials stated that level of detail is a sign of the significance of the cable. Announcing the specific number of killings is rare as that figure is typically held under wraps from the public and even from some CIA employees.

The cable, which also cited the issue of putting “mission over security”, comes amid recent efforts by countries like Russia, China, Iran and Pakistan to find CIA informants and turn them into double agents.

The memo also noted long standing issues like placing too much trust in sources, a speedy recruiting process and inadequate attention to potential intelligence risks among other problems. 

The uptick in compromised informants highlights the more sophisticated ways in which foreign intelligence agencies are tracking the CIA’s actions. These mechanisms include artificial intelligence, facial recognition tools and other hacking methods.

 

CIA case officers were sometimes promoted for recruiting spies often regardless of the success, performance or quality of that spy.

“No one at the end of the day is being held responsible when things go south with an agent,” Douglas London, a former CIA operative who was unaware of the cable, stated.

“Sometimes there are things beyond our control but there are also occasions of sloppiness and neglect and people in senior positions are never held responsible,” he continued.

People who have read the cable added that it was intended for the officers who are most directly involved in enlisting and vetting potential new informants.

Iran’s UN envoy slams sanctions as an “act of terrorism”

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-

Outlining Iran’s stance on the fight against terrorism at the UN General Assembly’s 6th Committee, Majid Takhte Ravanchi also said sanctions are an act of terror as they target ordinary citizens and are meant to cause chaos and pit people against governments.

Takhte Ravanchi reaffirmed Iran’s unwavering commitment to fight this “heinous phenomenon”.

Takhte Ravanchi also paid respect to the victims of terrorism most notably Iran’s top General Qassem Soleimani, who was assassinated in a terrorist attack by the US, as well as Iran’s nuclear scientists. He said the only way to fight terror is to fight its root-causes such as military intervention and occupation of other countries. Iran’s envoy to the UN however said the Palestinian people have a right to defend themselves against the Zionist regime.

Elsewhere, Takhte Ravanchi noted that some governments have abused the absence of an international convention to fight terrorism and the lack of a global consensus on the definition of terrorism to adopt double standards in the fight against terror, make arbitrary interpretations in this regard and make unilateral lists to frame nations and their institutions as sponsors of terrorism.

The Iranian envoy to the UN said the Islamic Republic supports the establishment of an international convention for the purpose of fighting terror.

Damascus and Moscow say US main obstacle to peace

By
IFP Media Wire
-

The Syrian and Russian Coordination Committees for Returning Displaced Syrians made the remarks in a statement.

 

The statement indicated that “the illegal presence of US and its allies in Syria is the basic obstacle to returning to normal life in the country”.

 

The allies were coming in the way of all rehabilitative efforts aimed at resumption of the normal situation through their “plundering the natural resources in the country and igniting tension in the region”, the statement added.

 

The US invaded Syria at the head of a coalition amassing scores of its allies in 2014.

 

The coalition alleged that the military campaign sought to fight the Takfiri terrorist group of Daesh. It, however, sustains its illegal presence, although, Damascus and its allies, Iran and Russia, defeated the terror outfit in late 2017.

 

By the admission of former US President Donald Trump, the US forces have also been engaged in rampant looting of the Syrian oil that the country is in dire need of as it tries to emerge from the ruins of around a decade of foreign-backed violence.

 

Washington has, meanwhile, subjected Syria to sanctions, which, the joint body said, “hinder the reconstruction of infrastructure and also prevent access to medical equipment and medicines necessary for addressing the coronavirus’ pandemic”.

 

However, the statement asserted that the Syrian government continued to make efforts towards bringing about adequate conditions for the return of Syrian citizens to their homes.

 

According to the body, Syria and Russia’s joint efforts in the area had so far enabled the return of more than 2.3 million Syrians to their homeland.

UK PM rejects fears of 1970’s-style crisis

By
IFP Media Wire
-

Johnson denied on Tuesday that the world’s fifth largest economy was heading towards a 1970s-style inflationary spiral but demanded that business kick a decades-long addiction to cheap imported labour.

A post-Brexit shortage of workers exacerbated by the global strains of the COVID crisis has sown chaos through supply chains for everything from fuel and pork to poultry and bottled water, raising concerns growth could be crimped.

British military personnel in fatigues were seen driving fuel trucks with instructors on Tuesday at a fuel depot in southern England, Reuters reported.

Asked by BBC radio if the United Kingdom was in crisis, Johnson said: “No.”

“I think that on the contrary, what you are seeing with the UK economy and indeed the global economy is very largely in the supply chains the stresses and strains you would expect from a giant waking up and that is what is happening,” he continued.

Johnson added businesses had to kick their addiction to cheap imported labour.

“What you saw in the last 20 years or more, almost 25 years, has been an approach whereby business of many kinds, was able to mainline low wage, low cost, immigration for a very long time,” Johnson stated.

An air of chaos has gripped Britain in recent days as a deficit of truckers left fuel pumps dry across the land, and a spike in European wholesale natural gas prices tipped energy companies into bankruptcy.

Reuters reported many gas stations remained closed on Tuesday in London and across southern England.

Johnson said Britain was not heading back to the 1970s when inflation peaked at 22.6%, labour disputes brought the economy to a standstill and the government had to borrow from the International Monetary Fund during a sterling crisis.

Asked if the United Kingdom could suffer a repeat of the inflationary spiral seen in the 1970s, Johnson noted, “I don’t think that the problem will present itself in that way and I think actually that this country’s natural ability to sort out its logistics and supply chains is very strong.”

With fuel companies and supermarkets warning that a shortage of drivers was hitting deliveries, the government said late last month that it would temporarily reverse its immigration rules and give 5,000 visas for EU drivers to operate in Britain.

It reported 300 of those could arrive immediately to drive oil tankers. Johnson stated 127 drivers had applied.

“What that shows is the global shortage,” he added.

The Times newspaper reported that just 27 fuel tanker drivers had applied.

Iran FM Urges Russia’s Vigilance against Possible Border Changes in Region

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-

“Our expectation from Russian government officials is that they are vigilant against any possible change in regional borders, presence of terrorists and the moves by the Zionist [Israeli] regime, which are against regional peace and stability,” Hossein Amirabdollahian told reporters on Tuesday upon arrival in Moscow.

He was referring to Russia’s failure to take a clear stance regarding the recent developments in the South Caucasus region following the war between Armenia and the Azerbaijan Republic, which saw the latter take control of part of the Nagorno Karabakh region, in the vicinity of Iran.

“During the talks with Russian officials, we will hold detailed discussions on this issue,” Amirabdollahian added.

He also said Iran has conveyed to Russia “our common concerns and our viewpoints on this issue” through diplomatic channels and during regular phone calls with Russian officials including the country’s foreign minister.

The top Iranian diplomat expressed hope “good agreements” come out of his talks with his Russian counterpart on Wednesday on how to stabilize the situation in the region.
Amirabdollahian, who is visiting Moscow on an official invitation from Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, also said he will use his visit to further upgrade bilateral ties between Tehran and Moscow.

“During the visit, in addition to mutual relations, we will hold discussions on the latest regional developments, including the situation in the South Caucasus and the latest developments in Afghanistan,” Amirabdollahian said.

“Tehran and Moscow have enjoyed close regional policies over the past years and good and constructive steps have been taken with regard to common interests. We hope we use this potential to further expand bilateral ties between the two countries.”

Iran, Armenia agree to keep Caucasus corridor open

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-
Armenia Azerbaijan

That’s according to the news site of the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development.
Khademi said, according to a schedule prepared by Iranian and Armenian officials, the two sides are set to complete the paving of the alternative road, which is desired by the Armenian authorities.

He noted that the traffic of trucks and the transportation of Iranian cargos and passengers to Armenia had been disrupted due to those problems, but he and the Armenian side made very appropriate decisions to solve them. Khamedi also said that as per the schedule, it was decided to complete the pavement of the alternative road (Tato Road) that the Armenian authorities want, and, within the next 3 months, the passes and accident hotspots on the alternative axis will be neutralized.

The deputy minister added that at the same time, another alternative main road, which is part 4 of the North-South corridor in Armenia, is becoming operational.

Khademi said, “Iran and Armenia made three important decisions. First, the north-south corridor that connects our country from the Norduz border to Armenia and from there to Georgia, and links Iran to the Caucasus, must be kept open. Second, in this way, its alternative road can be used for transit vehicles within the next month. Third, we can also make a new design in the same old road and the two points inside Azerbaijan’s territory so that it will be used as an alternative path in the old road”.

He noted that the problems created for transit vehicles on this route will be resolved.

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