memeorandum: As Amazon Fires Become Global Crisis, Brazil's President Reverses Course (New York Times)

10:55 AM ET, August 24, 2019

Top Items:

A Gyrating Economy, and Trump's Volatile Approach to It, Raise Alarms — BIARRITZ, France — President Trump has again tossed out the economic and political playbook that guided other occupants of the Oval Office for generations as the United States dominated the flow of goods and services across the world.

Discussion: National Review, Quartz, RedState, CNN, Reason, Vanity Fair, Fox News, UPI and The Atlantic, more at Techmeme »

Peter Baker / New York Times:

Ahead of G7, Trump Asserts He Can Force U.S. Companies to Leave China — BIARRITZ, France — President Trump asserted on Saturday that he has the authority to make good on his threat to force all American businesses to leave China, citing a national security law that has been used mainly …

Discussion: Progress Pond, Fortune and The Week

Associated Press:

At global summit, Trump facing limits of go-it-alone stance — BIARRITZ, France (AP) — President Donald Trump arrived Saturday in France for an international summit with the leaders of the globe's economic powers as he confronts the consequences of his preference for going it alone …

Discussion: Politico

Matthew Choi / Politico:

Trump: ‘Chosen one’ remark was sarcasm — In a wide-ranging press gaggle before departing for the G7 in France, President Donald Trump late Friday spoke positively of world leaders, North Korea and the economy, and said his recent remark calling himself the “chosen one” to fight China on trade was just sarcasm.

Discussion: The Week, Althouse, The Guardian and ABC News

Washington Post:
Trump ‘hereby’ orders U.S. business out of China. Can he do that?

Discussion: Daily Wire and The Mahablog

BuzzFeed News:

Federal Agencies Have Been Sending Employees Links To White Nationalist And Conspiracy Websites For Months — An arm of the Justice Department regularly sent summaries and links to articles from an online white nationalist publication over the last year, a BuzzFeed News investigation has found.

Discussion: New York Times, Outside the Beltway, ImmigrationProf Blog, Breitbart, Daily Kos and The Intellectualist, more at Mediagazer »

Devlin Barrett / Washington Post: Justice Dept. cancels internal news briefing after judges were sent link to anti-Semitic blog post

New York Times:

Joe Biden, Recalling '68, Asks Audience to Imagine Obama's Assassination — “Imagine what would have happened if, God forbid, Barack Obama had been assassinated after becoming the de facto nominee,” Mr. Biden said, evoking the tumult of 1968. — HANOVER, N.H. — Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr …

Discussion: Breitbart, Front Page Magazine and twitchy.com

Tal Axelrod / The Hill:
Biden evokes 1968, asks voters to imagine if Obama had been assassinated

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Townhall

Matt Viser / Washington Post:
Evoking 1968 at town hall, Biden asks: What would have happened if Obama had been assassinated?

Discussion: Mediaite, Politico and BizPac Review

Adam Edelman / NBC News:

Trump increases tariffs on Chinese goods hours after slamming Fed chief — Trump announced in a statement Friday that he would be raising tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese products from 25 percent to 30 percent, effective October 1. — President Donald Trump on Friday announced …

Discussion: New York Magazine, BizPac Review, Big League Politics, CNBC and Barron's Online

Neil Irwin / New York Times: One Crazy Day Showed How Political Chaos Threatens the World Economy

National Review: Out of Order — A question in the spirit of Donald Trump's tweets …

Heather Long / Washington Post:
Trump calls the Fed chair an ‘enemy’ after Powell said trade war is ‘turbulent’

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, The Gateway Pundit and BizPac Review

Anneken Tappe / CNN:
Stocks close sharply lower after Trump-fueled selloff

Discussion: UPI, Financial Times, Mediaite, New York Times, Washington Press, Latest from Crooks and Liars, Vox, twitchy.com, WHOTV and FOX2now.com

New York Times:

As Amazon Fires Become Global Crisis, Brazil's President Reverses Course — RIO DE JANEIRO — As an ecological disaster in the Amazon escalated into a global political crisis, Brazil's president, Jair Bolsonaro, took the rare step on Friday of mobilizing the armed forces to help contain blazes of a scale not seen in nearly a decade.

Discussion: The Atlantic, The Week, Political Wire, Washington Post, WHYY, Politico, NPR, Al Jazeera and Slate

Victor Caivano / Associated Press: Bolsonaro to send army to contain Amazon fires

Mike Baker / New York Times:

How a Bitter Divorce Battle on Earth Led to Claims of a Crime in Space — Summer Worden, a former Air Force intelligence officer living in Kansas, has been in the midst of a bitter separation and parenting dispute for much of the past year. So she was surprised when she noticed …

Discussion: CNN, Quartz and New York Post

Associated Press:

This means trade war: Is Trump's economic team up for it? — WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing a trade war against China that has shaken the global economy, President Donald Trump gathered his most trusted economic aides in the Oval Office. — The assembled brain trust for Friday's urgent consultations included …

Discussion: Raw Story

Jamelle Bouie / New York Times:

Liberty and Slavery Have Always Been Wrapped Up With Each Other — The question of how to work out the relationship between them is fundamental to understanding American history. — I am just one of many contributors to The New York Times Magazine's 1619 Project and can't claim to speak for it.

Claire Goforth / The Daily Dot:

Far-right troll Jacob Wohl scammed a Trump fan out of $25,000 (updated) — ‘We got cheated by some 20-year-old kid.’ — Jacob Wohl scarcely goes a month without being implicated in a scam. And his latest is a doozy. — Two men say that his latest target was the Telugu Association of North America …

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

Haley-Pence rivalry heats up as GOP weighs post-Trump future — When top Republicans convened at the St. Regis resort in Aspen, Colo. last month for an exclusive donor retreat, several attendees said there was palpable tension in the room as the gathering's two headliners prepared to speak …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Megan Greenwell / The Concourse:

The Adults In The Room — There is a version of the story of this company in which idealistic journalists, unconcerned with profit, are posed against ruthless business-doers, concerned about profit above all else. That would be a convenient story, pitching me and my colleagues and friends …

Discussion: Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

Kevin Liptak / CNN:

Trump has questioned why he must attend G7 — (CNN)President Donald Trump departs late Friday for a summit he's questioned is worth his time. — This year's G7 gathering, held in seaside France, is Trump's third. It comes amid global economic jitters, tensions from the Mideast …

Discussion: Washington Post, Hot Air, Politico and International Business Times

Associated Press:

Candidate: Michigan city should be as white ‘as possible’ — MARYSVILLE, Mich. (AP) — A city council candidate in Michigan said Friday she has no plans to end her campaign after shocking a public forum when she said she wants to keep her community white “as much as possible.”

Nabih Bulos / Los Angeles Times:

Iraqis, bristling over Israeli airstrike, renew call for U.S. troops to get out — News that Israel was behind airstrikes in Iraq has reinvigorated calls to oust U.S. forces from the country. — A U.S. official confirmed Friday that Israel had struck a base for the Hashd al Shaabi …

Discussion: Informed Comment

New York Times:

Tainted Water, Ignored Warnings and a Boss With a Criminal Past — How a long line of questionable decisions led to the crisis over lead contamination in Newark. — NEWARK — In the year after receiving test results showing alarming levels of lead in this city's drinking water …

NBC News:

African American employee's office vandalized inside Education Department — African art figurines were found beheaded and a school desegregation poster was damaged, leading to fears the attack was racially motivated. — WASHINGTON — The office of an African American employee …

Discussion: Fox News

Megan McArdle / Washington Post:

When will Trump supporters finally say, ‘Okay, this is not normal’? — The left had an easy time settling on its attitude toward President Trump's supporters: a mixture of horrified outrage and sneering contempt. For many of us on the right, though, it hasn't been so easy.

Discussion: New York Times and Hot Air

David Remnick / New Yorker:

Trump Clarification Syndrome — In December, 2003, the columnist Charles Krauthammer made a brief return to his first career, as a psychiatrist. Writing in the Washington Post, he said, “It has been 25 years since I discovered a psychiatric syndrome (for the record: 'Secondary Mania …

Shane Goldmacher / New York Times:

How David Koch and His Brother Shaped American Politics — The billionaire, who died Friday, understood the power of changing ‘hearts and minds.’ He spent almost unlimited money on behalf of limited government. — In 1980, David H. Koch, one of the two billionaire industrialist brothers …

Discussion: Rolling Stone, BuzzFeed News and Vox

Sarah Ewall-Wice / CBS News:

Biden campaign accuses Trump campaign of poaching donors — Joe Biden's presidential campaign is accusing President Trump's campaign of poaching online donors. In a fundraising email sent to supporters Thursday, the Biden campaign pointed out that if someone types “donate Joe Biden” …

Discussion: Front Page Magazine

Tim Hains / RealClearPolitics:

Rep. Mo Brooks: “Growing Influence Of The Islamic Religion In Democratic Party” Fuels Anti-Israel, Anti-Jewish Views — Wednesday during an appearance on “The Jeff Poor Show” on Alabama's WVNN radio, Rep. Mo Brooks warned that the “growing influence” of Islam in the Democratic Party …