Wednesday, December 25

Author: Patti Mohr

Patti Mohr is a U.S.-based journalist. She writes about global diplomacy, economics, and infringements on individual freedom. Patti is the founder of the Global Economic Report. Her goal is to elevate journalistic principles and share the pursuit of truth in concert with others.
UN Security Council At Odds Over North Korean Sanctions
19Dec By Patti MohrNo Comments
Diplomacy, International Law, Legal Battles, Sanctions, Types of News: Brief

UN Security Council At Odds Over North Korean Sanctions

Even as world leaders tried to display a united front against a nuclearized North Korea in the wake of 20 ballistic-missile tests this year by that country, UN Security Council members remained deeply divided on their willingness to engage economically with the rogue nation. The divide was clear at a December 15 UN Security Council meeting called by Japan after a North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile crashed into the Sea of Japan on Nov. 28. Sanctions U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called on countries to take unilateral action beyond the minimum requirements of the UN resolutions. In contrast, Russia, China and Bolvia positioned themselves against unilateral sanctions and said "sanctions had been imposed in order to spark negotiations, and were not an end in th...
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Foreign Policy: Trump Recognizes Jerusalem As Israel’s Capital
6Dec By Patti MohrNo Comments
Diplomacy, Middle East

Foreign Policy: Trump Recognizes Jerusalem As Israel’s Capital

Following up on a campaign promise he made to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a September 2016 meeting, U.S. President Trump announced on Dec. 6 that he recognizes Jerusalem as the "ancient capital of the Jewish people" and as the state of Israel. “While previous presidents have made this a major campaign promise, they failed to deliver. Today, I am delivering,” Trump said. "Israel is a sovereign nation with the right like every other sovereign nation to determine its own capital. Acknowledging this as a fact is a necessary condition for achieving peace." The announcement drew immediate rebuke from leaders in Turkey, Jordan, the Vatican, the United Nations and across the Middle East and was seen as a shift in U.S. policy that could invalidate the U.S. role in negotiating...
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U.S. Grand Jury Indicts Two in Counterintelligence Investigations
30Oct By Patti MohrNo Comments
Corruption, Bribes, Illicit Finance & Money Laundering, United States

U.S. Grand Jury Indicts Two in Counterintelligence Investigations

October 30, 2017--Six months into a counterintelligence investigation into Russian involvement in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Special Counsel Robert Mueller has filed a criminal indictment against Paul J. Manafort, Jr., and Richard W. Gates, former campaign manager and deputy campaign manager to the Donald Trump presidential campaign from June to August 2016. The 31-page indictment speaks to the shadowy inner workings of Washington and the interplay between the political and for-profit lobbying worlds. The charges involve hiding and laundering "tens of millions of dollars" through foreign nominee companies and offshore bank accounts across the globe, including Cyprus, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and the Seychelles. According to the indictment, more than $75 million flowed ...
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American Populism Gains Strength Under Trump
26Oct By Patti MohrNo Comments
United States

American Populism Gains Strength Under Trump

Nine months into President Trump's term in office as head of the U.S. Executive Branch, the populist movement that led him to power is shaking the very foundation of the Republican party. The political fracture is relevant not only for the health of America's two-party system, but also because the outcome determines the course of American leadership in the world. In contrast to past presidents who championed democratic ideals and a global rules-based trading system, President Trump promotes economic nationalism, tighter borders, realpolitik and trade protection. Moreover, Trump's verbal assaults on media outlets and his use of Twitter to attack political opponents and comment on foreign policy have some led members of his own party to assert that American democracy itself is at risk....
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Xi Asserts China’s Authority to Lead
18Oct By Patti MohrNo Comments
Communism, Dictatorship, Diplomacy, Globalization, Global Disintegration

Xi Asserts China’s Authority to Lead

China is set to be “a global leader in terms of comprehensive national strength and international influence” by 2050, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced on Oct. 17 as he addressed the country's Communist Party congress in Beijing. Mr. Xi outlined his vision for providing global leadership using the Chinese Socialist Democracy model of growth. International observers are calling the marathon three-and-a-half-hour speech to the party's 2,300 delegates and the world at large a "sweeping," "ambitious" and "epic" agenda. President Xi's address is significant not only for its embrace of global economic integration at a time when many in the West are turning inward, but also because China is seen as adopting an increasingly more authoritarian approach to governing. Since taking of...
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Amid Protests, Brazil Passes 20-Year Austerity Plan
16Dec By Patti MohrNo Comments
Currency, Debt, National Budgets & Interest Rates, Domestic Politics, Global Economics

Amid Protests, Brazil Passes 20-Year Austerity Plan

News Brief Damaged by a two-year recession, corruption scandals and protests at home, Latin America's largest economy turned to constitutional reforms to control its rising debt and spending. Brazil's Senate voted 53-16 in favor of a 20-year cap on spending increases for social welfare programs. The House has already passed the bill, which becomes law. The constitutional amendment, PEC 55, will cap government spending on health care, education and social security through 2036 at current rates adjusted for inflation. Supporters said it will create certainty in fiscal budgets, control rising debt, and attract foreign investment. They said the amendment also guarantees a floor for the spending programs. Opponents, however, said the spending caps would hurt the poorest and lock fu...
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Peaceful transfer of power in America
9Nov By Patti MohrNo Comments
Corruption, Bribes, Illicit Finance & Money Laundering, Democracy, Domestic Politics, United States

Peaceful transfer of power in America

America's 18-month presidential election has come to a close, with Hillary Clinton conceding defeat to Donald Trump. It was an election that at times felt like a reality-TV show gone wrong, with one candidate fending off multiple investigations and the other communicating one outlandish comment after another. It was a low period for America. With 61 percent of Americans reporting an "unfavorable" opinion of Donald Trump and 52 percent reporting an "unfavorable" opinion of Hillary Clinton, Trump and Clinton set records for the worst and second-worst liked U.S. presidential candidates in Gallup-polling history. Issues took a backseat, but they were, nonetheless, there: Deficiencies with the Affordable Care Act, Obama's signature healthcare law, that were never fixed and that ca...
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An American in Cuba: History & People
4Nov By Patti MohrNo Comments
Communism, Dictatorship, Type of Post: Essays & Travel Writing

An American in Cuba: History & People

It was the first full day of the trip. I awoke early, ate breakfast and met my tour guide Rose and travel companions in the hotel lobby. It would be a full day touring by foot and bus. We were eight adventurers--George and Barbara, a couple who ran a family furniture business in Florida, Mike and Ana, a couple living in the Pacific Northwest who were just months away from expecting their first baby, Joel, a man in his 30s or 40s from California, two women from Alaska, and me. Clouds over head kept the air cool as we walked around Havana. Back at the Plaza de Armas, the story of Cuba unfolded. Christopher Columbus had landed there in 1492, declaring the island to be "the most beautiful land human have ever seen." Twenty years later, the Spanish took it as their own, using mostly un...
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Cuba: First Encounters
27Oct By Patti Mohr2 Comments
Type of Post: Essays & Travel Writing

Cuba: First Encounters

I ventured out into the streets of Old Havana as soon as I could change money, store my cash in the room safe and change clothes. It was just after 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, and I wanted to make the most of the daylight. Taxi drivers in classic U.S. cars from the 1940s and 1950s circled the area outside the hotel. I opted to walk as it seemed the best way to experience the city. I headed down Cuba Street, a cobblestone lane shared by pedestrians and cars that cuts all the way across Old Havana, from the Male?on to the far side of the old port. Residents stood in their doorways watching people come and go. Locals and tourists shared the narrow sidewalks, stepping on and off to pass each other by as taxis, pedicabs and food carts accelerated down the street. On a side street, children pla...
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Cuba: Hello Havana
22Oct By Patti Mohr1 Comment
Communism, Dictatorship, Type of Post: Essays & Travel Writing

Cuba: Hello Havana

It takes less than an hour to reach Cuba from Tampa, Florida by airplane. Simple, really. And yet it is still hard to see that Cuba is just 90 miles from the United States. The island has been forbidden land for most law-abiding Americans for so long. For the most part, it is still not legal to travel there unless you book, like I did, an educational tour through one of the roughly 100 organizations certified by the State Department to run people-to-people cultural tours. The U.S. government allows travel to Cuba for up to 12 different reasons. Tourism isn't one of them. So while the Canadians head straight for the beaches and stay there, Americans visit senior-center projects, organic farms, child care centers, artistic sites and museums. For most, it's a pretty packed schedule. Get...
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