Thursday, October 31, 2019

Nationals Defeats Astros in World Series


The Washington Nationals defeated the Houston Astros in Game 7 of the World Series Wednesday night, clinching their first championship in the franchise’s history. The Astros led 2-0 until the 7th inning, after which the Nationals managed to score 4 runs in the course of the latter part of the game. The Astros never managed to score any further runs, giving the Nationals the game.

Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg was named the MVP of this year’s World Series.


Fires Continue to Burn Thousands of Acres in California


Strong winds and abundance vegetation has continued to fuel wildfires throughout California. One fire threatened the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, which was saved by a change in wind direction and the efforts of some goats, which ate the vegetation around the property and created a fire perimeter.

Other fires have broken out in San Bernardino County and across Southern California, promoting massive evacuations and burning dozens of homes. Other fires in Northern California, including one believed to have been started by an arsonist (put out soon after it began), have threatened homes and property there as well. The largest of those fires, the Kincade Fire, has burned nearly 80,000 acres.

Massive power-shutoffs by California’s main electrical utility, PG&E, were started earlier this month to prevent wildfires. Old, damaged lines can spark wildfires when they fail, sometimes with destructive consequences such as in the 2018 Camp Fire, which led to at least 85 deaths and $16.5 billion in damage. The shutdowns have not been without controversy,  however, as the shutdowns have lefts millions without power periodically and caused massive disruption to those affected.

PG&E, still facing billions in liability claims from the Camp Fire and other outbreaks, is planning on replacing many of those lines going forward.

Monday, September 30, 2019

Center-right Party Wins Most Seats in Austrian Elections


The conservative OVP (Austrian People’s Party), led by  former Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, won the most seats in this past Sunday’s legislative election. While falling short of a majority, the task falls to Kurz to form a government with one or more of the smaller parties.

One of those parties, the FPO (Freedom Party), was the OVP’s coalition partners in his previous government. A scandal involving the party’s leadership in which some of them were recorded discussing deceptive practices and malintents led to its dissolution. The FPO, a right wing populist to far-right party, could conceivably become a partner again, with the center- left SPO (Social Democratic Party) and Greens and the centrist NEOS parties also possible participants.


Britain Continues Its Messy Separation from the EU


UK Prime Minster Boris Johnson’s attempts to remove Britain from the European Union over four years after the country voted to leave the political bloc has continued to hit obstacles. The British Supreme Court, a relatively new institutional body, ruled against Johnson’s suspension of Parliament, itself an attempt to negotiate a deal with the EU without immediate domestic political opposition.

Johnson, a staunch supporter of Brexit who took over from Theresa May a few months ago, is tasked with delivering a Brexit process that has the support of Parliament and preferably that of the European Union. The EU’s support of a Brexit deal will ensure the country has access to the trade bloc following its separation. A “no-deal” Brexit would lead to higher tariffs and obstacles, which will negatively affect the economy. This would leave the UK in need of seeking free trade agreements elsewhere, with one with the US the most cited example.

Some of Johnson’s political opponents have called for his resignation, while Johnson seems inclined to push for a new general election. Polls currently have his Conservative Party in the lead.


House Launches Impeachment Inquiry


fter months of resistance to pleas from vocal members of her caucus, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announced last week that she would open an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump’s conduct. While many Democrats have called for impeachment proceedings in the past (soon after his inauguration), the event that sparked the latest round of calls relates to Trump’s call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his plea for him to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden’s business and political actions in the country, a request that is politically salient given Joe Biden’s candidacy for president, in which he hopes to face Trump in November 2020.

The story broke earlier this month when a whistleblower released information about the contents of Trump’s call, which led to sharp criticism, mostly form Democrats but with a few Republicans joining in condemning the president’s action. After Pelosi initiated the impeachment inquiry on September 24th, the White House released a transcript of the call (which was not a verbatim copy, but rather a series of notes and recollections from other listeners) with Zelensky, which confirmed Trump cited Biden as an example of corruption in Ukraine.

In addition, Trump withheld $400 million in military aid to Ukraine prior to the call. Democrats have said the aide was withheld to be used as a bargaining chip to force Zelensky’s hand to investigate Biden; the White House says interagency disagreements led to its delay in disbursement.
Going forward, House Democrats will hold hearings on Trump over his conduct, with many Democrats hoping that it will lead to an impeachment vote. If successful, the Senate will decide whether to remove the president.