Politics

Donald Trump has made America read again. Since the beginning of the year, every New York Times bestseller has been about the 45th president, according to CNN. And that’s not to mention the classic dystopian novels that shot up the list in 2017.

But if you’re an author writing about President Trump, would you do better with a book praising him or one critical of him?

To answer that question, we gathered data from the Times nonfiction list of bestsellers on every book explicitly about Trump since his election in 2016.

That gave us a list of seven books supporting Trump, including books like “Understanding Trump” by Newt Gingrich and “Billionaire at the Barricades” by Laura Ingraham, and ten that were more critical, such as “Fire and Fury” by Michael Wolff and “Russian Roulette” by Michael Isikoff and David Corn.

The results were clear: All of the books except Wolff’s had a quick decline in sales after their first week on the list, which is not uncommon. The pro-Trump books spent a median of three weeks on the bestseller list, while books critical of Trump have done slightly better, spending a median of three and a half weeks on the list. Both types of books had a median highest rank of third place.

The list does not include James Comey’s memoir, “A Higher Loyalty,” which is too new to be included in the data set. But Comey’s book, which is highly critical of Trump, is already selling well.

Each book is graphed above by its cumulative weeks appearing on the Times bestseller list, even if there were weeks in between where it did not make the cut.

…read more

Source:: Time – Politics

The panellists on the 226th edition of the Press Gallery podcast look at Bill 12 tabled in the legislature on Monday, April 16, 2018, that gives the government extraordinary powers to dictate to energy companies what products they can ship out of Alberta.

Bill 12 is not just aimed at pipelines, as the Alberta government is giving itself the power to control the shipment of energy products by rail and by truck, too.

Companies in violation of the law are liable for a $10-million fine per day.

…read more

Source:: Edmonton Journal – Politics

(SEOUL, South Korea) —

North Korea said Saturday it has suspended nuclear and long-range missile tests and plans to close its nuclear test site.

The North’s official Korean Central News Agency said the country is making the move to shift its national focus and improve its economy.

The North also vowed to actively engage with regional neighbors and the international community to secure peace in the Korean Peninsula and create an “optimal international environment” to build its economy.

The announcements came days before North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is set to meet South Korean President Moon Jae-in in a border truce village for a rare summit aimed at resolving the nuclear standoff with Pyongyang.

A separate meeting between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump is anticipated in May or June.

North Korea has agreed to suspend all Nuclear Tests and close up a major test site. This is very good news for North Korea and the World – big progress! Look forward to our Summit.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 20, 2018

The North’s decisions were made in a meeting of the ruling party’s full Central Committee which had convened to discuss a “new stage” of policies.

The Korean Workers’ Party’s Central Committee declared it a “great victory” in the country’s official “byungjin” policy line of simultaneously pursuing economic and nuclear development.

The committee unanimously adopted a resolution that called for concentrating national efforts to achieve a strong socialist economy and “groundbreaking improvements in people’s lives.”

“To secure transparency on the suspension of nuclear tests, we will close the republic’s northern nuclear test site,” the party’s resolution said.

The agency quoted Kim as saying during the meeting: “Nuclear development has proceeded scientifically and in due order and the development of the delivery strike means also proceeded scientifically and verified the completion of nuclear weapons.

“We no longer need any nuclear test or test launches of intermediate and intercontinental range ballistic missiles and because of this the northern nuclear test site has finished its mission.”

North Korea’s abrupt diplomatic outreach in recent months came after a flurry of weapons tests, including the underground detonation of a possible thermonuclear warhead and three launches of developmental intercontinental ballistic missiles designed to strike the U.S. mainland.

Some analysts see Kim as entering the upcoming negotiations from a position of strength after having declared his nuclear force as complete in November. South Korean and U.S. officials have said Kim is likely trying to save …read more

Source:: Time – Politics