Can Congress Say “Bipartisan”?

Can Congress Say “Bipartisan”?: As The Pnut reported Monday, that tight spot President Trump is in–whether or not to sign or veto a tougher new bipartisan congressional sanctions bill–just got tighter. The US House of Representatives has now overwhelmingly passed (419-3) their version of the bill, with those onerous ole sanctions against Putin the Trump administration has so vigorously opposed. The Senate passed its original version (98-2) with sanctions against Russia and Iran only. Lawmakers from both Houses of Congress pow-wowed last weekend and decided to add North Korea into the mix, which sends the bill back to the Senate. Congressmen wanted to get the measure through both chambers and onto the President’s desk before the congressional summer recess. But Senators (as you may have heard) are embroiled in a health care debate and House representatives leave at the end of the week, so…Tempus Fugit, guys!

Macron to Libyan Rivals: You Take Park Place, You Take Boardwalk. Do Not Pass Go; Do Not Traffic Migrants: Newly-elected French President Emmanuel Macron wasted no time in mediating a ceasefire for war-torn Libya, which has descended into chaos after former dictator Moammar Gadhafi was toppled in 2011. He invited the two leading power contenders over to a chateau in La Celle Saint-Cloud, west of Paris, and brokered an agreement. Bon travail!

Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, the leader of the United Nations-backed government in Tripoli, and General Khalifa Haftar, the commander of the so-called Libyan National Army that controls eastern portions of the country, met with Macron on Tuesday. The talks produced a 10-point declaration that included a commitment to holding new presidential and parliamentary elections. The rival leaders said they recognized the solution to the crisis in Libya had to be a political one and pledged toa “ceasefire and to refrain from any use of armed force for any purpose that does not strictly constitute counter-terrorism.“

Ending the chaos in Libya was at the top of Macron’s to-do list since winning the French presidency in May. The flood of migrants trying to reach Europe, particularly Italy, has been increasing, and almost 90 percent of those attempting to cross the Mediterranean have departed from Libya. Many have died or are lost making the journey in overcrowded and dangerous boats or dinghies. The International Organization for Migration has recorded over 112,000 arrivals in Europe so far this year, with 2,300 dead or missing.

Xi Jinping Consolidates Power Ahead of Communist Party Congress: All the political stars seemed aligned for Sun Zhengcai to be elevated to a top national post in China at the Communist Party’s congress this fall. Then on July 15, five days after publicly “vowing absolute loyalty” to President Xi Jinping, Sun was dismissed and put under investigation by the party for “violations of discipline,” a vague term that might mean “political infractions or corruption.” The party issued a curt public statement announcing that Sun had been removed as party secretary of Chongqing, a city of 30 million people where he was installed in 2012.

Sun’s sudden fall from grace is a strong warning that Xi will play succession politics by his own ruthless rules. “Sun Zhengcai was a sacrificial object to send a message across the party,” said Wu Qiang of Tsinghua University in Beijing. “Xi Jinping has signaled that he doesn’t feel bound by the order of promotion set by the previous generation of leaders.” Sun’s removal undermines the pecking order of political promotion that had been put in place under Xi’s predecessors. Susan L. Shirk, Chair of the 21st Century China Center at the University of California, San Diego, sees Sun’s dismissal as part of an effort by Xi to consolidate his political power by removing any resistance other members of the party elite may present. “There have been people purged before and corruption has been the excuse, too,” she said. “But it seems like there’s been more of that under Xi Jinping.”

Taliban Kill At Least 26 Afghan Soldiers Near Kandahar: The Taliban killed at least 26 Afghan soldiers and wounded 13 others in an attack on their base near the southern city of Kandahar. A defense ministry spokesman said heavy fighting was ongoing in the area, and reinforcements had been summoned. The incident is the latest in a series of defeats for the Afghan army in recent months. The Taliban stated they killed more than 70 soldiers and captured seven in the fighting, while the defense ministry said Afghan troops “bravely resisted” the attack and killed or injured about 80 militants. Thus far, there has been no independent confirmation of either side’s claims. The Taliban has seized most of neighboring Helmand province in recent months and launched a number of offensives in Kandahar as well as deadly attacks in Kabul.

Home-Brewed Alcohol and Pig Manure, Yum!: During a call on July 19, US Secretary of Energy Rick Perry became the latest victim of a pair of Russian phone pranksters, known as the “Jerky Boys of Russia,” who have previously fooled Elton John into thinking he was chatting with Vladimir Putin. This time, Perry thought he was discussing American coal exports with Ukraine’s prime minister, Volodymyr Groysman. Things might have become suspicious when the 22-minute conversation turned into a claim by the ‘Prime Minister’ that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko had invented “a new biofuel made from home-brewed alcohol and pig manure,” according to a translation published by The Washington Post. Perry saidhe would be visiting Kiev in August and was enthusiastic about Poroshenko’s climate-conscious concoction: “I look forward to visiting with the president and getting a more in-depth briefing…If that’s the result, then he’s going to be a very, very wealthy and successful man.” As a former three-term governor of the state of Texas, Perry may know lots of folks who have tried to cash in on spinning animal manure into gold. We say, take a trip home to the Lone Star state and give this moonshine a shot, Mr. Secretary!

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