WASHINGTON: The stranger-than-sitcom American presidency opened 2018 with a big tease about mutual nuclear destruction from two leaders who then found “love” not war. It seems President Donald Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un were just playing hard to get.
The presidency ends the year saturated in tumult, with the government in partial shutdown and Trump tweeting a video of himself warbling a parody of the theme song from “Green Acres,” a television sitcom from the 1960s, to mark his signing of a farm bill.
Throw in a beer-loving and very angry Supreme Court nominee, an unhappy departing defense secretary, Trump’s parallel universe of facts and his zillion tweets, and you can see that the president’s world this year was touched by the weird, the traumatic and the fantastical — also known as WTF.
There was no holding back the self-described “very stable genius” with the “very, very large brain.”
Some serious and relatively conventional things got done in 2018.
There was a midterm election. Many more Democrats are coming to Congress and not quite all of them plan to run for president. Divided government dawns in January when Democrats take control of the House; Republicans retain their grip on the Senate.
An overhaul of the criminal justice system was accomplished, and in an unusually bipartisan way, though it took a dash of reality TV’s Kim Kardashian West to move it along. Gun control actually was tightened a bit, with Trump’s unilateral banning of bump stocks.
Trump shocked allies and lost Defense Secretary Jim Mattis over a presidential decision to pull US troops out of Syria, quickly following up with indications that up to half the troops in Afghanistan might be withdrawn, too.
Self-described “Tariff Man” started one trade war, with China, and headed off a second by tweaking the North American Free Trade Agreement and giving it an unpronounceable acronym, USMCA. He withdrew the US from the Iran nuclear deal, putting action behind his Twitter shout: “WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH.”
Trump placed his second justice on the Supreme Court in two years after Brett Kavanaugh, accused of alcohol-fueled sexual assault in his youth, raged against the allegations at a congressional hearing and acknowledged only: “I liked beer, I still like beer,” but “I never sexually assaulted anyone.”
There were frustrations and fulminations aplenty for the president, particularly about the steaming-ahead Russia-Trump campaign investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller (“special councel” in some Trump tweets).
Nor did he make much progress on his promised border wall (“boarder wall“), which he renamed “artistically designed steel slats” in December in what he regarded as a concession to wall-despising, concrete-cursing Democrats. The concession did not work: large parts of the government closed Saturday over the wall-induced budget impasse.
He took heat for a zero-tolerance policy that forced migrant children from their parents until he backed off, inaccurately blaming Democrats for “Child Seperation.”
It was a very good year for jobs. It was a check-your-smartphone-right-now, pass-the-smelling-salts year for the stock market. Trump, who assailed the unemployment rate as a phony measure when he was a candidate, couldn’t speak of it enough as Obama-era job growth continued on his watch. He went mum about the market, a prime subject for his boasting before it took a sustained dive.
Trump’s approval rating in polls was one of the few constants on this swiftly tilting planet: 42 percent approval and 56 percent disapproval in The Associated Press-NORC’s latest and 38 percent-57 percent via Gallup, neither much different than in January.
Through it all, the mainstreaming of the bizarre proceeded apace and North Korea’s Kim set that tone right on Jan. 1 with his New Year cheer to Americans across the ocean: “It’s not a mere threat but a reality that I have a nuclear button on the desk in my office. All of the mainland United States is within the range of our nuclear strike.”
Trump responded the next day with a tweet about size and performance. “I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!“
Once they got that out of their system, things quickly improved, helped along by Kim’s letters to Trump, which the US president called “beautiful.” There was no more talk about Trump being a “mentally deranged dotard” or Kim being a “maniac,” the musty insults of an earlier time. In June, they held history’s first meeting between a North Korean leader and a current US president. “We fell in love,” Trump later said at a West Virginia rally.
Kim had previously vowed to visit “fire and fury” on the US but the “Fire and Fury” that made Trump livid early this year was the book of the same name, Michael Wolff’s insider account of the Trump White House. That was a different sort of missile. The president took particular exception to observations in the book by his former chief strategist, tweeting about “Sloppy Steve Bannon, who cried when he got fired and begged for his job. Now Sloppy Steve has been dumped like a dog by almost everyone. Too bad!“
They are said to be on better terms now.
Over the course of the year, Trump spoke at more than 40 campaign rallies, kept up his Twitter barrage (40,000 tweets since 2009 on his @realDonaldTrump account) and answered plenty of questions in infrequent but lengthy news conferences and sit-down interviews.
So what stands out in this blizzardy whiteout of unconventionality?
How about this farewell to his secretary of state, Rex Tillerson? “He was dumb as a rock and I couldn’t get rid of him fast enough. He was lazy as hell.” (The president usually reserves “dumb as a rock” for journalists.)
Or his description of Stormy Daniels, paid to stay quiet about their alleged affair, as “horseface?“
Or this description of his attorney general, Jeff Sessions, as “scared stiff and Missing in Action,” before Sessions was finally out in November?
Will history long remember that in 2018 the president called Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff “little Adam Schitt” on Twitter and nations in Africa “shithole countries” in a private meeting?
Or that he (correctly) predicted Hurricane Florence would be “tremendously wet” or told the AP: “I have a natural instinct for science?“
In July, Trump appeared to side with Russian President Vladimir Putin when he stood by Putin’s side at a Helsinki summit news conference and gave weight to Putin’s denial that Russia meddled in the 2016 election, despite the firm conclusion of US intelligence agencies that it had. “I don’t see any reason why it would be” Russia, Trump said.
But while it’s been hardly noticed in a capital consumed by the shutdown drama, Mattis, Syria, steel slats and market convulsions, 2018 draws to a close as it started — with warnings of a nuclear Armageddon, this time from Putin.
Putin’s prompt was Trump’s intention to walk away from one arms control treaty and his reluctance to extend another.
That, said Putin, “could lead to the destruction of civilization as a whole and maybe even our planet.”
Maybe he’s just playing hard to get.
North Korea, Kavanaugh, all those Trump tweets and more in 2018
North Korea, Kavanaugh, all those Trump tweets and more in 2018
- Over the course of the year, Trump spoke at more than 40 campaign rallies, kept up his Twitter barrage (40,000 tweets since 2009 on his @realDonaldTrump account) and answered plenty of questions
Pope Francis warns of ‘fanaticism, hatred’ in social media
- The pope’s admonition comes as X, owned by Elon Musk, has been accused of spreading false information while interfering in European politics, in particular for attacking leaders including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Keir Starm
VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis denounced an era of “disinformation and polarization” on Friday in a message for World Communications Day, as he criticized powerful social networks creating “fanaticism and even hatred.”
In saluting journalists, he spoke of their collective responsibility working “in these our times, characterised by disinformation and polarization, as a few centers of power control an unprecedented mass of data and information.”
The 88-year-old pope — who has warned in the past of the dangers of new technologies, including social media and artificial intelligence — did not cite Facebook or X by name, but his target was evident.
“Too often today, communication generates not hope, but fear and despair, prejudice and resentment, fanaticism and even hatred,” the pope wrote in his message.
“All too often it simplifies reality in order to provoke instinctive reactions; it uses words like a razor; it even uses false or artfully distorted information to send messages designed to agitate, provoke or hurt.”
FASTFACTS
• The 88-year-old pope — who has warned in the past of the dangers of new technologies, including social media and artificial intelligence — did not cite Facebook or X by name, but his target was evident.
• In a speech quoting Martin Luther King Jr., Francis said he dreamed of ‘communication that does not peddle illusions or fears, but is able to give reasons for hope.
The pope’s admonition comes as X, owned by Elon Musk, has been accused of spreading false information while interfering in European politics, in particular for attacking leaders including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The billionaire also used his platform and vast wealth to help propel Donald Trump to the White House.
Meta has also come under fire after its chief Mark Zuckerberg said this month that Facebook would end its third-party fact-checking program in the United States, in what critics warned would further fuel false information online.
In a speech quoting Martin Luther King Jr., Francis said he dreamed of “communication that does not peddle illusions or fears, but is able to give reasons for hope.”
He warned, however, of algorithms that feed social media users information that is specifically catered to their interests and prejudices.
Such “digital systems... by profiling us according to the logic of the market, modify our perception of reality,” he said.
“As a result, we witness, often helplessly, a sort of atomization of interests that ends up undermining the foundations of our existence as a community, our ability to join in the pursuit of the common good, to listen to one another and to understand each other’s point of view.”
Earlier this month, in his New Year’s address to Vatican diplomats, Francis lamented increasing polarization in society, “aggravated by the continuous creation and spread of fake news.”
Francis himself is a frequent target of unfounded rumors and manipulated photos online.
Fearless Saudi 13-year-old launches Vision 2030 podcast
- Teenager aims to educate the public about Kingdom’s vision
- Overcame public speaking fears to become podcaster
RIYADH: Saudi Linda Al-Faisal, who is only 13, aims to make an impact through her podcast, Linda Vision 2030, with each episode featuring a guest trailblazer.
Through her podcast, she connects with thousands of local and international subscribers, engaging in conversations about the Kingdom’s vision.
In her first episode, titled “How Saudi Arabia Became a Global Hub,” she discusses the projects being driven by the Kingdom, led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, claiming “Saudi Arabia is no longer the land you once knew.”
In her third episode, Al-Faisal interviewed Tamim Turki, a teenage Saudi sports presenter.
Then, in her fourth episode, Al-Faisal sat down Hassan Yusuf, program director for Saudi Arabia’s Real Madrid foundation, where the pair discussed the role of youth in achieving the goals of Vision 2030.
When she was five years old, Al-Faisal was interested in becoming a ballerina, and after being enrolled in classes she later fulfilled her childhood dream. Today, she is a ballerina as well as a podcast host.
Influenced by her friends, who have their own podcast, Al-Faisal decided to create her own platform.
“Why I chose (the topic of) Vision 2030 is because many people don’t know what it talks about or what is going to happen. So, I decided to search and learn more about Vision 2030 so I can teach the people.
“The biggest goal that I want to achieve from my podcast is that I want to make every listener feel proud with all the developments and changes happening in Saudi Arabia.”
After years of presenting at school, facing her fears, Al-Faisal became a natural public speaker, learning communication techniques through observation and practice to become an effective presenter.
“I used to be nervous while presenting during my first time in school. We all learn from our mistakes, and I learned from mine and became stronger. The speeches I used to present in school made me more powerful.”
Al-Faisal’s ballet talent earned her third place in the “Creative Journey Around the Kingdom,” a program launched by the General Entertainment Authority in collaboration with MBC Academy, which sets out to identify local talent.
Al-Faisal’s message to teenagers is to keep dreaming and always stay positive.
“Do not let negative thinking destroy you. Always focus on yourself because you are the main character of your life.”
Sky News Arabia opens new headquarters, announces fresh programming
DUBAI: Sky News Arabia, part of media group IMI, has opened its new headquarters in the same building as the IMI HQ on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.
The new HQ features advanced broadcasting studios fitted with the latest AI technologies, the company said.
Sky News Arabia has also launched a new programming grid covering politics, lifestyle, sports, business and entertainment.
The announcements come 12 years after the channel’s launch.
They mark a new chapter that “embodies our forward-thinking strategy to anticipate and exceed audience expectations by embracing cutting-edge technologies and delivering diverse, engaging programming that transcends borders, setting new benchmarks for excellence,” said Rani Raad, CEO of IMI and president and operating partner of Redbird IMI.
The company has been working over the past year to elevate “the way each of the media companies within our network engage with audiences, to ensure we continue to deliver content that truly resonates,” he added.
The new programming will include shows such as “Studio One” hosted by Fadila Souissi, which will highlight political and societal issues, and the “Emad Eldin Adib” show, which will focus on politics in the Arab world.
Sky News Arabia is also expanding its lineup of non-political shows. The “Al Sabah Show” will return, featuring segments on health, fashion, law, and celebrities. It will be hosted by Maha Abdullah, Ahmed Qassem, Hani Ziadeh, Christine Dagher and Lubna Mansour.
The show will extend to digital channels and social media platforms through 12 specifically tailored mini-segments.
“In an era of rapid change and information overload, we are committed to empowering our audience with the tools to navigate and discern credible news,” said Nadim Koteich, general manager of Sky News Arabia.
He added: “By providing transparent, engaging and diverse content across politics, economics, lifestyle and technology, we ensure that Sky News Arabia remains a credible source of information that meets the dynamic needs of our viewers.”
Benefits of AI economy must be equitably distributed, says UN tech envoy in Davos
- Amandeep Singh Gill seeks ‘global’ efforts to tackle digital divide
- ‘We need to have a more collaborative and respectful approach’
DAVOS:The power of artificial intelligence and quantum computing must be harnessed to benefit nations across the world, not only developed economies, said Amandeep Singh Gill, the UN’s envoy on technology, on Thursday.
Speaking during a panel titled “From High-Performance Computing to High- Performance Problem Solving,” Gill said that countries in Africa, for example, hold less than 0.5 percent of graphic processing units worldwide.
Also participating in the discussion were Georges-Olivier Reymond, co-founder and CEO of PASQAL; Ana Paula Assis, senior vice president and chair IBM EMEA and Growth Markets; and Paul Alivisatos, president of the University of Chicago.
“My challenge is to convince policymakers who have limited resources to invest in the digital divide, data and AI and quantum development as well,” explained the envoy.
“There is a backlash against the neo-colonial situation, where the tech is developed in just a few geographies, and the rest of the world is takers of this tech. You can call it the sovereignty backlash … we need to have a more collaborative and respectful approach,” he added.
When asked by panel moderator Azeem Azhar, CEO of Exponential View, about the risk of uncertainty in the field of quantum computing, Gill said he sees an opportunity more than a risk.
“We are at an early stage in terms of the science and technology of developing things so different technologies might be used. A degree of uncertainty and diversity is important,” he added.
But the envoy emphasized the need to have a unified global force that would ensure everyone can participate in this area of technology.
“When we look at the global majority, not everyone will be able to use quantum computing, the cryptographic effort has to be global, it can’t be isolated,” he said.
Gill said the world is shifting toward quantum infrastructure in order to reduce energy consumption. According to the envoy, today’s AI systems consume a great deal of energy.
The UN deemed 2025 as the “International Year of Quantum Science and Technology.” This initiative aims to celebrate quantum mechanics and educate people on its impacts on technology, culture, and understanding of the world.
Al Jazeera says the Palestinian Authority arrested one of its reporters
- The Qatar-based news network reported that its reporter Mohammed Al-Atrash was arrested from his home
The Al Jazeera news network says the Palestinian Authority arrested one of its reporters after preventing him from covering an Israeli operation in the occupied West Bank.
The Qatar-based news network reported Thursday that its reporter, Mohammed Al-Atrash, was arrested from his home.
It said Palestinian security forces had earlier prevented him from reporting on a large Israeli military operation in Jenin, an epicenter of Israeli-Palestinian violence in recent years. The Palestinian Authority launched its own crackdown on militants in the city late last year.
There was no immediate comment from the Palestinian Authority.
Both Israel and the Western-backed Palestinian Authority banned Al Jazeera last year. Israel accuses it of being a mouthpiece of Hamas over its coverage of the war in the Gaza Strip and says some of its reporters are also militants.
The pan-Arab broadcaster has rejected the allegations and accused both Israel and the Palestinian Authority of trying to silence critical coverage.
The internationally recognized Palestinian Authority administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank and cooperates with Israel on security matters. It is unpopular among Palestinians, with critics portraying it as a corrupt and authoritarian ally of Israel.
