| Hong Kong riot police pepper spray 'Airport Uncle' as election protests turn ugly Posted: 02 Nov 2019 10:05 AM PDT  A candidate in Hong Kong's elections who rose to fame for his peaceful defence of protesters was pepper sprayed at point-blank range before being arrested in the latest violent crackdown by police in the city. Police attacked the silver-haired Richard Chan, 48, at close range, grabbing and turning him around as he tried to retreat, only to unleash another round directly into his eyes, before tackling him to the ground to make the arrest. Mr Chan, a first-time candidate running in district council elections later this month, went viral after standing his ground between police and activists during mass airport protests in August, which shut down one of world's busiest transport hubs. The incident earned him the nickname of Airport Uncle. Pictures of Mr Chan's rough treatment is likely to further feed growing hatred for police who have been accused of disproportionate brutality. Two other candidates were also arrested in the latest round of protests on Saturday, which came after protest leader Joshua Wong was banned from standing at the up-coming elections. Chan, a candidate for district council elections, lies on the floor after being pepper-sprayed Credit: MIGUEL CANDELA/EPA Dozens of candidates running for district council seats and hundreds of protesters gathered on Saturday afternoon at Victoria Park in a popular shopping neighbourhood, testing a loophole they said allowed for large-scale election meetings to be held in public. But riot police surrounding the park declared the gathering unlawful, warning they wouldn't hesitate to make arrests and deploy tear gas at the crowd of political hopefuls and their supporters, waving colourful campaign banners. "This is the final chance for us to change Communist China's control in Hong Kong," Dennis Cheung, 30, one of the more than 1,000 candidates standing for 450 open council seats, told the Sunday Telegraph. Police passes a burning barricade to break up thousands of anti-government protesters Credit: THOMAS PETER/REUTERS Mr Cheung, who works in advertising, is also a first-time candidate who vowed to help arrested protesters and educate residents about their rights if elected. "Police are making unreasonable arrests of youngsters," said Martin Ng, 65, a retiree. "I have full confidence Hong Kong people won't tolerate this kind of brutality and suppression." Protesters were galvanised this weekend after prominent activist Joshua Wong became the city's only candidate to be barred from running for a district council seat. Hong Kong is in its fifth month of mass protests, which were originally triggered by a now withdrawn extradition bill Credit: MIGUEL CANDELA/EPA The election officer wrote in her reasoning the concept of "self-determination" that Mr Wong advocates could also refer to the idea of an independent Hong Kong, which was deemed inconsistent with the city's mini-constitution, the Basic Law. Mr Wong and his political party, Demosisto, however, deny supporting independence from mainland China. The upcoming district council elections, currently slated for Nov 24, allow registered voters to select neighbourhood representatives responsible for community affairs, such as building awnings in parks or adding new bus routes. While district councillors have no legislative power, the political party that wins the most seats will gain 117 of the 1,200 votes on an election committee that will select the city's next chief executive in 2022.
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| Iraq’s Top Cleric Warns Iran to Stay Out Posted: 02 Nov 2019 01:03 AM PDT  (Bloomberg Opinion) -- To understand what Iraq's Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani is saying, you have to translate him twice: first from Arabic to English, then from politesse to plain-speak. In the first translation, a key passage from his Friday sermon in the holy city of Karbala went like this: "No person or group, no side with a particular view, no regional or international actor may seize the will of the Iraqi people and impose its will on them."The second translation: "Back off, Khamenei!"That is how it would have sounded to Sistani's audience in Karbala, where it was read out for the ailing octogenarian by an aide; in the streets of Baghdad and other Iraqi cities, where a bloody crackdown on largely peaceful protesters has taken more than 200 lives; in the Iraqi parliament, where lawmakers are negotiating a response to the demonstrations; and in Tehran, where Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has been struggling to respond to the rising anti-Iran sentiment that undergirds uprisings in Iraq and Lebanon.Khamenei has unleashed Iran's proxies in the streets — Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Shiite militias in Iraq — to intimidate the protesters. He has also dispatched his chief enforcer, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps commander Qassem Soleimani, to the Iraqi parliament, to rally Shiite parties behind the feckless Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi.But if anything, these responses will only fan the anger in the streets against Iranian interference in Iraqi and Lebanese politics. Not even Khamenei, who is practiced in the art of ignoring popular resentment, can have failed to notice the anti-Iran slogans echoing through Iraqi cities. Nor will it have escaped his attention that the loudest chanting comes from Iraqi Shiites, a community he expects to favor his Islamic Republic. The Supreme Leader's anxiety was palpable in his tweets on Thursday, when he tried to blame Tehran's usual suspects — "the U.S., the Zionist regime, some Western countries, and the money of some reactionary countries" — for the protests.Sistani's sermon was a riposte, designed to set Khamenei right. Although born in Iran, he is no fan of Khamenei and other hardliners in Tehran, preferring the likes of President Hassan Rouhani.Iraq's Grand Ayatollah has been in a quandary over the protests. Every Iraqi government since 2005 has had his personal imprimatur: His word has united factions among the Shiite majority. Prime Minister Abdul-Mahdi, too, has his blessing. As such, Sistani is complicit in the corruption and ineptitude that have brought the Iraqis into the streets.His early pronouncements on the protests vacillated between bromides against corruption and calls on the protesters to abjure violence. But as the demonstrations have persisted, Sistani has grown progressively more critical of the government, blaming it for the violence.His Friday sermon puts him squarely on the protesters' side. In addition to interfering Iranians, the leaders who have long benefited from his validation came under attack. As the politicians in Baghdad struggle to devise a response that will satisfy angry Iraqis, the so-called sage of Najaf warned that Iraqis have a right to a "referendum on the constitution" to change how they are governed. By invoking the prospect of a referendum, Sistani may have given the protesters a new focus for their energies, and Iraqi politicians a way to break the toxic pattern of inconclusive elections and compromise prime ministers. Much will depend on the reaction of another cleric, Moqtada al-Sadr, who has also taken the protesters' side — even joining them in the streets — and has called for Abdul-Mahdi's removal.Sadr, frequently described as a firebrand, has little in common with the preternaturally placid Sistani. But the prospect of the protests being led by one and backed by the other is certain to rattle turbaned heads in Tehran. And if Sistani and Sadr were to throw their combined weight behind demands for a referendum — and who knows, maybe even inspire emulation by the Lebanese — that might be the stuff of Khamenei's nightmares.To contact the author of this story: Bobby Ghosh at aghosh73@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: James Gibney at jgibney5@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Bobby Ghosh is a columnist and member of the Bloomberg Opinion editorial board. He writes on foreign affairs, with a special focus on the Middle East and the wider Islamic world.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| What do 2020 Democrats say about California fires? Not much. Posted: 01 Nov 2019 04:04 PM PDT  California Democrats hoped they would finally bask in the attention of presidential candidates when they moved their primary to the front of the calendar. In a field of nearly 20 candidates, no one has traveled to California to visit residents displaced from their homes or commend first responders who have worked around the clock. California is the nation's most populous state and its biggest economic powerhouse.
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