Nicolas Dupont-Aignan (left) with Marine Le Pen (Right)
On Friday March 29th, Marine Le Pen, France’s far-right presidential candidate, said she’d appoint former rival Nicolas Dupont-Aignan as her prime minister. Of course, this would only happen if she won the election. However, Le Pen has been gaining ground on Emmanuel Macron, her opponent in the election. Le Pen is the former leader of the National Front, a right-wing political party associated with anti-Semitism and xenophobia. Dupont-Aignan is not a member of the party, however was another of the far-right candidates. On Friday, he endorsed her, which essentially means that he is on her side of the election. The announcement is supposedly going to help bring nearly two million voters to Le Pen’s side on the day of the election, which is what she needs to beat Macron. A day after the announcement, the two appeared at a news conference in Paris, where Le Pen stated that they “will form a government of national unity that brings together people chosen for their competence and their love of France” (Marine Le Pen; NPR). I feel that this election parallels the 2016 USA elections. Le Pen is gaining ground fast, just like Donald Trump gained ground very quickly at the end of the election. As a French citizen, I hope the French election does not create the same turmoil and chaos that was created by the United States’ election. Source: http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/04/29/526195277/marine-le-pen-aligns-with-mainstream-onetime-rival
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The tension between North Korea and the United States has been steadily rising for quite some time now. On Sunday, the Pentagon called on North Korea to “refrain from provocative, destabilizing actions and rhetoric, and to make the strategic choice to fulfill its international obligations and commitments and return to serious talks" (Gary Ross, Pentagon Spokesman). This statement came after one of North Korea’s newspapers staed that it was “ready to take out a US aircraft carrier conducting drills with Japanese destroyers near the Philipines” (CNN).
For many months now, North Korea (specifically their president, Kim Jong-Un) has been threatening the United States with missile launches. Last September, North Korea conducted its fifth nuclear weapons test. A sixth one was scheduled to happen this month, but it went down in flames not long after it was launched. North Korea has continued to threaten US security and plans to continue to do this. I believe this is a very serious conflict, and I hope there is a peaceful solution. A war involving nuclear weapons would be catastrophic for people around the world. Source: http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/23/politics/pentagon-north-korea/index.html On Tuesday, March 29th, President Trump signed the Energy Independence Executive Order, reversing much of the Obama administration’s regulations to protect the environment. The order asks the government to revisit several climate change policies. One such policy is the Clean Power Act, which requires reductions in power plant emission by 2030, as well as revising carbon standards for new coal plants.
President Trump believes his new plan will “eliminate federal overreach” and “start a new era of production and job creation” (Donald Trump). He believes by stopping some of these programs, the government will be able to spend money elsewhere. However, Experts say that the executive order will “have minimal impact, at least in the short term” (Dogo News). This is because he does not have the authority to cancel a government regulation like the Clean Power Act. I think that the effects of global warming are very serious, both now and in the future. This executive order isn’t going to help us in the slightest; in my opinion, it’s going to create even more problems. Source: https://www.dogonews.com/2017/3/29/president-trump-signs-energy-independence-executive-order |
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