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Today, we present “Standing In The Rain”, the Action Bronson, Mark Ronson and Dan Auerbach collab that caught your eye on the Suicide Squad soundtrack tracklist. Bam Bam was due for some new music and this track delivers.
VICELAND recently debuted its new show, Traveling The Stars: Action Bronson & Friends Watch Ancient Aliens. During the show, Bronson, his crew, and Tyler The Creator sit around getting high, while watching episodes of The History Channel’s Ancient Aliens. Traveling The Stars: Action Bronson & Friends Watch Ancient Aliens airs on VICELAND every Thursday at 11 p.m.
During the filming of F*ck, That’s Delicious, Action Bronson filmed a ton of extra footage of he and his crew enjoying food from all over. In a clip called “Random Moments in Food”, Bronson tries a couple dishes in Las Vegas and Queens, before debuting a ridiculous chicken sandwich recipe, a crispy, deep fried, sesame panco crusted chicken sandwich with toasted marshmallow, melted chocolate and caramelized Hennessy coated bananas, which is topped off with a scoop of ice cream. Bronson’s VICELAND show, Traveling the Stars: Ancient Aliens with Action Bronson, airs July 21st.
With the anticipated big screen debut of DC’s Suicide Squad packing so much star power into one film, it’s only right that the film’s soundtrack follows suit. It’s held up it’s end, gathering the likes of Action Bronson, Mark Ronson, The Black Keys, Ty Dolla $ign, War, Grimes, Kehlani and plenty of others for a score that blends tastes new and old into one hefty piece. Today, the first track has been revealed in a massive collaboration between Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa, Logic, Imagine Dragons & X Ambassadors on the fittingly titled “Sucker For Pain,” which is available for you to hear ahead of the Suicide Squad soundtrack release. The album along with the film arrives on August 5th.
Maffew Ragazino celebrates Throwback Thursday with a crispy copy of the OG extended version of Action Bronson’s “Terror Death Camp,” off the Statik Selektah produced Well Done mixtape. This version differs from the one that appeared on the tape in that guests Meyhem Lauren and AG Da Coroner’s verses do not appear, and both Action and Maf’s verses are extended by several bars.
Feeling a little terrified by the prospect of a Trump presidency? You’re far from alone out here. Smoke DZA just released a full mixtape that addresses this very real threat to the American people, aptly titled Don’t Pass Trump The Blunt. The tape features words from the likes of Action Bronson, Joey Bada$$ and Mac Miller amongst others, with Pete Rock, Alchemist, D Dot Angelettie and Kush God handling production.
Laurenevitch rides again. Meyhem Lauren’s new album, Piatto D’Oro, arrives today via Fool’s Gold, and unsurprisingly, he’s describing it as his best work to date. The project features a diverse array of producers including Harry Fraud, Seth Silencer, Large Professor, DJ Muggs, Alchemist and Icerocks, and guest features Action Bronson, Big Body Bes and Roc Marciano.
With his Platto D’Oro mixtape on the horizon, Meyhem Lauren has plenty in store for the culinarily inclined Hip-Hop lovers of the world. Lauren has shared a new audible treat for you to rock with; an on mic reunion with fellow Queens bash brother Action Bronson, and DJ Shadow. The track, “Garlic And Oil” is just as tasty as its name indicates, divvied up into two parts; the first repping the hard knock of Queens and the second, toasting to the high life as only Lauren and Bronsolino can. Dip into Mayhem Lauren and Action Bronson’s “Garlic And Oil” above, and hold tight for more Platto D’Oro drops in the weeks ahead.
Bam Bam joins Samiyam on the producer’s new single, fittingly dubbed “Mr. Wonderful” after his counterpart. The track comes to us from Samiyam’s soon to arrive fourth studio album, Animals Have Feelings. Samiyam’s Animals Have Feelings arrives today via Stones Throw. Pre-order your digital copy on iTunes today or hold out for the vinyl, arriving April 8th.
In this new Fuck, That’s Delicious segment, Bam Bam joins legendary chef Daniel Boulud at his Manhattan restaurant to eat one of French cusine’s most famous dishes, pressed duck. “Action wanted to try pressed duck—or canard à la presse, as the French would say—so we got in touch with Daniel Boulud and made it happen. The dish takes about five days to prepare and is finished tableside in a silver “duck press.” Then, the sauce is made in front of the table using the juices from the duck whisked together with wine, Cognac, and some other agents of deliciousness. Chef Boulud was also nice enough to pop a bottle of 1983 Guigal Cote Rotie for the occasion, and in return, Action told him how to write a rap album.”
Curren$y and Alchemist return with a full stream of their 12 track Covert Coup mixtape with the follow up project The Carrollton Heist. Packed with lush production and lyrical nods to some of the greatest MC’s to come out of the Crescent City and elsewhere, The Carrollton Heist is a cinematic collection that doubles down on the notion that Curren$y and the Chemist could be one of the best MC/Producer duos to grace the game. Upping the ante, the super soulful tape also boasts appearances from Lil Wayne, Action Bronson and Styles P.
For Most People in New York, Park Avenue is a wide New York City boulevard which carries north and southbound traffic in the borough of Manhattan. For AG DA CORONER “Park Avenue” is a long time coming, the first single off his debut album that has been a life time in the making. It only made sense that the single be co-produced by his Manager, Polo Pirate (1/2 of Rolodex Propaganda) as well as feature his long time collaborator Action Bronson and the man who signed him to Man Bites Dog Records, Roc Marciano. Let this aperitif cleanse your pallet, for the main course “Sip The Nectar” will be served shortly.
Action Bronson‘s appreciation for food and the finer culinary arts is well documented fact. Need proof, you need only look at his own lyrics. The man’s gastronomic passion is at the center of his Munchies series “Fuck, That’s Delicious,” and in a brand new installment of the show, Bronson travels to New York fine dining spot to learn about the savory, luxurious secrets of truffles.
Meyhem Lauren and Action Bronson get loose over a breezy, synth soaked production from Harry Fraud, with a little help from Roc Marciano and some ad libs from hype man Big Body Bes. Hear Meyhem Lauren, Action Bronson & Roc Marciano level up on “Bonus Round” above, and be sure to keep that ear to the ground for Lauren’s Piatta D’Oro, currently slated for a 2016 release via Fool’s Gold.
Today, Bam Bam’s back with the first installment in the new season of Fuck, That’s Delicious, the show that feeds your belly and your brain. In This episode, Bronson takes to the golden sands of Hawaii to master the art of making poke, which is a regional fish and rice dish that he and Alchemist apparently scour the earth for. He even puts on a clinic to show you how to fix it up yourself. Watch as Action Bronson debuts his sublime poke recipe on the new installment of Fuck, That’s Delicious above, and check out his upcoming tour dates below.
Aug 29 @ Shrine Expo Hall & Grounds – Los Angeles, CA
Sep 10 @ The Academy – Dublin, Ireland
Sep 11 @ Bestival – Isle Of Wight, United Kingdom
Sep 13 @ The Roundhouse – London, United Kingdom
Sep 15 @ 02ABC – Glasgow, United Kingdom
Sep 16 @ The Ritz – Manchester, United Kingdom
Sep 18 @ Institute – Birmingham, United Kingdom
Sep 19 @ 02 Academy 1 – Bristol, United Kingdom
Sep 21 @ Le Trianon – Paris, France
Sep 22 @ Le Trianon – Paris, France
Sep 23 @ Melkweg – Amsterdam, Netherlands
Sep 25 @ Essigfabrik – Cologne, Germany
Sep 26 @ Muffathalle – Munich, Germany
Sep 27 @ Ancienne Belgique – Brussels, Belgium
Sep 30 @ Store Vega – København V, Denmark
Oct 02 @ Debaser Medis – Stockholm, Sweden
Oct 03 @ Rockefeller – Sankt Hanshaugen, Norway
Oct 04 @ Samfundet – Trondheim, Norway
Oct 30 @ Freaky Deaky – Bridgeview, IL
Oct 31 @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre – Morrison, CO
Fresh off the heels of compiling a musically diverse compilation for GTAV’s, Welcome To Los Santos, The Alchemist and Oh No are back, bringing their Gangrene noise on a whole other level with the release of their long-awaited third full length record You Disgust Me. You Disgust Me begins where Vodka & Ayahuasca left off, with Al and Oh lyrically vandalizing the minds of the masses over gritty, psychedelic jazz, rock and fusion-tinged beats. You Disgust Me features guests ranging from Action Bronson, Fashawn, Havoc, Chuck Strangers, Evidence, Sean Price and more. Album dropping via Mass Appeal Records August 7.
Action Bronson & Alchemist add another episode to their long-standing saga with the release of Alchemist’s new single “Voodoo,” which finds Bronson getting loose with his culinary lines over some dusty, psychedelic soul chops from the beat wizard. The track comes to us from Alchemist’s forthcoming project Retarded Alligator Beats, slated to be pressed on limited edition vinyl, filled to the brim with unreleased Alchemist joints and paired with a box of crayons, so you can finally do something productive while you burn one down to this hazy, new piece. Let your head knock to Alchemist & Action Bronson’s smooth new cut “Voodoo”.
Only days away from the release of Statik Selektah’s much-anticipated Lucky 7 LP, which will feature an all-star cast of vocal talent over his choice, vintage-tinged beats. That list of all-stars includes Action Bronson, Ab-Soul and Elle Varner, who can all be heard on “All We Need,” the latest Lucky 7 single to drop ahead of its full unveiling. Built of steady bass, a beautiful vocal loop and piano fills that flicker in and out of view, “All We Need” is smoother than a buttered ballon. Listen to “All We Need” above and pre-order Lucky 7 on iTunes, if you haven’t already done so.


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Have you seen the film “Mari(dos)” and fallen in love with the landscapes that appear in it? You’re not the only one! The feature film, directed by Lucía Alemany, stars Paco León and Ernesto Alterio. The main setting of this fiction is one of the most beautiful places in Spain: the Aragonese Pyrenees. With its impressive mountains and valleys, it is easy to understand why the filmmaker chose this area to shoot her film. Moreover, the dedication of the Aragon Film Commission not only facilitated the development of this feature film, but its knowledge of the territory allows us to tell you the many reasons why this destination is worth a getaway. All this without forgetting that some scenes were filmed in Navacerrada (Madrid) where there is also a Film Office that supports the attraction of filming in the territory and whose website you can discover other proposals for screen tourism.
Lose yourself in the landscape where “Mari(dos)” was filmed
The film has managed to capture the beauty of the area in such a way that it will inspire you for an unforgettable holiday. But don’t think it was all plain sailing during filming, because at the beginning of the shoot it hadn’t snowed enough to recreate the ski resort atmosphere that the scriptwriters had imagined. Fortunately, they went ahead and a few weeks later the weather was fine and in this case, it snowed as much as they wanted.
The film’s locations are in some of the most impressive places in this mountain range: the well-known ski resorts of Formigal – Panticosa, Candanchú, and the Balneario de Panticosa, a classic mountain resort.
Paco León doesn’t like driving, although in this film he is seen driving along a beautiful snowy road. So, what better plan than touring the mountain villages that took part in the filming: Lanuza, Fiscal and Sallent de Gállego, or the winding road to the Portalet border.
Sallent de Gállego / Aragón Film Commission
Summer activities in the valleys of Tena and Aragon
Panticosa Lake / Aragón Film Commission
If you are looking for fun activities for the whole family, the possibilities are endless. One of the most popular is the Panticosa cable car. Can you imagine accessing the best viewpoint in the valley? In addition to the breathtaking views, you will be able to start high mountain trekking routes adapted to all ages.
If you like high altitude travel, the Artouste train is for you, and will delight young and old alike. It is the highest tourist train in Europe, at an altitude of 2,000 metres. The route takes you to Lake Artouste and offers breathtaking views of the Ossau Valley in France.
If you prefer something a little more adventurous, you can’t leave without taking a walk along the footbridges over the Caldares River in Panticosa. A walk on the water that will take your breath away. To complete the experience with more adrenaline, the Biescas Adventure Park offers you sport, fun and gastronomy in equal parts, with nine zip-line circuits for all the family.
Lanuza Reservoir / Aragón Film Commission
Let’s face it, in summer it’s hot even in the mountains, and there’s no better way to cool off than a dip in the waters of the river Gállego. In the Lanuza reservoir you can enjoy a fun day of water activities such as paddle surfing or kayaking. And continuing with the water, we cannot forget the queen activity of the Aragonese valleys: canyoning. Narrow canyons and good water flow are waiting for you.
Make time to lose yourself in the villages, roads and corners of the valley. Taste its gastronomy, organise an evening in the village tavern and enjoy the small pleasures of life for a few days.
Music sounds in the mountains: Pirineos Sur Festival
The mountains are not all dreamlike landscapes and unforgettable hikes. There is also room for culture and fun. Every summer, the Pirineos Sur International Festival of Cultures is held next to the Lanuza reservoir. This festival, which has been running for thirty years, is a meeting point between continents, cultures and sounds, which takes place in the wonderful surroundings of the Tena Valley and Serrablo.
The main stage of the festival is the Natural Auditorium of Lanuza, located in an incomparable setting over the waters of the reservoir and surrounded by the most emblematic peaks of the Aragonese Pyrenees. There are also other stages such as the one in Sallent de Gállego, where more minimalist and free concerts are held on weekdays, and where the World Market takes place, a unique daytime experience that will take you through a whole world of sensations.
Don’t miss the opportunity to immerse yourself in the most authentic Pyrenees, experience a high mountain holiday or enjoy music in such an incomparable auditorium, an experience between nature and culture that you won’t forget!
By Victor Cervelló
Barcelona, 14th century. Sailors, harbour waiters and other inhabitants of the Ribera district decide to build a temple to compete with the great Gothic capitals of the time. This is the plot of Ildefonso Falcones' novel "La catedral del mar". As building a cathedral...
The magic of cinema has once again transformed the castle of Santa Barbara in Alicante. This time, in the palace of King Herod. The production company Monarch Media has been commissioned to produce the international blockbuster "Journey to Bethlehem", a musical that...
Who hasn't fantasized about leaving the city for the countryside? Isabel Coixet presents us with this possibility in "Un amor", her latest film about the process of personal reinvention experienced by Laia Costa. Although the idea of a new beginning away from the...
The inhabitants of Mundaka boast about their left wave. And no wonder, because it is considered the best wave in Europe in this category. We are talking about surfing, of course, as this small fishing village offers us a unique image of the sea rising up in front of...
In recent years Galicia has become a leading film set as well as a powerful television studio. Prime-time series have reinvented some of the local scenery for filming. The local scenery also reigns supreme as tourist destinations, with more and more visitors coming...

domain: artistic


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Safe Harbor Fundraising Event A Great Success – August 7, 2017
On Monday August 7th over 400 people gathered for the second annual Hungry for Hope event, a benefit for Granite Pathways’ Safe Harbor Recovery Center in Portsmouth, NH. The event raised over $70,000 – more than double the amount raised at the first Hungry for Hope dinner last year.
Twenty local restaurants provided food, beer and wine to the guests, who mingled under tents at the harborside location, with sweeping views of the Piscataqua River. All of the food and beverages were donated, raising additional funds in addition to the ticket sales and spontaneous donations that were made throughout the evening. James Boyle, owner of Toyota of Portsmouth donated a minivan, for staff to use to provide transportation to individuals using Safe Harbor services.
The event was organized by two dedicated proponents of recovery and strong supporters of Safe Harbor, philanthropist and developer Renee Plummer and John Akar, co-owner of Cava Tapas and Wine Bar.
Safe Harbor, a peer-led recovery center, has received widespread support from all segments of the Portsmouth community since opening its doors last year. New Hampshire has the nation’s second highest per capita death rate from opioid overdose – a crisis that has touched almost everyone in the state.
Elizabeth Miller, Safe Harbor Director, said that the center has grown rapidly, training recovery coaches, implementing programs to support all pathways to recovery, and building bridges to local service providers including first responders, police, hospitals and the prison systems, as well as other recovery centers and support services. Safe Harbor staff are developing work readiness training programs, and reaching out to area businesses to provide job opportunities to people in recovery.
“It is amazing how this community has rallied and is so supportive of each other,” Elizabeth said. “It is overwhelming to see this level of caring and support.”

domain: news


Beatlemania started in Finsbury Park? Tell me why...
- Credit: PA Archive/PA Images
In 1963, The Beatles began a festive residency of Finsbury Park. We found it was an era when all the best bands played in Seven Sisters Road.
Every town or city where The Beatles played one of their early shows likes to claim the same thing: “Beatlemania started here.”
There is Liverpool and Hamburg, of course. Hell, even some people in Romford claim Beatlemania started there after a couple of shows in 1963.
In that case, we might as well add Finsbury Park to the list.
This week 53 years ago, Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr began “The Beatles Christmas Show” – their residency of Finsbury Park Astoria in Seven Sisters Road.
Rick Burton, an expert on the theatre’s history, insists: “That was the start of Beatlemania. The shows were from Christmas Eve 1963 until January 11, but sold out instantly.
“The audience screamed when they walked out, and didn’t stop screaming. George Harrison said they were the best shows they ever did, and said Finsbury Park Astoria had the best audience.”
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The Beatles had only released two albums by this point, which meant they were not above doing silly sketches (described by one onlooker as “so bad” and “organised chaos”) in between songs.
“It was the first Christmas show they put together,” Rick says. “The sketches had them in costume and climbing out of submarines.
“John Lennon also had his guitar stolen on the first night. Someone broke in, but that place was always being broken into. The security was lax, to say the least.
“It wasn’t just stealing instruments, either. I had people come to me, years after it closed, saying how easy it was to sneak in and that they never even paid for a ticket!”
It didn’t stop the band returning for another Christmas show on December 11, 1965 – one of The Beatles’ last ever live performances.
Rick, 65, worked at the venue in a three-year stint from 1977 to 1980, when its name had changed to the Rainbow Theatre.
He started as assistant front of house manager before working his way up to the lighting manager role after “realising all the action was happening on stage”.
Rick, now of Buxted, East Sussex, worked festive shows himself, on Christmas Day and Boxing Day in 1978. They were the first UK gigs of Johnny Rotten’s post-Sex Pistols band, Public Image Ltd.
Surprisingly, they were a far cry from the jolliness of The Beatles show 15 years earlier.
“Johnny Rotten said to me: ‘Just give me a really green stage.’
“It was an easy lighting job for me, although I remember those two shows were particularly violent, there was a lot of fighting in the audience. True Christmas spirit!”
Now a Pentecostal Church, the theatre closed as a concert venue in 1982.
But with performers ranging from The Osmonds and David Bowie to Iron Maiden and Pink Floyd, Rick says its legacy speaks for itself.
“In the 1970s, it was definitely London’s major music venue,” he says. “It was run by people who were never told what to do. We did things off our own backs and as a result, it was a free-spirited place.
“I don’t think Finsbury Park has changed much at all since then – apart from housing, as there was a huge squatting community at that time. Some squatters even worked on theatre projects.”
Visit Rick’s Rainbow Theatre history website here.


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A video that appears to have been sent to playtesters of Ubisoft’s mysterious session-based co-op shooter Project U has been shared on Twitter. It mostly consists of clips of the game’s dev team talking about playtests, but there are a few sections of gameplay and other footage from the game itself interspersed between those. Creative director Damien Kieken appears in the video, saying that the U in Project U “stands for Unite”.
Kieken goes on to add that “if you want to prevail in this game, uniting with other players is a must”. He explains that the team at Ubisoft Annecy have been working on Project U for several years, and “aim to do something a little bit different in the co-op shooter genre”. The few snippets of actual gameplay show a character sprinting across grassland, and firing on an enemy in third-person. Also shown in the video are some of Project U’s environments, which seem huge and mix forests with giant structures. There’s quite a few colossal light beams firing into the sky for some reason, too.
Community developer Timo Wang appears in the video to tell playtesters that Project U is “in very early development”, and asks for their feedback to improve the shooter. Ubisoft only revealed the existence of Project U at the end of September. At the time, the company said they were going to hold closed playtests in Western Europe on October 14th and 15th. Judging from the content of the leaked video, it seems almost certain that it emerged from someone who signed up to take part in those tests. Cheeky.
🚨LEAK🚨— Shaun Weber (@just4leaks2) October 12, 2022
First Gameplay snippets and Infos from
Ubisofts "coop" game pic.twitter.com/7P7Y5U7few
We don’t have any details on when to expect Project U just yet but you can still sign up here for the closed playtests, for now. The first round starts tomorrow, October 14th.

domain: game


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Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in this interview with Tokunbo Adedoja, speaks on several national issues including the gale of defections that hit the ruling All Progressives Congress, invasion of the National Assembly by DSS operatives, why the ruling party is insisting on change of leadership in the Senate, allegation of political partisanship against anti-graft agencies, the NYSC certificate scandal involving the minister of finance, 2019 election and the chances of President Buhari, and of course, the battle for the soul of Kwara State following the defection of Senate President Bukola Saraki from APC. Excerpts:
I think the opposition is either being mischievous or totally ignorant. This administration has delivered on all the promises it made and I will start with security. I will start with the issue of insurgency in the North East; people have forgotten what the situation was in the North East until the 29th of May 2015 when the president was sworn into office. 24 local governments, 20 in Borno, four in Adamawa and Yobe States were under the effective occupation of Boko Haram, Boko Haram hoisted their flags in those states, they ran their administration, judiciary and there schools in those local governments. As a matter of fact, when I visited Bama, Konduga and Kawu on the 5th of December 2015, and I reached Bama, for a minute I thought I was either in Tunisia or Algeria because every road signs, all signboards were in Arabic. That was how effective the Boko Haram occupation of the North East was. And in those days you could not travel 50 kilometres outside of Maiduguri. Today, we can say not a single inch of our territory is under Boko Haram occupation. We can say today that all schools have been reopened, all roads have been reopened, normalcy has returned so much so that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) now play its league matches regularly in Maiduguri.
Yes, it is true that you still have some isolated cases of suicide bombings, this is not a sign of strength or resurgence, it is a sign of weakness and desperation. Anybody who is familiar with similar wars will know that this is what happens. Today many people have left the Internally Displaced Peoples (IDP) camps and returned to their homes. So if you ewant to judge our success or otherwise please put it in real context.
And not only have we reclaimed all territories from Boko Haram, the military has even gone beyond the call of duty by organising medical mission in those areas, they have also extended that to running schools in the IDP camps so that the children who have missed schooling can continue some form of learning in the IDP camps. So if people want to judge us on security, they should put it in the right context – Where did we start from? Where are we today?
Coming to the killings that you talked about, there were killings in Zamfara, in Benue, Taraba States and in Birnin Gwari in Kaduna State, those are largely the areas where we have these killings; unfortunately like the BBC have reported, Fake News have aggravated some of these killings because they failed to really take note of some of the context of these killings.
Herdsmen and farmers clash is not new to Nigeria, it predates our independence, the first farmers and herdsmen clashes were recorded in 1947, yes, it has assumed a heavy proportion in the last couple of years for some reasons. One, is demography; two, is due to climate change; and three, is due to pure criminality; and four, is probably political. So if you want to talk about these killings, look at them from those contexts.
In 1960 when Nigeria attained independence, the whole population was 45 million people. What that means is that today we have 190 million people living in the same country of the same size as was the case in 1960; so the same land, same grass and water available to 45 million people and animals are now being shared by 190 million people and animals. So there is bound to be clashes, the demographic explosion is bound to lead to struggle for scarce resources. Of course, there is also the issue of climate change. Let’s take Lake Chad, for instance, which sustains six countries in Africa starting from Niger to Chad, Cameroon, Benin Republic Central African Republic, it has dried up from 25000 square kilometres of surface water to a mere 2500 square kilometres of surface water today, and the Lake Chad used to sustain 35 million lives in this six countries so both the fauna and the floral disappeared and this is why people are moving south wards.
Of course there is also the issue of pure criminality. Some politicians have armed militia groups and now want to bring religious and ethnic twists to these killings, which are not true. I always give two examples, we have lost more lives in Zaamfara State, unfortuntely to cattle rustlings than we have lost in Taraba and Benue States put together. Whereas, the cattle rustlers in Zamfara are Muslims and Fulanis and the victims are also Mulims and Fulanis; so how do you then talk about ethnicity and religion? Or take Kebbi State where 70 per cent of those in Kebbi Prisons are there as a result of herdsmen and farmers’ clashes, yet the farmers in Kebbi State are Fulani Muslims and the farmers there are also Fulani Muslims. Unfortunately, when they kill in Zamaara they are bandits, but when they are killing in Benue, they are herdsmen.
In this matter, I think the media has been unfair to us because government has put in place very effective measures that have resulted in a sharp decline in the killings, especially in Benue State. 16 Units of Mobile Policemen have been put together in Benue State to stop these killings. Under the Office the Chief of Defence Staff, there is a unit put together and comprising the military, Police, Civil Defence Corps and there is also a quick air response squad in place that has actually contained these killings. Many militia has been arrested and many are being prosecuted. And the honest truth is that unlike before when we were reporting killings everyday in Benue State, the last time anybody heard about killings in Benue State was probably a few weeks ago. We want the media to also report these positive developments. The truth really is that the government is in control and, in Zamfara for instance, there is a 1000-man joint military team made up of the Army, Air force, Navy and the Police to tackle the problem of cattle rustling.
Don’t forget also the issue of proliferation of arms across the Sahel is a global issue; these are some of the issues that have combined together to give the impression that the government is not doing anything, but the government is doing a lot and that is why we now have peace in Benue State, and I am happy to say this; we have peace in Taraba. The issue of cattle rustling in Birnin Gwari in Kaduna State and in Zamfara State is being tackled.
Fake News is also contributing to this. For instance, in 2017, there was the news that 5 students of the College of Education in Birnin Waya, Kaduna State were killed by herdsmen but it was found not to be true. Again, two reverend fathers were killed in Benue and their killings were ascribed to herdsmen but those who are being prosecuted for the killings were actually militias. We also want the media to go deep into the causes of these killings and in particular report the positive developments that what we have today are not the kind of killings that that we had few months back, which shows that government has swung into action.
We came in in 2015 to meet a massively depleted treasury. We met debts. We met infrastructural decay everywhere. Today we can beat our chest and say from $23 billion foreign reserve we have built our reserves to over $47 billion, inflation has come down from 18 per cent when we came in to about 11 per cent and we intend to achieve single digit inflation before the end of the year. For about 18 months, we have witnessed progressively a decline in inflation. The measures that we have taken has increased confidence internationally in our economy; in the World Bank Ease of Doing Business Index, we climbed 24 steps in 2017 alone and we were adjudged one of the 10 most performing economies in the world; our Stock Exchange was number six in the whole world with about 30 per cent improvement.
Our social investment programme has touched million of lives. As we speak today, we feed 18,500,000 pupils with one meal a day in about 60,000 schools, in the process we’ve employed about 60,000 cooks. The programme is meant for the whole Nigeria, as of today about 23 states have joined in the programme. A government that feeds eight million students per day, you cannot say that government is not impacting its people. Our conditional cash transfer is addressing the conditions of the most poor people in the society and there are about 300,000 people till date who are benefitting from a stipend of N5000 per month and this is a joint project between us and the World Bank; it has helped us to identify some of the most vulnerable and poor families and this has also helped with financial inclusion because for you to benefit from this, you must have a bank account and a BVN. Our Government Enterprise Empowerment Programme (GEEP) is working, about 400,000 Cooperatives have so far benefitted from it by taking loans from N50,000 to N100,000; while our Market Money has benefitted millions of people, including petty traders who get N10,000 to boost their trades. So we’ve made impact in the lives of people.
And in Agriculture, when we came in there were five million rice farmers in Nigeria. Today, through our Anchor Borrowers Scheme we have over 11 million rice farmers, we have increased the number of rice processing mills that we inherited to about 21. We have also revitalised about 23 fertiliser plants that were moribund when we came in.
In the area of infrastructure, no government has achieved what we have done till date. We did not abandon any project, we continued with all the projects that we met. As we speak today, we have been able to rehabilitate 560 kilometres of road, we have also completed 750 kilometres of new roads. We took N100 billion Sukuk bond and we divided it into 16.6 each for each geo-political zone of the country and construction of roads and bridges are going on.
Recently, I took a trip with the Minister of Transportation from Ebute Metta in Lagos to Papalanto in Ogun State to see how the Chinese were handling the standard gauge rail project between Lagos and Kano, and we were quite confident that before the end of the year they will deliver the Lagos Ibadan end of the project. From there we went to inspect the Lagos Ibadan Express Road, which is about 53 per cent completed on both sides after which we went to inspect the Oyo-Ogbomosho Expressway, and here again the work is almost 60 per cent completed.
I also took a tour of the South-South and South East; I went from Enugu to the second Naija Bridge and I was impressed with the level of work, about 37 of the 65 or so beams that needed to be sunk had been sunk by the time we were there. Two weeks after, I was there when the contract for the 19.5 kilometres road was awarded, 1.9 kilometres bridge will soon be finished. From Enugu, I went to Pot Harcourt to see the road construction work that is being done. From Enugu, I went to Lokpanta, from there I went to Umahia Bridge, from there I went to Abia and from there to Port Harcourt; there are about four contractors working there – Arab Contractors, CCEC, Setraco and GE – one thing that shocked me was that from Lokpanta to Umahia Bridge, over the years a complete two-lane road had been converted to a refuse dump, it is this same administration that is now reviving that road.
You want to talk about power. We inherited a power sector which was already privatised but when we came in all the 13 GENCOs were producing only 2,690 megawatts of power; today that has increased to over 7000 megawatts. Yes, it may not be enough for the country but you can see the leap between 2,690 and 7000 mega watts of power. We were able to achieve that because we asked the GENCOs what there challenges were and they said they had the capacity to generate power but the DISCOs were not paying them; then we put together N701 billion payment assurance guarantee for them. We told them that as long as they generate power we will pay them while we sort out the payment with the DISCOs and that has led to the improvement in the power sector today.
We can talk about water. I went on behalf of Mr. President to commission the flood and ocean control project in Osogbo; I was also in the entourage of the Minister of Water Resources to Kastina State to commission some water projects. Other ministers have been commissioning other projects all over the country. So, in terms of infrastructure, we can beat our chest and say this is what we have been able to achieve.
Again, we are fighting corruption very robustly and evidence that we are fighting corruption is that corruption has been driven under the table and that is part of the reasons why this government has not been popular with some people because the free money is no longer there. Today, there is a real redistribution of wealth and more money is pumped into providing infrastructure. Only last week I went to inspect the Abuja Light Rail which was commissioned by Mr. President, which is the first in the whole of Africa. I was impressed when I saw a couple all the way from Delta State who came to see if the project was true or not; and in the next couple of years we are going to have the whole of Abuja covered by Light rail system. Today, it links the Central Part of Abuja to the airport, and to the Kaduna – Abuja road. We can talk about achievements and all these were achieved in less than four years.
While I may agree with you that Boko Haram has been degraded, facts on ground do not support the claim that the terror group is operating from position of weakness. In fact, Boko Haram is as deadly as it was in 2015. The terror group kills and maims on a daily basis, and we have instances where it even overran military locations recently.
“What we are witnessing with Boko Haram today is the last gasp of a dying horse”
(cuts in) Terrorism is a global issue. About two months ago, terrorists were at a school in Texas and killed about 18 students. In 2013 and 104, people in Abuja could not sleep with their two eyes closed, the United Nation’s office was attacked with tragic loss of lives, the Police headquarters was attacked with tragic loss of lives, Nyanya motor park was attacked twice; the head office of your newspaper was attacked. Have we had a repeat occurrence of that since we came in? When you talk of terrorism, you must admit that no capital of the world today is safe from terrorist attacks. Terrorist could ambush troops or people but they are immediately repelled; they don’t have any ground today. Before, their spiritual headquarters was in Sambisa Forest; that has now been turned into military base. There is no resurgence of the insurgency. Yes, we are going to be seeing ambush attack because this is not a normal, conventional war where they have rules of engagement. So don’t be misled to believe that they are back. If they are back, markets, schools and many other public places will not be back in the North-east; don’t forget that for almost six years, all the schools in the North-east were closed down, banks were closed, markets were closed. What we are witnessing with Boko Haram today is the last gasp of a dying horse.
You gave beautiful statistics of the performance of the current administration especially in the area of economy, you talked about how the government has increased the number of rice farmers from 5 million to about 11 million but still the price of rice has gone up and beyond the reach of the common man, the cost of living has generally gone up, rent has gone up, cost of transportation is high, the masses are not feeling the impact of all these achievements you listed.
“In the area of infrastructure, no government has achieved what we have done till date”
Many things are responsible for the high cost of living, including cost of transportation which is why this government is investing in infrastructure. Three years ago it will take you three hours to go from Lagos to Ibadan, today it takes less than two hours, by the time travel time is reduced we will have reduced cost of transportation.
Let me explain why rice, even the local rice is even more expensive than imported rice. One, imported rice is heavily subsidised by the importing countries. Two, what is imported to Nigeria are largely rice that are not fit for consumption, so it is dumping. Thirdly, they even sell to the local rice traders because they must flood our markets with the bad rice. What we are doing with the anchor borrowers scheme is to make it cheaper for our farmers to produce and we are also working on how to make the price of rice to come down but sufficiency is also important. I think from about three or four million metric tonnes of rice we now have over five million metric tonnes of rice and we are aiming at self sufficiency in the next two to three years.
On employment, it is not all bad news. Under the N-Power programme, we employed over 200,000 unemployed graduates and the employments were done online. You don’t have to know anybody, we followed the guidelines very strictly and another 300,000 will resume this month, which means by the end of August we would have employed half a million graduates under N-Power alone; and then we have the N-Build which is addressing OND holders and people in the creative industry and the construction industry. We have achieved all of these in three and a half years, you can imagine what we will achieve if we had another four years or another eight years because governance is a continuum. The road construction that I talked about will be completed, the rail system will be working and gradually we will have a better life. We are not looking for quick fixes, we are not a government that will be giving everybody a hundred naira because that is not sustainable. This is a government that is investing in programmes that will outlive this administration, we are investing in infrastructure development that will boost the economy.
While many Nigerians agree that the President has integrity and he is morally upright, there are contradictions in the government which they cannot easily reconcile. They see some of his appointees carrying on as if they are above the law, as if they are not accountable to Nigerians and even to the president, and there are no consequences for their actions….
(cuts in) Please give me instances?
We have had cases, not once, not twice, not even five times, when courts of law made pronouncements that certain detainees in the custody of the Department of State Services should be released and those pronouncements were not complied with, all of these happened under a democratic government which ordinarily should be subjected to the rule of law and pronouncements of the courts.
I won’t be able to address that particular issue because it is sub judice. When I was giving a media briefing with the Attorney General about a week and half ago same question was asked and my answer was that the matter is sub judice, it is being challenged in court, and I am not in a position to answer it. But I want to tell you that this administration is anchored on the respect for rule of law, it is anchored on the respect for democracy, and we will rather you don’t judge us on the infractions of particular individual but by the acts of the government.
The credibility of a member of the cabinet, precisely the Minister of Finance, was called to question recently, she was alleged to have forged her NYSC exemption certificate but she has not deemed it fit to respond to this allegation under a government that people thought will not condone even a whiff of corruption. Apart from the statement by the NYSC that she applied for exemption certificate and your statement that the NYSC was looking into it, nothing has been heard of that allegation. When will the government or the minister speak on it?
Honestly speaking this question should be addressed to the NYSC. You see people don’t understand how government function, some departments and commissions are saddled with responsibilities that even a minister can’t interfere with. I will give you an example, people have approached me with complaints that some broadcast stations were encouraging hate speeches and want me as a minister to act, but the law is specific on which organisation is charged with that, not the minster.
What we should do is wait for the NYSC and I am confident that the NYSC will come out with the report of their investigation. To say that the government has not spoken is not right, the government has spoken. The NYSC is the arm of government that is responsible for that and we will wait for the outcome of their investigation.
Don’t you think that the minister has an obligation to the nation to respond to the allegation that has done serious damage to her and the government in which she serves because of her silence on the issue?
It is not for her to say it is true or not, it is only after the NYSC has come out with the findings that the minister can speak.
Last week, a detachment of DSS operatives laid siege to the National Assembly and prevented the lawmakers from accessing the premises of the National Assembly. How did this security breach happen?
In the fullness of time we will know exactly what transpired, but for now it is sufficient to say that this government will not condone any action that runs contrary to the constitution; this government will continue to respect the rule of law, this government will continue to respect the constitution. Like I said earlier, don’t judge us by the infraction of one person or one agency. Judge us by the actions of the government. What happened was a mischief and it was immediately cured, that is what is important. The government may not be able to prevent the mischief but it is able to cure it, which is what the government has done. Yes, an incident happened at the National Assembly on Tuesday, we all woke up to it but an action was immediately taken which left nobody in doubt as to this government’s respect for the rule of law. As to how it happened, I believe investigation will reveal that subsequently.
PDP claimed that there was a plot to replace the leadership of the National Assembly but when it failed, government quickly looked for a scapegoat to cover the plot. Many Nigerians share this view….
“On DSS Siege to the National Assembly….. What happened was a mischief and it was immediately cured, that is what is important”
(cuts in)If the PDP had said anything different I would have been surprised. This is a party that has lost relevance, this is a party that I don’t see anywhere and this is a party that will hang on to any straw. But you see, really, I feel the pulse of Nigerians and what I have come out with is that yes, there was an infraction but the government acted promptly and correctly. To say that we sacrificed somebody or looked for a scapegoat, to me, is what a dying party would say. The important thing was that the government took a commendable action, even the European Union came out to commend the action that was taken afterwards by the government and to me that is what is most important, not the ranting of a dying political party that should occupy our time.
Part of the action that the government took was to set up a police investigation into the infraction and the preliminary report that came out of it was that there was a nexus between the sacked boss of the DSS and certain senior politicians. How would you react to that? Do you believe that there are moles in government?
Unless the report is laid before me, probably at the council and apprised through the proper channel, I cannot comment on that. One, I don’t have the report.
The report is everywhere, on the internet, in the newspapers….
There are many things on the internet. Last week there was a report on the internet that my driver abandoned me in the middle of the road and decamped to PDP. As a minister, there are proper channels of doing things, it does not matter if the report is everywhere. As a minister, I need to go to the source of the report and confirm the authenticity of the report. Until that is done, I will not be able to comment on it.
Is there a perception in government that their are moles in government working for the opposition?
I don’t have that perception.
I think what led to the siege to the National Assembly that fateful day was the determination of the ruling party, APC, to effect a change of leadership in the National Assembly, precisely in the Senate where the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has moved to the opposition party. Why is the APC so fixated on effecting a change of leadership in the Senate when it does not seem to have the numbers?
I think you are being unfair. Why don’t we start from the beginning, which is the defection. Until you understand and are able to explain the defection, I will not be able to explain what the party wants to do or does not want to do with the leadership of the Senate of the National Assembly because until the issue of defection came up, I don’t think the party leadership was thinking of leadership change in the Senate. So why don’t we start from there because I think it is proper that we lay the right foundation for every discourse. I am happy you said the party, because the executive arm of government has nothing to do with this. There were defections, some of our members in the Senate in particular, and a few in the House of Representatives decided to move from the ruling party to the PDP, and some to some smaller parties; that was what actually led the APC to say certain things like the issue of changing leadership of the National Assembly. The party actually took some decisions. For instance, the party decided to dissolve the structure right from the ward level to the state level in my own state, Kwara State, because the party rightly feels that if you have left the party you cannot continue to control the structure of the party. So, we should try and locate the nucleus of the agitation for leadership change in the National Assembly to the defection because what happened some Tuesday or Wednesday back, if I’m correct, was that we all woke up to hear that bout 13 or 14 members of the party in the Senate have left the ruling APC for the PDP, about 36 or 37 members of the House of Representatives have also defected to the PDP and this took many Nigerians by surprise, but it shouldn’t have taken any close watcher of the polity by surprise; I think the foundation of the defection was laid the day the Senate President foisted himself on the party and the nation as the Senate president. The tradition everywhere is that the party sits down and agrees on the leadership of the Senate especially, where it has the clear majority and does not need collaboration. We started a government with clear majority in the House but because of the personal ambition of some people, they decided to defy the party and make a deal with the opposition. So we had a leadership of the National Assembly that emerged in defiance of the ruling party and from that moment on we knew it was going to be a vey rocky ride with the executive arm of government; and never in the history of the country have we had a National Assembly in which a party has majority members in the National Assembly and the party will suffer so much, whether in terms of budget delays or in the delay of ratification of appointments, or outright rejection of government nominees. So, it couldn’t have been worse if a member of opposition had been the President of the Senate. I saw some tepid and very fraudulent defence of the situation yesterday that this was not the first time it was happening, that in 1979 the Senate President was from a different party. That was not correct, Joseph Wayas was the Senate President and he was from the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) while the Nigerian Peoples’ Party (NPP) produced the Speaker of the House of Representatives and Wash Pam also emerged as the Deputy Senate President but that situation was completely different. That situation arose because the then NPN did not have a clear majority in the house; so the two parties came up with what they called ‘Accord Concordia’ or something like it. The two parties actually agreed together, not individuals, and they agreed that the NPP will support the NPN on this and this conditions, because what happened then was that there were ministers from the NPP which was not the ruling party; so the examples that some of the supporters of the Senate President gave were very fraudulent. What happened at that time happened with the consent of the two parties, but in this case it was individuals that connived and put us where we are today. So, if the leadership of the party decided to have a leadership change, it was based on the fact that the Senate President had left the party. It is a case of if you have left our party, you cannot continue to represent us. What the party is saying is that morally, the President of the Senate should resign and if he does not resign, he must be impeached. Like I said the Executive arm of government has nothing to do with it, it is purely party matter and the matter for the legislators.
As it stands today, you are the most senior surviving member of the party in government from your state having served as a member of the National Working Committee of the party before you became a minister. Are you not worried with the gale of defections of key figures, among them three governors, the Senate President, deputy governor of Kano State and federal and state lawmakers, including deputy speaker of Kaduna State. There are fears that more people will move to the opposition party. Are you not concerned that all these defections are happening on the eve of an election year?
I am the most senior surviving member of the party in my state, yes, I have been a member of the National Working Committee of the party, I have been spokesman of the party and I have also been a minister. We must always put things in proper perspective. The New PDP was never a member of the parties that merged to form the APC, only four parties merged, actually five and I will explain; ANPP, ACN and CPC, a faction of APGA and a faction of DPP. So the three parties that merged and surrendered their certificates to INEC were the defunct ANPP, CPC and ACN, so when you are talking about the legacy parties that merged to form the APC, they are the ANPP, ACN and CPC because the other parties still exist today. APGA still exists even though we had a faction of the party with us; it was after the merger had been concluded that five governors of the PDP came to join us, namely Sokoto, Kano, Kwara, Rivers and Adamawa; so those who have left the party now are largely those who came to join us after the merger. It is a moot argument whether we would have won the general elections if they had not come to join us.
I was coming to that. Would you have won the presidential election without them?
It is a moot argument because elections are gone. But as much as we would not have wanted to lose three governors, 13 Senators and about two dozen members of the House of Representatives, I think it is better and healthier to lose those members who have constituted themselves to a cog in the wheel of progress of the party and government than to continue to carry such deadwoods and fifth columnists in the party. Like I explained to you, we wouldn’t have suffered more in the hands of a PDP led leadership of the National Assembly in recent times. And believe me, many of the defectors have forgotten that they won elections on the coat tail of President Muhammadu Buhari. Here is a man whose broad acceptance is so huge that it determines the outcome of elections in constituencies far removed from his geopolitical zone. The stories that we are hearing today is that many of the defectors can’t even go back home. I am sure you have heard the kinds of humiliation that some of them have suffered and many of them have left our parties not because of principles but for personal reasons; many of them have left our party because they can’t have re-nomination because of the zoning arrangement there.
Coming to your question, yes we would have loved to have honest, loyal and committed members of the party, and as to the fate of the party after they have left, believe you me it is going to be a storm in a tea cup. However, I must add that just as we have lost some we have also gained some, we gained a senator and the minority leader of the senate and that is only the beginning. We also gained another senator in Ebonyi State; believe me, we will win with a large margin come next elections.
There are fears that your state, Kwara, will be a flashpoint in the next election.
There is no doubt about that. My state, Kwara is actually the epicentre of the whole defection drama, it is a state to watch in the unfolding drama. Yes, we have lost the Senate President and indeed all the senators from my state, we’ve also lost all the member of the House of Representatives from my State, even the Governor has gone but believe me the people of Kwara state are solidly behind President Muhammadu Buhari and our party, and with the fullness of time, come 2019 elections you would see the veracity of my assertion. I just left home on Thursday where I met about 200 leaders from different parts of the state who said until now they had been on siddon look mode but now that the Senate President had gone back to the PDP they were ready to return to active politics; this is besides the about 95 per cent of the leadership of the PDP that has come to join us.
Again, for you to know that we have not suffered as much as people think, it is the PDP that came to join the APC that’s left, even at that they have not been able to leave with everybody. The member of APC today feel a sense of liberation and never again will the fate of the people of Kwara State be in the hands of one man. Kwarans are now resolved to take their destiny in their own hands; Kwarans, young, old, male, female are now thronging to the party, the challenges before us now is how to manage the influx of people to the party but we are very confident that we are going to win the elections at all levels in Kwara State come 2019.
Since the second republic, the Sarakis have always been in control of the politics of Kwara, the political structure of the state and the people. They moved from on party to another and still retained that control. Now that they have moved from the APC to the PDP with the party structure, and considering the fact that it takes time and huge resources to build a new party structure, how do you hope to achieve this as the new leader of APC in the state because elections are just around the corner?
“Members of Kwara APC today feel a sense of liberation and never again will the fate of the people of Kwara State be in the hands of one man_”
The resentment against Bukola Saraki in Kwara State has been building for years but when the dam broke during the defection, everybody was coming out of the woods. So rebuilding the party is so much easier. Amazingly, the process of installing caretaker at ward level all over the state is going smoothly because it is not about filling positions or getting into office, it is about everybody wanting to tell the whole world that Kwara State does not belong in the pocket of only one person. It is now faster to build the structures, it is easier and it is going to cost us less than if we were just starting afresh. Yes, it will require huge resources, don’t forget that we have no governor today neither do we have local government council chairmen, so state chapter of the party will have to lean heavily on the party at the centre for logistic support. We are not unaware of the challenges ahead of us but we are encouraged by calls we received from people, many people have called to assure us that in collaboration with other leaders they will deliver their different wards for our party; we are also encouraged by the voluntary donations from people, not in cash but by donating their time and in kind, and that is what matters in election time. Very respected old people who have been in politics since the second republic have come out and are still coming out to say this is a fight to rescue Kwara State together and that is what is giving us the confidence that we are going to win the elections.
EFCC has been going after some of the states where their governors defected from APC, we have seen the case of Benue State where issues like how the governor spent security votes are now being scrutinised. We also heard the case of Akwa Ibom State where the state government’s account was reportedly frozen after a major politician in the state joined APC. There are also fears that the EFCC will be unleashed on some opposition politicians as we prepare for election. All of these constitute a serious dent on the government’s anti-corruption war. What is your take on this?
My answer is this: only the guilty are afraid. This government will not misuse any anti graft agency or any security agency. I will encourage Nigerians to report any such abuse and it will be promptly dealt with. Some people say once you moved to APC your sins are forgiven but that’s not correct. Nobody has come to give evidence that the charges preferred against anybody have been dropped on account of moving to the APC. Of late we have had cases where the anti-graft agency has secured convictions against certain members of the National Assembly who belong to our party, that is why some of these allegations cannot hold water.
What about the case of Benue State where EFCC beamed its searchlight immediately the governor defected from APC?
I can only comment on what I know for certain. What I will do is call the EFCC and find out if truly they have frozen the accounts of Benue State, and if they said yes, I will find out why, then I will revert back to you. (This Interview is Online Exclusive)


On July 1st, 2020, amendments to the Russian constitution were approved following a nationwide referendum. In this article, Demyan Plakhov discusses the implications of this constitutional reform.
Demyan Plakhov investigates the ramifications of African nations wanting to withdraw from the ICC.
Russian vetoes have been detrimental to progress on the Syrian conflict, with no end in sight.
For young men in Russia, military conscription is a difficult reality that often comes with a difficult price. Russia’s conscription policies have been scrutinized by Human Rights Watch for the harmful impact this process has had on men subjected to the practice.
Demyan Plakhov examines how safe France is after the terrorist attacks.
Demyan Plakhov examines France’s terrorist attacks.
Demyan Plakhov examines Canada’s commitments before and after the Summit in a two part series.
Demyan Plakhov examines Canada’s commitments after NATO’s summit in a two part series.
Demyan Plakhov examines Canada’s cadet program.
Demyan Plakhov discusses how far the ICC has come.


text:
Best Ilex Poems
Below are the all-time best Ilex poems written by Poets on PoetrySoup. These top poems in list format are the best examples of ilex poems written by PoetrySoup members
ilex, love, sad
BONSAI: the greening Oriental art
ilex, art, flower, garden, humor, language, nature,
You Texas Cuspidata!
Not you, and not a curse:
Taxus cuspidata, for Japanese Yew!
So, don’t confuse a plant with the Ibex
Ilex serrata – that’s Christmas Holly

domain: library


Taxes likely up in Milton
If you go
What: Milton City Council public hearing on the proposed 2012 city budget and tax levy. The council could vote on the budget immediately after the hearing.
When: 6:30 p.m. today.
Where: Milton City Hall, 430 E. High St., Milton.
MILTON The Milton City Council today will consider a 2012 city budget that would mean a 4.7 percent increase in the city tax levy and a nearly 8 percent increase in the tax rate.
The Milton City Council on Nov. 15 held off on voting on the budget because at the time the city still was missing state assessments on manufacturing properties, information needed to calculate its proposed tax rate.
City staff had estimated the new budget would mean an approximately 1.8 percent "cost of living" increase with the projected tax rate and cost of services factored together.
In an email, City Administrator Jerry Schuetz wrote that the city has since received manufacturing assessments, and the proposed tax rate is now estimated to climb 8 percent compared to last year.
The increase would amount to an increase of about $57 for the city portion of a tax bill on a $100,000 home.
The increase comes even after city staff made $300,000 in budget cuts since March 2011, when budget planning began last spring, the city reports.
About $107,000 of the cuts came through employee concessions to pay and benefits and a proposed employee health insurance change. City departments also trimmed $125,000 in spending.
Those cuts were an answer to a possible $420,000 budget gap and 18 percent tax levy increase—both of which arose amid revenue losses, including $120,000 in anticipated cuts to state shared revenues.
Meanwhile, talks continued Monday between the city and its department of public works union over a proposed change in the city's health insurance carrier.
Other city employees agreed to change carriers earlier this year under a plan that along with a switch by the public works union would save $60,000, according to city figures. The savings already are factored into the proposed budget.
As of Monday afternoon, neither the city nor the union was prepared to release a statement on the talks.
2012 MILTON BUDGET
A look at the 2012 budget for the city of Milton.
Next year $4.02 million
This year $4.06 million
Decrease 1.03 percent
Next year $2.47 million
This year $2.36 million
Increase 4.7 percent
(Per $1,000 of assessed valuation)
Next year $7.68
This year $7.11
Increase 8 percent
Note: Percent changes calculated on whole numbers.


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|September 7, 2017|
PA Turnpike to Replace Bridges over Span of One Weekend
HARRISBURG, PA (Sept. 7, 2017) — The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is scheduled to replace two bridges later this month — one in Beaver County and one in Lehigh County — using a proven engineering technique that allows workers to replace a bridge in one weekend rather than a year or more of construction.
“The Accelerated Bridge Construction process is a cost-effective way to replace bridges within a short timeframe while reducing worker exposure in construction zones which in turn improves safety for workers and motorists alike,” PA Turnpike CEO Mark Compton said. “It also eliminates the need for months or years of cattle chutes, single-lane traffic patterns and other restrictions for motorists.”
While there are other benefits to the ABC technique, Compton cautioned motorists that the bridge replacements will create significant, regional travel delays. The PA Turnpike will implement detours in both directions for a 55-hour period to allow workers to demolish the old bridge and slide the new spans into position. Compton strongly urged motorists to consider alternative routes, travel during off-peak hours or avoid the area altogether during the detours as they add substantial travel time.
“Motorists will face lengthy detours that will add more than an hour to their travel time,” Compton said. “As a result, we strongly advise customers to steer clear of these areas during the detour weekends or build in plenty of extra travel time.”
The authorized detour routes will be clearly marked for both through traffic and local traffic. Motorists should pay close attention while driving the detour, looking for the orange-and-black directional signs.
The PA Turnpike closures are scheduled as follows:
During the Sept. 22 detour, crews will demolish and replace a bridge carrying the Turnpike (I-76) over Brush Creek in New Sewickley Township, Beaver County. The 150-foot long bridge opened to traffic on Dec. 26, 1951 and today carries roughly 40,000 vehicles per day, combined east/west.
During the Sept. 29 detour, crews will demolish and replace a bridge carrying the Northeastern Extension (I-476) over Crackersport Road in South Whitehall Township, Lehigh County. The 131-foot long bridge opened to traffic on Nov. 7, 1957 and today carries roughly 30,000 vehicles per day, combined north/south.
For the last several months, crews have been constructing the new bridges next to the existing bridges. When the highway section is closed, workers will demolish the existing bridges and replace them with the new spans.
In the last two decades, the Pennsylvania Turnpike has completed dozens of bridge-replacement projects to ensure the safety and integrity of the critical structures. Although this is the first time the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is using the ABC engineering technique, PennDOT has successfully deployed the technique on other state roadways in the past.
Details and maps of the detours are available at www.paturnpike.com/ABC.


text:
Grilled Portabella Mushrooms with Broccoli and Cheese
Looking for a new grilled vegetable side dish? Love mushrooms and broccoli? Don’t forget the cheese! I served this with a beef tenderloin roast that was just under 2 lbs. The broccoli was freshly blanched to the almost tenderness I like. The broccoli tenderness didn’t really change from the time spent on the grill.
Do you run your mushrooms under water to clean them? The recommended method is by dry brushing lightly with a damp paper towel or soft brush. So which camp do you fall into? I’m a middle of the road girl when it comes to this. I usually use a damp paper towels but there are mushrooms that I run under water. It depends to me on how dry the mushroom cap is. When they are really dry and fresh I almost always use a paper towel. The gills underneath are still tight. But then there is that bargain at the grocery store that was just marked down and really cheap, yep I will buy them. Those I will run under cold water but I always leave them to air dry them on a paper towel. I use mushrooms like those for duxelles, stews and soups.
Above is what they looked like when I first put them on the grill to cook.
- 2 large portabella mushrooms
- cooking spray
- salt and pepper
- 2 cups chopped broccoli
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1/2 cup milk
- salt and pepper
- 1/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- Brush off mushroom caps and set aside.
- Cut the broccoli into bite size pieces.Bring a pan of water to a boil. Add the broccoli pieces and let water come back to a boil. Let cook for 3 more minutes. The broccoli should be able to easily be pierced with a fork, Drain.
- In a small sauce pan melt the butter. Stir in the flour. Whisk in the milk.Continue to cook until mixture thickens. Add broccoli.
- Spray the top of the mushroom lightly with cooking oil spray. Add a little salt and pepper. Add the broccoli mixture to the top of the mushroom. Pack it on the best you can.
- Place the whole thing on the grill. Close lid on grill and let cook at medium heat for 10 minutes. Add cheese and close lid again. When it is melted, about 5 minutes take off the grill.
Would you like to try our recipe for?

domain: food


In ushering in one of the largest infusions of federal aid since the Great Depression, President Biden is planning an aggressive campaign to inform voters of the benefits that are coming to them through the $1.9 trillion economic relief package approved on Wednesday, an attempt to ensure that he and his fellow Democrats get full political credit for the first big victory of his administration.
The effort will start with Mr. Biden’s prime-time address to the nation on Thursday and include travel by the president and Vice President Kamala Harris across multiple states, events that will feature a wide range of cabinet members emphasizing the legislation’s themes, as well as endorsements from Republican mayors, according to administration officials.
Mr. Biden is set to deliver the Thursday address just after 8 p.m. from the East Room of the White House, and said on Wednesday that he planned to “talk about what we’ve been through as a nation this past year.”
“But more importantly, I’m going to talk about what comes next,” he continued. “I’m going to launch the next phase of the Covid response and explain what we will do as a government and what we will ask of the American people.”
The address, which is taking place around the midpoint of Mr. Biden’s first 100 days in office, is shaping up to be one of the biggest moments for the new president since his inauguration.
It is taking place during a week of forward momentum for the new administration, not just from the passage of the stimulus plan but also from progress in filling out the president’s cabinet. On Wednesday alone, the Senate confirmed three of his picks: Merrick B. Garland as attorney general, Marcia L. Fudge as secretary of housing and urban development and Michael Regan as the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
And on Thursday, the Senate is scheduled to hold procedural votes for two more cabinet selections: Xavier Becerra for secretary of health and human services and Representative Deb Haaland of New Mexico for interior secretary.
The week will end with what will be another moment of triumph for the new administration, as Mr. Biden plans to sign the stimulus plan on Friday.
The White House’s decision to go out and sell the package after its passage reflects a lesson from the early months of the Obama administration. In 2009, fighting to help the economy recover from a crippling financial crisis, President Barack Obama never succeeded in building durable popular support for a similar stimulus bill and allowed Republicans to define it on their terms, fueling a partisan backlash and the rise of the Tea Party movement.
Mr. Biden starts with an advantage: The legislation is widely popular in national polling. And it will deliver a series of tangible benefits to low- and middle-income Americans, including direct payments of $1,400 per individual, just as the economy’s halting recovery from the pandemic recession is poised to accelerate.
After his address on Thursday night, which is expected to run under 20 minutes, Mr. Biden will headline a weekslong public relations effort. The White House announced Wednesday that Mr. Biden would visit the Philadelphia suburbs next week.
The economic relief plan that is headed to President Biden’s desk has been billed as the United States’ most ambitious antipoverty initiative in a generation. But inside the $1.9 trillion package, there are plenty of perks for the middle class, too.
An analysis by the Tax Policy Center published this week estimated that middle-income families — those making $51,000 to $91,000 per year — would see their after-tax income rise by 5.5 percent as a result of the tax changes and stimulus payments in the legislation. This is about twice what that income group received as a result of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
Here are some of the ways the bill will help the middle class.
Americans will receive stimulus checks of up to $1,400 per person, including dependents.
The size of the payments are scaled down for individuals making more than $75,000 and married couples earning more than $150,000. And they are cut off for individuals making $80,000 or more and couples earning more than $160,000. Those thresholds are lower than in the previous relief bills, but they will still be one of the biggest benefits enjoyed by those who are solidly in the middle class.
Tax credits for parents
The most significant change is to the child tax credit, which will be increased to up to $3,600 for each child under 6, from $2,000 per child. The credit, which is refundable for people with low tax bills, is $3,000 per child for children ages 6 to 17.
The legislation also bolsters the tax credits that parents receive to subsidize the cost of child care this year. The current credit is worth 20 to 35 percent of eligible expenses, with a maximum value of $2,100 for two or more qualifying individuals. The stimulus bill increases that amount to $4,000 for one qualifying individual or $8,000 for two or more.
Cheaper health insurance
After four years of being on life support, the Affordable Care Act is expanding, a development that will largely reward middle-income individuals and families, since those on the lower end of the income spectrum generally qualify for Medicaid.
Because the relief legislation expands the subsidies for buying health insurance, a 64-year-old earning $58,000 would see monthly payments decline to $412 from $1,075 under current law, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
A rescue for pensioners
One of the more contentious provisions in the legislation is the $86 billion allotted to fixing failing multiemployer pensions. The money is a taxpayer bailout for about 185 union pension plans that are so close to collapse that without the rescue, more than a million retired truck drivers, retail clerks, builders and others could be forced to forgo retirement income.
The legislation gives the weakest plans enough money to pay hundreds of thousands of retirees their full pensions for the next 30 years.
The House on Thursday approved a bill that would require universal background checks for gun purchasers, and was poised to pass a second to strengthen them, as Democrats pushed past Republican opposition to advance major gun safety measures after decades of congressional inaction.
In a vote that fell largely along party lines, the House passed legislation that would require background checks for buyers at gun shows and online, expanding a requirement that currently exists only for in-person purchasers. It was on the brink of approving a second measure that would extend the time given to the F.B.I. to vet buyers flagged by the national instant check system.
Despite being widely popular with voters, the measures face what is expected to be insurmountable opposition in the Senate, where Republicans have resisted imposing any limits on guns, including stricter background-check requirements.
The House voted 227-203 to approve the universal background check measure. A midday vote was expected to pass the one giving federal law enforcement more time to vet gun purchasers.
Both pieces of legislation are aimed at addressing gaps in existing gun laws.
The measure passed on Thursday would require purchasers shopping for firearms online or at gun shows to have their backgrounds vetted before they could receive the weapon. They are not currently required to do so, although in-person purchasers, who make up the majority of such transactions, are.
The second bill addresses what is known as the “Charleston loophole,” which restricts to three days the time period for the F.B.I. to conduct a background check, allowing many purchasers to evade them. The provision allowed Dylann Roof, the white supremacist who killed nine people in 2015 at a historically Black church in Charleston, S.C., to buy a handgun even though he should have been barred from purchasing the weapon. The bill would extend the amount of time the F.B.I. has to complete a check for an additional week, to 10 days.
“Let’s not add more names to this registry of grief,” Representative Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the No. 2 Democrat, said, reading from a lengthy list of recent mass shootings and noting that they had sharply fallen in the last year. “Let’s not rely on a pandemic to do what we ought to have done so long ago. Let’s pass these bills and reduce gun violence the right way.”
Democrats first passed the legislation in 2019, shortly after they recaptured control of the House, making it a centerpiece of their agenda as they sought to capitalize on an outpouring of student activism in favor of stricter gun safety measures after a school shooting in Parkland, Fla., in 2018. Polling then and now, conducted by multiple firms, shows that over 80 percent of voters support the legislation.
Last month, President Biden called on Congress to enact the bills in a statement commemorating the three-year anniversary of the Parkland shooting.
“This administration will not wait for the next mass shooting to heed that call,” he said.
Still, the bills approved on Thursday will join a growing stack of liberal legislation that is widely popular with voters but appears destined to languish in the 50-50 Senate, where Democrats must win the support of 10 Republicans to pass most major measures. It is part of a concerted strategy to increase pressure on Democrats resistant to eliminating the legislative filibuster while forcing Republicans to take difficult votes ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.
“We are not going away until this legislation passes,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. “We will meet the challenge to the conscience of the country, when it comes to the gun violence crisis in our country.”
Days before his inauguration, President-elect Biden was eyeing a $1.3 trillion rescue plan aimed squarely at the middle class he has always championed, but pared down to attract some Republican support.
In a private conversation, Senator Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat who is now the majority leader, echoed others in the party and urged Mr. Biden to think bigger. True, the coronavirus pandemic had disrupted the lives of those in the middle, but it had also plunged millions of people into poverty. With Democrats in control, the new president should push for something closer to $2 trillion, Mr. Schumer told Mr. Biden.
On Friday, “Scranton Joe” Biden, whose five-decade political identity has been largely shaped by his appeal to union workers and blue-collar tradesmen like those from his Pennsylvania hometown, will sign into law a $1.9 trillion spending plan that includes the biggest antipoverty effort in a generation.
The new role as a crusader for the poor represents an evolution for Mr. Biden, who spent much of his 36 years in Congress concentrating on foreign policy, judicial fights, gun control and criminal justice issues by virtue of his committee chairmanships in the Senate. For the most part, he ceded domestic economic policy to others.
But aides say he has embraced his new role. Mr. Biden has done so in part by following progressives in his party to the left and accepting the encouragement of his inner circle to use Democratic power to make sweeping rather than incremental change. He has also been moved by the inequities in pain and suffering that the pandemic has inflicted on the poorest Americans, aides say.
“We all grow,” said Representative James E. Clyburn of South Carolina, the No. 3 House Democrat, whose endorsement in the primaries was crucial to Mr. Biden winning the presidency. “During the campaign, he recognized what was happening in this country, this pandemic. It is not like anything we have had in 100 years. If you are going to address Covid-19’s impact, you have to address the economic disparities that exist in this country.”
A vast share of the money approved by Congress will benefit the lowest-income Americans, including tax credits and direct checks, of which nearly half will be delivered to people who are unemployed, below the poverty line or barely making enough to feed and shelter their families. Billions of dollars will be used to extend benefits for the unemployed. And child tax credits will largely benefit the poorest Americans.
“Millions of people out of work through no fault of their own,” Mr. Biden said moments after the relief act passed the Senate over the weekend. “I want to emphasize that: through no fault of their own. Food bank lines stretching for miles. Did any of you ever think you’d see that in America, in cities all across this country?”
More than seven weeks after President Biden took office, White House staff members are working from California, Puerto Rico, Texas and elsewhere around the country, a striking indication of the strange reality of building a new administration during a pandemic as well as the sharp shift from the Trump administration’s casual approach to dealing with the coronavirus.
Many Biden officials have never met in person with colleagues they interact with on a daily basis. Gina McCarthy, the White House national climate adviser, has met her chief of staff only on a video screen.
The setup might be inconvenient and somewhat anticlimactic for government officials who would normally be sporting coveted White House badges and establishing regular after-hours watering holes. But those who chose not to move during the coronavirus pandemic said it had also given them an outside-the-bubble perspective as they experienced firsthand a grim reality that many of the administration’s policies are trying to address.
Emmy Ruiz, the White House’s director of political strategy and outreach, said she became alarmed when she lost water after the deep freeze in Texas last month and immediately recognized it as a “huge red flag.” Because she lives near a hospital, her neighborhood had until then been prioritized in keeping power and utilities running. She called the nurses she knew at the hospital, where her son was born, “and they were painting a very dire picture,” Ms. Ruiz said. “The hospitals needed water, and in some cases they had to transfer patients, but the roads were ice.”
Ms. Ruiz relayed the concerns she was hearing in her neighborhood to Julie Chávez Rodriguez, the White House intergovernmental affairs director, who was in direct contact with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Security Council. Ms. Ruiz also reached out to local government officials and county judges to help put them in touch with the federal government for support.
The American Rescue Plan, which gained final approval from Congress on Wednesday, will pump $1.9 trillion into the economy.
The New York Times’s personal finance experts, Ron Lieber and Tara Siegel Bernard, combed through the bill to explain what it means in real terms to real people. Here are some of the questions they answer:
Two whistle-blowers on Wednesday accused Jeffrey Bossert Clark, a former Justice Department official, of politicizing the hiring process in the waning days of President Donald J. Trump’s tenure by improperly elevating an employee who was seen as loyal to the former president.
Mr. Clark, who headed the Environment and Natural Resources Division and was acting head of the department’s Civil Division, promoted an employee days before he left the department in January. The employee had previously worked on a case, Garza v. Hargan, that involved the Trump administration’s effort to bar pregnant teens who were in federal immigration custody from obtaining abortions, the whistle-blowers said in a letter to the Justice Department’s inspector general and to members of Congress.
Few career employees at the department had been willing to work on the case, according to the whistle-blowers’ letter. And the policy was ultimately deemed unconstitutional by a federal judge.
On Jan. 12, Mr. Clark announced that the person who had worked on the Garza case had been hired to be an assistant director over two candidates who were more qualified, the whistle-blowers said in their letter.
The whistle-blowers’ letter was earlier reported by NPR.
The whistle-blowers claimed that the Civil Division changed its longstanding practices around hiring for that type of position in order to allow a political appointee to select the finalists. They said that Mr. Clark then engaged in “perfunctory” 15-minute interviews with each of the candidates before choosing “the one and only candidate who volunteered to defend one of the Trump administration’s most controversial policies.”
“Mr. Clark abused his authority by injecting himself into the career staff promotion process,” the whistle-blowers said in their letter. They called the hiring process “a sham selection process.”
Mr. Clark said in a statement that managers in the Civil Division sent him three candidates to interview, “each of whom they rated well-qualified.”
“I interviewed all three using the same process I had used for other positions,” Mr. Clark said. “I think it’s very unfortunate that the disappointed applicants would attack their own colleague’s selection. That candidate had strong leadership qualities and was the best qualified.”
Mr. Clark described the decision by the whistle-blowers to highlight that the lawyer who was promoted had worked on the Garza litigation as “a baseless attempt to cast aspersions.”
David Z. Seide, a lawyer for the whistle-blowers and a senior counsel at the Government Accountability Project, said in a statement that Mr. Clark’s “last-minute politicization of the D.O.J. hiring process” called for “immediate, close and transparent oversight and investigations.”
Mr. Clark made headlines in January for his efforts to help Mr. Trump overturn the results of the election, a plan that nearly led to the ouster of the acting attorney general and a mass resignation at the top of the agency.
Mr. Clark denied any wrongdoing and said that the discussions reported by The New York Times had been distorted by colleagues who had improperly shared them. The Justice Department’s inspector general is investigating the incident.
Before the House gave final approval to a $1.9 trillion stimulus package on Wednesday without any Republican support, Speaker Nancy Pelosi admonished Republicans for their opposition to the measure, declaring, “It’s typical that they vote no and take the dough.”
As if to make her point, Senator Roger Wicker, Republican of Mississippi, tweeted approvingly just hours after the bill passed about the $28.6 billion included for “targeted relief” for restaurants. His post did not mention that he had voted no.
Independent restaurant operators have won $28.6 billion worth of targeted relief.
This funding will ensure small businesses can survive the pandemic by helping to adapt their operations and keep their employees on the payroll.https://t.co/Ob4pRb9Xh4
— Senator Roger Wicker (@SenatorWicker) March 10, 2021
“I’m not going to vote for $1.9 trillion just because it has a couple of good provisions,” he later told reporters.
Mr. Wicker’s post received an unwelcome reception on Twitter, prompting thousands of responses, many of them pointing out that he had voted against the measure, known as the American Rescue Plan.
Representative Debbie Dingell, Democrat of Michigan, wrote in her own tweet that she had “worked with restaurants in my district for almost a year to secure aid they desperately need,” adding, “Republican senators, including @SenatorWicker, rejected this critical aid.”
“Too many have closed & many more are suffering,” she said of the restaurants. “Just happy we got them help today despite his objections.”
Another tweet, from an account run by Senate Democrats, offered a reminder of how a certain vote was cast: “The American Rescue Plan will deliver for American families and small businesses — and Senator Wicker voted NO.”
F.B.I. agents and federal prosecutors are investigating Stewart Rhodes, the founder and leader of the Oath Keepers militia, for any role he might have played in the storming of the Capitol two months ago, according to court documents and a law enforcement official with knowledge of the matter.
While the inquiry is in its nascent stages, the official said, its existence shows that investigators appear to be targeting the senior leadership of the paramilitary group that Mr. Rhodes has run for more than a decade. If he were ultimately charged, it could amount to a crippling blow to the militia.
The Oath Keepers, who largely draw their members from the ranks of former military and law enforcement personnel, have from the start been a central focus of the sprawling investigation into the Capitol riot, which has led to charges against nearly 300 people. Eleven members of the group stand accused of a variety of crimes stemming from the siege, most prominently an alleged conspiracy reaching back to shortly after Election Day to break into the Capitol and interfere with Congress’s Jan. 6 certification of the Electoral College vote.
As three cases against his subordinates have moved through the courts, Mr. Rhodes, a former Army paratrooper, has been mentioned at least six times in legal filings as Person One, effectively putting him on notice that investigators are examining his conduct. Prosecutors have noted, for example, that two days before the Capitol attack, he issued a “call for action” on the Oath Keepers’ website, urging “all patriots who can be in D.C.” to “stand tall in support of President Trump’s fight to defeat the enemies foreign and domestic who are attempting a coup.”
In the same communiqué, Mr. Rhodes announced that the Oath Keepers would be sending “multiple volunteer security teams” to provide protection to “V.I.P.s” at events surrounding Mr. Trump’s speech and rally in Washington earlier on the day of the riot. The New York Times has identified a group of Oath Keepers who worked as security guards for Mr. Trump’s close ally and adviser Roger J. Stone Jr. at such events, and this week two of them — Roberto Minuta and Joshua A. James — were arrested in connection with the Capitol attack.
In court papers filed on Monday night, prosecutors significantly raised the stakes against Mr. Rhodes, saying that they now have evidence that he was in direct communication with some of the plot suspects before, during and after the assault on the Capitol.
Mr. Rhodes did not respond on Wednesday to messages seeking comment; he told The Washington Post that his group had “no plan to enter the Capitol.” A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment, as did an F.B.I. spokeswoman.
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Jake Sullivan, President Biden’s national security adviser, will meet next week with two senior Chinese government officials, the Biden administration’s first in-person diplomatic encounter with its chief foreign rival.
In a statement on Wednesday, a State Department spokesman said that Mr. Blinken and Mr. Sullivan would meet in Anchorage on March 18 with China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, and its top diplomat, Yang Jiechi. The announcement comes days after a speech by Mr. Blinken and a White House national security strategy document identified China as a top threat to the United States.
In his speech, Mr. Blinken called China the one country able “to seriously challenge the stable and open international system.” U.S. officials expect to compete with Beijing in areas ranging from technology to trade to political influence — but also aim to cooperate on matters like climate change, the coronavirus and the global economy.
Testifying on Wednesday before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr. Blinken said the meeting would be an opportunity “to lay out in very frank terms the many concerns that we have with Beijing’s actions and behavior,” including economic effects on American workers.
But he said that he and Mr. Sullivan would also “explore whether there are other avenues for cooperation.”
Mr. Blinken added that the meeting was not the start of a strategic dialogue, and that follow-up meetings would depend on “tangible progress and outcomes” on Washington’s concerns.
U.S. officials did not describe a specific agenda for the meeting. Mr. Blinken said on Twitter that he looked forward to engaging the Chinese officials “on a range of issues, including those where we have deep disagreements.”
Mr. Blinken will be on the return leg of his first foreign trip, to Asia, which the State Department also announced on Wednesday. He will depart on March 15 with planned stops in Tokyo and Seoul, and return to Washington from Anchorage on March 19.
In a statement about the Asia trip, Ned Price, a State Department spokesman, said that Mr. Blinken would “reaffirm the United States’ commitment to strengthening our alliances” and to “highlight cooperation” with allies in the region.