world news: 2019-03-03

Saturday 9 March 2019

U.S. open to North Korea talks despite missile program activity

New activity has been detected at a factory that produced North Korea's first intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) capable of reaching the United States, South Korea's JoongAng Ilbo and Donga Ilbo newspapers reported, citing lawmakers briefed by the National Intelligence Service. This week, two U.S. think tanks and Seoul's spy agency said North Korea was rebuilding its Sohae rocket launch site, prompting Trump to say he would be "very, very disappointed" in North Korea leader Kim Jong Un if it were true. Asked on Thursday if he was disappointed about recent North Korean activity, Trump told reporters: “It’s disappointing,” while adding without elaborating: “We’ll see.

Markets Right Now: Stocks mark 1st weekly loss since January

NEW YORK (AP) — The latest on developments in financial markets (all times local):

Ghosn's defense team to monitor calls, surveillance footage while he awaits trial

After paying $9 million in bail, former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn is out of a Japanese jail cell where he spent 108 days, but he must live under a host of restrictions while he awaits trial, which could be a year away. As part of the bail deal arranged by his new legal team hired last month, Ghosn is banned from accessing the internet and email, and only allowed to use a computer not linked to the web at the office of one of his lawyers. Ghosn, who has French, Brazilian and Lebanese citizenship, was indicted for under-reporting his salary and breach of trust.

Trump once denied he paid off Stormy Daniels. Now he says it 'was not a campaign contribution.'

President Trump on Thursday appeared to shift his defense for the hush money payments his former lawyer made on the eve of the 2016 presidential election to women who alleged they had extramarital affairs with him.

Libyans fear showdown as eastern commander eyes capital

Forces from eastern Libya who have swept through the south and taken control of remaining oilfields in recent weeks have now reinforced a base in the center of the country and signaled to the capital Tripoli that it may be next.

from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2HoH0Zy

Trump's Venezuela envoy vows sanctions on banks backing Maduro

"There will be more sanctions on financial institutions that are carrying out the orders of the Maduro regime," the envoy, Elliott Abrams, told a U.S. Senate subcommittee hearing. The United States and more than 50 other countries have recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as oil-rich Venezuela's interim president and increased pressure on Maduro, a socialist, to step down. Washington this week revoked the visas of senior Venezuelan officials and said on Wednesday it had identified efforts by Maduro to work with foreign banks to move and hide money.

House votes to condemn antisemitism after Ilhan Omar's remarks on Israel

Resolution, which also condemns Islamophobia, comes after days of debate within the Democratic party The House overwhelmingly passed a Democratic resolution on Thursday evening to condemn antisemitism, Islamophobia and other expressions of bigotry after the freshman congresswoman Ilhan Omar again sparked controversy with comments implying supporters of Israel displayed dual loyalty.The 407-23 vote caps a tumultuous week for Democratic leadership as they tried to contain the fallout over Omar’s latest provocative comments, while advancing sweeping election and ethics reform legislation that was a centerpiece of their campaign during the midterm elections last November.All Democrats, including Omar, voted for the resolution while 23 Republicans opposed the measure, including the GOP conference chair Liz Cheney and several members of the arch-conservative House Freedom Caucus. The Iowa congressman Steve King, a Republican who was was stripped of his committee assignments after he questioned why white supremacy had become an offensive term, voted present.The seven-page resolution states that “whether from the political right, center, or left, bigotry, discrimination, oppression, racism, and imputations of dual loyalty threaten American democracy and have no place in American political discourse”.It cites the neo-Nazi march in Charlottesville, Virginia, the mass shooting of African American churchgoers in Charleston, South Carolina, the massacre of Jewish members at a synagogue in Pittsburgh, and attacks on mosques.Though the document does not name Omar, it was drafted by the Democratic congressmen Jamie Raskin of Maryland, who is Jewish and a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and Cedric Richmond, a member of leadership and a previous chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, in response to her comments.“It’s not about her,” the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, told reporters on Thursday. “It’s about these forms of hatred.” She added that she did not believe Omar had understood the “weight of her words”.Omar, who in January became one of the first Muslim women to serve in Congress, said Israel’s supporters push lawmakers to pledge “allegiance to a foreign country”, a remark that was viewed by lawmakers of both parties as playing into the antisemitic trope of “dual loyalty” – a myth that Jewish people are more loyal to Israel than their country of residence.How to respond to the comments became a source of internal tension. Some in the party believed the resolution should condemn antisemitism, while others argued that it has unfairly singled out Omar and should be broadened to include anti-Muslim bias.She said the controversy afforded Democrats the opportunity to unequivocally denounce bigotry, attempting to draw a distinction with the US president.“The president may think there are good people on both sides,” Pelosi said referring to Trump’s comments after Charlottesville. “We don’t share that view.”The controversy exposed a rift within the Democratic caucus that cracked along generational, ideological religious and racial lines. Republicans for their part have largely enjoyed the show, interjecting only to fan the flames.Congressman Lee Zeldin, a New York Republican who is Jewish and voted against the resolution, asked why Omar hadn’t apologized for her comments this time.“I don’t believe she is naive. I believe she knows exactly what she’s doing,” he said, adding that criticism of a foreign government is every America’s constitutional right but “it is not an American value to be hurling anti-semitic rhetoric”.Some Jewish lawmakers said they were disappointed in the resolution’s broad scope .“We are having this debate because of the language one of our colleagues, language that suggests that Jews like me who serve in the United States in Congress and whose father earned a purple heart fighting the Nazis in the Battle of the Bulge, that we are not loyal Americans,” congressman Ted Deutch, a Florida Democrat who is Jewish, said Thursday in an impassioned speech on the House floor.“Why are we unable to singularly condemn anti-semitism? Why can’t we call antisemitism and show that we’ve learned the lessons of history.”Omar, who came to the US as a refugee from Somalia and is the first woman to wear a hijab in the chamber, has been vocal about the racially and religiously motivated attacks that she’s endured, including accusations that she is “un-American”. A sign posted in the West Virginia capitol last week displayed a photo of Omar below a photograph of New York’s World Trade Center burning after the al-Qaida terrorist attacks of September 11.The Minnesota congresswoman is part of a cohort of young progressive lawmakers who are openly critical of the Israeli government. But critics argue that her remarks amount to a disturbing pattern of antisemitism. She apologized for a 2012 tweet in which she said Israel had “hypnotized” America, then again for suggesting that members of Congress support Israel because they are paid to do so after an unflinching rebuke by her party’s leadership.But this time, her comments sharply divided Democrats. Some lawmakers argued that Omar was being unfairly targeted – and believe the issue is being inflamed by conservatives eager to drive a political wedge in the caucus. The presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Kamala Harris defended her.“What I fear is going on in the House now is an effort to target congresswoman Omar as a way of stifling that debate,” said Sanders, who is Jewish. “That’s wrong.”Harris said Democrats must “speak out against hate” but added that there is a “critical difference between criticism of policy or political leaders, and antisemitism”.

The Latest: Cardinal offers resignation after conviction

LYON, France (AP) — The Latest on a church sex abuse trial in France (all times local):

Don't expect details from Mueller probe: senior U.S. Republican

If Representative Doug Collins is right, Democratic-led congressional committees that have launched their own probes of Trump may be stuck with a Mueller investigation report that serves more as a general guidebook than a detailed roadmap of Russian interference and any Trump campaign collusion. Democrats, who control the House of Representatives, want congressional investigators to have access to Mueller's grand jury evidence and other information from the probe, fearing that Attorney General William Barr could release only a summary of Mueller's report. Barr must decide what to do with it, a major test for the new Justice Department chief.

You can critique Israel without sounding anti-Semitic. Rep. Ilhan Omar should learn how.

Omar's thoughtless comments about Jews and Israel hurt her and help Netanyahu. Here's what we should be discussing, minus the anti-Semitic cliches.

Anti-Semitism part of wave of 'depraved hatred', pope says

In comments to members of the American Jewish Committee during a visit to the Vatican, he also reiterated that it was sinful for Christians to hold anti-Semitic sentiments because they shared a heritage with Jews. "A source of great concern to me is the spread, in many places, of a climate of wickedness and fury, in which an excessive and depraved hatred is taking root," Francis said. "I think especially of the outbreak of anti-Semitic attacks in various countries." Francis did not name any of those countries, but government statistics released last month showed more than 500 anti-Semitic attacks occurred last year in France, which has Europe's biggest Jewish community.

SpaceX capsule lands in Atlantic Ocean

Elon Musk's SpaceX Dragon capsule has successfully returned to Earth, paving the way for the first American manned spaceflight in eight years. The commercial astronaut capsule - a joint venture between Nasa and SpaceX - landed in the Atlantic Ocean on Frirday morning after a week-long trip to the International Space Station (ISS) and back. It marks the first orbital test mission in the space agency's long-delayed quest to resume human space flight from US soil. But it also opens a new chapter for private companies in the space race. The test mission was a crucial milestone in Nasa's commercial crew programme ahead of SpaceX’s first crewed test flight scheduled for July with two American astronauts. Nasa has awarded SpaceX and Boeing Co a total of $6.8 billion (£5.23 billion) to build competing rocket and capsule systems to launch astronauts into orbit from American soil, something not possible since the US Space Shuttle was retired from service in 2011. SpaceX's crew capsule undocks from the International Space Station on Friday Credit: NASA TV The launch systems are aimed at ending American reliance on Russian Soyuz rockets for $80 million-per-seat rides to the $100 billion orbital research laboratory, which flies about 250 miles above earth. "This really is an American achievement that spans many generations of NASA administrators and over a decade of work by the NASA team," Nasa Administrator Jim Bridenstine said. Mr Bridenstine told reporters that the cost per seat on the Boeing or SpaceX systems would be lower than for the shuttle or Soyuz. The first-of-a-kind mission brought 400 pounds of test equipment to the ISS, including a dummy nicknamed Ripley in honour of the character played by Sigourney Weaver in the "Alien" movies. Ripley was fitted with sensors around its head, neck and spine to test the forces that future astronauts will be subjected to on takeoff and when they return to the Earth's atmosphere. The space station's three-member crew greeted the capsule last Sunday, with American astronaut Anne McClain and Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques entering Crew Dragon’s cabin to carry out air quality tests and inspections. The Crew Dragon capsule autonomously detached from the ISS early on Friday and sped back to earth reaching hyper-sonic speeds before landing about 200 miles off the Florida coast. SpaceX's crew capsule has returned to earth Credit: NASA TV A SpaceX rocket launched the 16-foot-tall capsule from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida last Saturday. Minutes before hitting the water, the Crew Dragon capsule deployed its four parachutes, easing some concerns about functionality that both Nasa and SpaceX had before the landing. Mr Musk, SpaceX's chief executive, had previously voiced his concerns over how the capsule would cope with re-entry because of the irregular shape of the vehicle's heat shield. But speaking after landing Benjamin Reed, SpaceX’s director of crew mission management, said: "Everything happened just perfectly, right on time the way that we expected it to". A boat in the zone where the capsule landed in the Atlantic lifted the spacecraft out of the water. It will carry the capsule back to land by Sunday. "The vehicle is doing well. The recovery crews are out. They're on the scene," said Steve Stich, the crew program's deputy manager with Nasa.

Ex-Venezuelan vice president accused of aiding drug dealers

NEW YORK (AP) — Charges were unsealed Friday against a former Venezuelan vice president in New York federal court as authorities accused him of using his office to aid international drug traffickers.

Ilhan Omar: Pelosi joins Sanders and AOC in defence of Congresswoman, saying comments were not 'intended in any anti-semitic way'

Prominent progressives including Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have come to the defence of Representative Ilhan Omar amid controversy following her criticism of pro-Israel groups and politicians, which some have deemed anti-semitic. Meanwhile, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has suggested that Ms Omar may not have understood the full weight of what she was saying at the time. "I don't think that the congresswoman perhaps appreciates the full weight of how it was heard by other people, although I don't believe it was intended in any anti-Semitic way," Ms Pelosi said on Thursday during a press briefing.

FAA seeks a truce in dispute between Southwest and key union

DALLAS (AP) — The Federal Aviation Administration on Friday warned Southwest Airlines and its mechanics union that their bitter fight could hurt the airline's safety program.

How Lasik Steadied Two Mets Behind the Plate

By KEVIN ARMSTRONG from NYT Sports https://ift.tt/2H8t0Uk

‘For Us, by Us’: Inside the New Social Spaces for People of Color

By MORGAN JERKINS from NYT New York https://ift.tt/2EYsWnT

The Bull Market’s Greatest Feat? Sowing Doubt

By STEPHEN GROCER from NYT Business https://ift.tt/2UnZ5KN

The Bull Market Began 10 Years Ago. Why Aren’t More People Celebrating?

By MATT PHILLIPS from NYT Business https://ift.tt/2VJRshX

India waiting for UK reply after fugitive Nirav Modi's video surfaces

India said on Saturday it was waiting for Britain to respond to its request to extradite fugitive billionaire jeweler Nirav Modi, after London's Telegraph newspaper reported that he was living in an upscale apartment in London.

from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2XLRJD6

Ilhan Omar comments: Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defend congresswoman over anti-semitism claims

Prominent progressives including Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have come to the defence of Representative Ilhan Omar amid controversy following her criticism of pro-Israel groups and politicians, which some have deemed anti-semitic. Mr Sanders, who is Jewish, said that he believes the attacks on Ms Omar are aimed at silencing discussion of American foreign policy with regards to Israel. “What I fear is going on in the House now is an effort to target Congresswoman Omar as a way of stifling that debate,” Mr Sanders, who is top democratic presidential candidate, said in a statement.

Pakistan seizes religious schools in intensified crackdown on militants

The move represents Pakistan's biggest move against banned organizations in years and appears to be targeting Islamic welfare organizations that the United States says are a front for militant activities. Pakistan is facing pressure from global powers to act against groups carrying out attacks in India, including Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), which claimed responsibility for the Feb. 14 attack that killed at least 40 Indian paramilitary police. Pakistani officials say the crackdown is part of a long-planned drive and not a response to Indian anger over what New Delhi calls Islamabad's failure to rein in militant groups operating on Pakistani soil.

Captain Marvel and Today’s Exhausting Feminism

Gird your loins, America, for I have a bone-rattlingly powerful tale to tell: In case you haven’t heard, there is a new movie hitting theaters, and it will reportedly change the way you look at the world forever. It is called “Captain Marvel,” and it is based on a comic-book superhero, and the superhero is played by . . . here, you might grab your smelling salts, because this is super groundbreaking and wildly controversial in the year 2019 . . . A WOMAN.Whoa! I know! It’s mind-boggling! This has never happened before, except when it happened two years ago, when Wonder Woman came out, which was also when an impressively large press cohort collectively and conveniently forgot the countless strong female leads that had occurred even before then! Remember those fevered days? Remember when an alarming number of movie critics simultaneously lost their minds over the sheer raw feminism of Wonder Woman, documenting how they cried at the theater and declaring that viewing Wonder Woman might have been the most powerful experience of their life, which should deeply worry us all if that is indeed really true?It’s okay if you don’t remember: The Internet appears to be melting all of our brains. Anyway, I liked Wonder Woman, and I’m sure Captain Marvel is fine, despite the web of semi-hysterical press surrounding its release. The women in the film, intones one review at Forbes, “are pilots, they are scientists, they are warriors, and while some of the men around them might not understand that or accept it, the women don't frankly need them to and aren't going to wait around for the myopic men to catch up to the facts.”Ah, yes! Those daft, myopic men, always fouling things up! But wait, there’s more: “That's not to say, however, that Captain Marvel doesn't remind us of the sorts of daily frustrations, struggles, and inequalities women face in society — being told to smile more . . .”Wait. What? Let’s stop here, shall we? Out of the world’s massive crab bucket of problems, let us stop and consider the modern scourge among American women of being told to smile more. Has it been two seconds? Okay, that’s probably enough time — although if you google “Captain Marvel” and “smile more,” you will discover that many people fervently disagree.For the record, I have never been told to smile more. This deeply worries me, because perhaps it means I am smiling too much. Truly, it keeps me up at night, brooding like a superhero in anguish! Just kidding. It doesn’t worry me at all, because it doesn’t matter. I don’t care, and neither should you, and nobody should be in a tizzy about this particular subject in general, because life is precious and very short.With that in mind, here’s what does worry me a bit, even if it is a bit tangential: Captain Marvel, or at least the reception of it, might be a subtle indicator of how suffocating modern feminism has become.At a base level, the very idea of a superhero is innately goofy or farcical, or at least it should be. But Captain Marvel, by most accounts, is almost perfect: Strong. Beautiful. Driven. Ultra-powerful. According to Slate, she is a “serious, stolid type whose steel will and laser-focused commitment to her mission make her a formidable foe even when her fists aren’t glowing orange with photon-blasting superpowers,” which is impressive indeed.But what does it say about our culture that influential people take a movie like this — and similar so-called “representations” of women, which, as a reminder, are based on fictional comic-book characters with alien superpowers — so seriously? Perhaps it’s because modern feminism has morphed into a crazed culture of unforgiving, humorless, and ultimately atomized workaholism. But hey, that’s just my theory.On February 24, The Atlantic published a fascinating essay by Derek Thompson on the rise of American “workism,” which he describes as a “kind of religion” that promises “identity, transcendence, and community” by centering one’s life around work. While traditional religious faith has declined in America, Thompson notes, “everybody worships something. And workism is among the most potent of the new religions competing for congregants.” Morph workism with feminism and boy, oh boy, you’ve got something to behold.I have a fairly old-school view when it comes to female empowerment: Women should be free to pursue their dreams, whether that involves being an astronaut or an accountant or a farmer or a stay-at-home mom. I’ve also been around long enough to see that American culture relentlessly pushes high-achieving young women to obsessively put their careers first in their lives, no matter what their ultimate personal goals might be — even if those goals involve having a family.As Thompson notes in The Atlantic, “having a job or career they enjoy” is noted as “extremely or very important” for 95 percent of teens. Only 47 percent rank getting married with the same importance. Between men and women, guess who loses more from this cultural phenomenon? (Hint: It’s the half with the shorter biological clock.)Don’t get me wrong: Work can be very good! I’ve done a lot of it myself. I’m as big a fan of free-market capitalism as the next red-blooded American who grew up during the Reagan administration, trust me. Unfortunately, the modern feminist vision somehow morphs that capitalism into its worst caricature, or a Hobbesian war of all against all. Weirdly, it also simultaneously suggests that we all should be getting up at 5 a.m. daily to prep for, say, three Ironman races a year — or, even better, as the Los Angeles Times recently put it, “train like a noble Kree warrior hero” based on Captain Marvel star Brie Larson’s nine-month pre-movie workout plan. Right.Alternatively, you could just go running a few times a week and call it a day. Forget “leaning in,” America — lean out with me! Let’s start a movement together! You won’t get to be a proverbial Captain Marvel, but that’s okay. Like much of today’s pop feminism, that sounds kind of exhausting and not very fun.

Manafort penalty sparks outrage among legal experts: '4-year sentence far below the recommended 20 years'

The sentencing of Paul Manafort, former chairman of Donald Trump's presidential campaign, was highly anticipated, capping a significant chapter in Robert Mueller's special counsel investigation. As a federal judge handed down his sentence in a jam-packed Alexandria, Virginia, courtroom and observers digested the judge's decision - 47 months - Manafort's case was immediately perceived as a high-profile instance of the justice system working one way for a wealthy, well-connected man, while working in another, harsher, way for indigent defendants facing lesser crimes. "Paul Manafort's lenient four-year sentence - far below the recommended 20 years despite extensive felonies and post-conviction obstruction - is a reminder of the blatant inequities in our justice system that we all know about, because they reoccur every week in courts across America," said Ari Melber, a legal analyst for NBC News, in a tweet shortly after the verdict.

Sherrod Brown surprises Democrats by announcing he will not run for president

Brown, 66, plans to remain in US Senate but says he will ‘keep calling out Donald Trump and his phony populism’ * Paul Manafort sentencing – follow it liveBrown’s appeal among working-class voters should position him to play an influential role in the election. Photograph: John Locher/APSenator Sherrod Brown, one of the Democratic party’s progressive stalwarts, has announced he will not run for president in 2020.Brown, a three-term senator from the swing state of Ohio, said he would continue the fight to make his “dignity of work” platform a centerpiece of the Democratic agenda, but that his party would be best served by him remaining in the US Senate.“I will keep calling out Donald Trump and his phony populism. I will keep fighting for all workers across the country,” Brown said in a statement on Thursday. “And I will do everything I can to elect a Democratic president and a Democratic Senate in 2020.”Brown’s decision followed months of speculation over his plans – bolstered by a listening tour launched in January that saw him criss-cross early primary states such as Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. But while Brown, 66, has long been a leader of the Democratic party’s populist movement, he would have entered the race without the national name recognition of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, or the established legacy of former vice-president Joe Biden.Brown’s appeal among working-class voters will nonetheless position him to play an influential role in the general election, especially as Democrats vie to take back Ohio after the battleground swung in Trump’s favor in 2016. Brown was comfortably re-elected in the November midterm elections, earning nearly 10 percentage points more than Hillary Clinton did two years prior.Brown was considered a top contender to be Clinton’s running mate in 2016, but was widely perceived to have lost out because John Kasich, then the governor of Ohio, would have replaced him with a Republican in the Senate.Elected to the Senate in 2006, Brown has spent much of his career in Washington focused on workers’ rights and labor issues. Despite his decision not to run, Brown is expected to push for policies that include expanding overtime pay, universal childcare and raising the minimum wage.“We’ve seen candidates begin taking up the dignity of work fight, and we have seen voters across the country demanding it – because dignity of work is a value that unites all of us,” Brown said on Thursday.“It is how we beat Trump, and it is how we should govern.”

Megaphones and more: Mueller details Russian U.S. election meddling

While Mueller has yet to submit to U.S. Attorney General William Barr a final report on his investigation into Russia's role in the election, the former FBI director already has provided a sweeping account in a pair of indictments that charged 25 Russian individuals and three Russian companies. Key questions still to be answered are whether Mueller will conclude that Trump's campaign conspired with Moscow and whether Trump unlawfully sought to obstruct the probe. Russia has denied election interference.

Yes, There’s a Crisis at the Border

We interrupt the talk of the president “manufacturing” a crisis at the border with this hair-raising report about the crisis at the border.Alarming new numbers about border apprehensions from U.S. Customs and Border Protection should puncture the lazy conventional wisdom about the border being under control, except in the lurid imagination of President Donald Trump.More than 76,000 migrants were apprehended crossing the southern border last month, the highest February in more than 10 years and the highest month of the Trump administration. The number of apprehensions tops any month during the 2014 border surge under President Barack Obama, which no one had a problem calling a crisis at the time.Every indication is that the situation is going to get worse. We could be about to experience a migrant surge worthy of Angela Merkel at her most openhanded, even though, in immigration terms, Viktor Orban — the Hungarian prime minister who favors tough border enforcement — is president.Yes, there were more overall apprehensions in the 2000s. But it was a different population, made up overwhelmingly of adult males from Mexico who might be apprehended trying to cross multiple times and were reliably returned home when they were caught. Now, we are apprehending people but not returning them.Migrants are coming in greater numbers from Central American countries instead of Mexico, and are primarily families and children. In an astonishing shift, in 2012, 10 percent of apprehended migrants were families and children; in recent months, it’s been 61 percent.The rules for dealing with migrants from noncontiguous countries and with family units make it all but impossible to swiftly return or detain them, not to mention that our physical facilities were built with single adults in mind.There is no mechanism to return these migrants home, to hold them after they cross the border, or to remove them once they are in the interior. And word has gotten out. There’s a reason that the subset of migrants that we can’t stop from getting into the country is growing so rapidly.Needless to say, a spiraling border crisis is maddening for a president committed to controlling the border, which is why we’ve seen such frenetic activity from Trump.He’s tried to prosecute all adults crossing the border illegally, and had to abandon it in the (understandable) firestorm over the resulting family separations. He’s tried to jawbone Mexico into helping, with some success, although migrants are still traveling through Mexico in large numbers. He’s tried to tighten up asylum policy but been blocked in the courts. He’s tried to get Congress to fix the rules for dealing with migrants, to no avail. And, of course, he’s tried to build a wall.Trump’s rhetoric may be over the top, but the impulse to get a handle on this is absolutely correct.First, there’s the question of basic sovereignty. If we are going to welcome a large number of migrants from three or four foreign countries, we should make that decision as a conscious policy, rather than slip-sliding into it unawares.Then there’s the matter of assimilation and legality. Poorly educated immigrants, like the ones coming from Central America, have the hardest time assimilating, and they will lack legal status on top of it.Finally, there’s the humanitarian question. Migrant families show up needing medical attention that we aren’t well prepared to provide. We’d be much better positioned to tend to the migrants under our care if the numbers weren’t overwhelming.But we are at a stalemate. The New York Times editorialized the other day that Trump declared “that there’s a crisis at the border, contrary to all evidence.” Then, the paper ran a news story headlined, “Border at ‘Breaking Point’ as More than 76,000 Migrants Cross in a Month.”Both of those pieces can’t be right. There’s manufacturing a crisis, and then there’s ignoring one for fear of conceding anything to Trump.© 2019 by King Features Syndicate