Europe Preps Trade War, Nerve Agent Hit

Trade War: Europe has prepared a retaliatory list of goods targeted for trade tariffs as President Trump is prepared today to sign his orders for steep tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. The European Union list includes steel, T-shirts, bed linens, chewing tobacco, cranberries, orange juice, and other products. Kentucky bourbons and Harley-Davidson motorcycles might get hit with a heavy tax.

The European Commissioner for trade said the US tariffs would “put thousands of European jobs in jeopardy, and it has to be met by a firm and proportionate response.”

The European Union is the largest exporter of steel to the United States, but White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said there may be exceptions for close neighbors. “There are potential carve-outs for Mexico and Canada based on national security and possibly other countries as well.”

Trump’s tariffs have caused as much of an uproar within his own party as they have around the world. The Republican Party favors free trade. Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell said, “There’s a high level of concern about interfering with what appears to be an economy that’s taking off in every respect.”

Spy Vs. Spy: British police now say a former Russian double agent and his daughter were attacked with a nerve agent in England over the weekend. Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, were found unconscious on a public bench.

Skripal was convicted in Russia of spying for Britain and has lived there since his release from prison in 2010. His daughter was visiting from Russia. Both are still in critical condition.

The Guardian reports that it is unusual for the Russians to target someone released in a prisoner swap, unless they are still working. The paper quotes Mark Galeotti, a Russia watcher and security analyst, saying, “My presumption is that if the Russians were behind this, and it does look plausible, then it is because they assumed Skripal was still working for British or other western intelligence and not simply retired.”

Nation: The US Holocaust Museum has revoked a human rights award given to Nobel laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who is now Myanmar’s civilian leader, blaming her for not stopping her military’s ethnic cleansing of the country’s Rohynga Muslim minority. — In a spat with the NFL over the suspension of running back Ezekiel Elliott and an attempt to block the renewal of league commissioner Roger Goodell, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has agreed to reimburse the NFL $2 million in legal fees. — Defying the National Rifle Association, the Florida legislature voted to impose a three-day waiting period for the purchase of most long guns, and to raise the legal age to buy one to 21. They did not ban or restrict the sale of assault rifles.

Past is Present: Archeologists working along Rome’s new subway line keep finding treasures from the ancient city. The latest is the remains of a 14-room house with a central courtyard and a fountain. One of the rooms appears to have been heated, the walls were frescoed, and the floors were ornately tiled.

The ancient house will be removed during subway construction, then put back on display as the central feature in one of the stations.

Seal Team Trump: Recently the Trump Organization engaged a sign-making company to produce 12-inch replicas of the presidential seal to be placed next to the tee boxes at Trump golf course holes. Tee markers are placed where a golfer should take his first swing on a hole.

ProPublica and WNYC say the customer is “Trump International.” It’s unknown how many of the Trump golf courses would be sporting the presidential seal. Maybe none when the story gets out. It is illegal under federal law to use the presidential seal for commercial purposes, even when you are the president.

Some of the Trump courses already have tee markers featuring the Trump family crest, even though the Trumps do not have an official family crest. Trump took the crest from the family that originally owned Mar-a-Lago and put his own name on it. You know, he’s really Charley the Tuna.

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It's Been Said

"Christians, get out and vote, just this time. You won't have to do it anymore. Four more years, you know what, it will be fixed, it will be fine, you won't have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians. I love you Christians. I'm a Christian. I love you, get out, you gotta get out and vote. In four years, you don't have to vote again, we'll have it fixed so good you're not going to have to vote."

  • Donald Trump courting the vote of the Christian right

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