Tag Archives: State Department

Rudy Giuliani Drops Bid To Become Secretary Of State

CBS News reports: Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani has removed himself from consideration for the position of secretary of state, according to a statement from President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team. The statement says that Giuliani told Mr. Trump on November 29th that he no longer wanted to run the State Department. Giuliani, a close and unequivocating Trump ally, …

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Anti-Gay Iowa Governor Named Ambassador To China

Before he was even sworn-in back in 2010, the first thing Iowa Governor-Elect Terry Branstad did was call for a public referendum to repeal same-sex marriage. Three of the state Supreme Court justices that had upheld same-sex marriage in 2009 were voted out of office in the same election. And now, barring unlikely opposition in the Senate, he’s heading for …

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Chinese Foreign Ministry Lodges Complaint Over Trump’s Unprecedented Call With Taiwan’s President

CNN reports: China’s foreign ministry said Saturday it has lodged a complaint with the United States over a controversial phone call between President-elect Donald Trump and Taiwan’s President that has overturned decades of diplomatic protocol. China views Taiwan as a renegade province and, since 1979, the US has acknowledged Beijing’s claim that Taiwan is part of China, with US-China relations …

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Trump Narrows Secretary Of State Field To Four In Celebrity Apprentice: White House Elimination Round

The Hill reports: President-elect Donald Trump has narrowed the field of contenders for secretary of State to four candidates, his transition team said today. Spokesman Jason Miller confirmed that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) are still under consideration. Miller would not reveal the names of the other two contenders, but …

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Tony Perkins: Mitt Romney Won’t Stop The Terrorism Spawned By Hillary Clinton’s Support For LGBT Rights

Via press release from hate group leader Tony Perkins: For the last eight years the Obama State Department has been focused on pushing sexual orientation and gender identity rather than upholding core American ideals. The result is a world where few regions are not in turmoil, the threat of radical Islam is ever-expanding, the loss of religious freedom continues, and …

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Secretary Of State John Kerry Reaffirms Support For Trans Rights On Transgender Day Of Remembrance

Don’t expect to see anything like this next year. Via press release from Secretary of State John Kerry: On Transgender Day of Remembrance, the United States solemnly honors the memory of the many transgender individuals who lost their lives to senseless acts of violence. Transgender persons around the world are targeted by rising levels of violence fueled by hatred and …

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Mitt Romney To Meet With “Phony, Lying, Dishonest, Fraud” Donald Trump To Discuss Secretary Of State Job

So much for Mitt Romney’s truly epic video slam of Trump, huh? NBC News reports: Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney will meet with Donald Trump this weekend to discuss the secretary of state position, a source close to the president-elect with direct knowledge of his thinking told NBC News. In March, the former Massachusetts governor called Trump “a phony” …

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PHILIPPINES: President Rodrigo Duterte Calls US Ambassador Philip Goldberg “The Gay Son Of A Whore”

The Guardian reports:  The Philippines’ firebrand President Rodrigo Duterte has sparked a fresh diplomatic row with his colourful language, calling the US ambassador “gay” in comments that prompted Washington to summon Manila’s envoy to complain. In the latest of series of tirades, Duterte used a local Tagalog language homophobic slur to express his displeasure with US Ambassador Philip Goldberg in …

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Trump & Clinton To Begin Getting Classified Briefings

The Washington Post reports: At some point, perhaps as early as next week, federal agents will sit down with Donald Trump and tell him classified information about the government and our foreign-policy efforts. For Democrats, this is a point of both anguish and political calculation. Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid has suggested that Trump’s murky ties to foreign interests …

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TONIGHT: Hillary To Highlight Foreign Policy Experience In Video For Democratic National Convention

Watch below. Via press release from Hillary For America: Tonight, the Democratic National Convention Committee is releasing a new video touting the steadfast leadership and smart diplomacy that Hillary Clinton displayed as America’s 67th Secretary of State. Clinton brokered an improbable ceasefire in Gaza to stop rockets from raining down on Israel. In Copenhagen, Clinton and President Obama crashed a …

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BREAKING: Loretta Lynch Says No Charges For Hillary

Via Politico: U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch on Wednesday said the Justice Department has decided not to pursue charges against Hillary Clinton or her aides and will close the investigation into her use of a private email server during her tenure as secretary of state. “Late this afternoon, I met with FBI Director James Comey and career prosecutors and agents …

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Pope Francis Accepts Resignation Of Dominican Cardinal Who Used Anti-Gay Slurs Against US Ambassador

From the Washington Blade: The Vatican announced on Monday that Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Cardinal Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez of the Archbishop of Santo Domingo. The Holy See said in a statement that the pontiff has named Monsignor Francisco Ozoria Acosta of the Diocese of San Pedro de Macorís as López’s successor. López has repeatedly used …

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IVORY COAST: Gay Men Attacked By Mob After Signing Pulse Massacre Condolences Book At US Embassy

From the Associated Press: Gay men in Ivory Coast say they’ve been assaulted and forced to flee their homes after the U.S. Embassy published a photo of them signing a condolence book for victims of this month’s killings at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. The photo, published on the embassy’s website, shows the faces of six men with the …

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Family Of Slain US Ambassador Chris Stevens: We Blame Congress Not Hillary Clinton For Benghazi

From Mediaite: In a new interview with The New Yorker, the sister of slain Ambassador Chris Stevens — one of the four American casualties from the September 11, 2012 attack on a compound in Benghazi, Libya — says that the fault does not lie with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. On the same day that the Republican-led Select Committee …

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Jamaica Slams US Embassy’s “Disrespectful” Pride Flag

From the BBC: Jamaica’s attorney general has sparked criticism after saying it was “disrespectful” to Jamaican law for the US embassy to fly a rainbow flag following the Orlando shooting. In response, the US embassy in the capital Kingston asked Marlene Malahoo Forte to explain her legal reasoning. Forty-nine people died when a gunman opened fire in a gay club …

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Feds: Hillary Broke Rules With Private Email Server

NBC News reports: Hillary Clinton violated federal records rules through her use of a private email server while she was secretary of state, a State Department audit has concluded. “At a minimum, Secretary Clinton should have surrendered all emails dealing with Department issues before leaving government service,” says an audit by the State Department Inspector General, obtained by NBC News. …

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BANGLADESH: Police Arrest Suspect In Terrorist Killing Of Gay Rights Activist Xulhaz Mannan

From the Associated Press: Police in Bangladesh said Sunday that they have arrested a suspected Muslim militant for his alleged involvement in the killing last month of a gay rights activist and his friend in the capital. Police identified the suspect as Shariful Islam Shihab, a former member of the banned Islamic group Harkatul Jihad. They said he joined another …

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JAPAN: US Embassy Tweets Marriage Equality Message From Evan Wolfson To Promote Rainbow Week [VIDEO]

Less than a month after last year’s landmark ruling from the Supreme Court, Freedom To Marry held its “going out of business” gala and has since closed its offices. But founder Evan Wolfson is far from retired from fighting for LGBT equality. From the US Embassy in Tokyo: “To mark the beginning of Tokyo Rainbow Week starting tomorrow, here’s a …

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BANGLADESH: Al-Qaeda Claims Credit For Murder Of Gay Activist, US Ambassador Demands Action

The Telegraph reports: An al-Qaeda affiliate has claimed the murder of a prominent gay rights activist who was hacked to death in Dhaka by men armed with guns and machetes who entered his flat pretending to be parcel couriers. Xulhaz Mannan, along with his friend Mahbub Tony, also an activist, died on the spot from cuts to their heads, according …

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Democrats Launch #ImWithWally Tweetstorm In Support Of Gay US Ambassador Wally Brewster

As I’ve reported here several times, openly gay US Ambassador Wally Brewster is under attack in the Dominican Republic, where anti-LGBT activists and the Catholic Church have launched a joint campaign calling for his resignation for spreading “homosexual indoctrination.” Today US House Democrats launched a tweetstorm in support of Brewster using the hashtag #ImWithWally. Brewster stands accused in part because …

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