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Airline whistleblower

Not all whistleblowers are involved in the attempt to impeach President Donald Trump. Some are worried about a more critical matter — the safety of airline passengers. Ethiopian Airlines former chief engineer, Yonas Yeshanew, is seeking asylum in the United States after resigning from his post this summer. Yeshanew says he quit because the airline has engaged in a pattern of corruption related to the safety of its planes. Yeshanew insists airline officials approved shoddy repairs, fabricated documents including maintenance records and beat employees considered to be ...

Rising smoke signals political fire

If there is a smoking gun in the case of former Vice President Joe Biden’s involvement with Ukraine, it is being held by his son, Hunter. Democrats in Congress and many in the media insist neither Biden did anything wrong in relation to Hunter’s membership on the board of Burisma Holdings, a Ukrainian natural gas company. On the other hand, they insist President Donald Trump is guilty of an impeachable offense for asking Ukrainian officials to investigate both Bidens. At the heart of it all is the relationship between Hunter Biden and Burisma. It is not unusual for family ...

Trump channels George McGovern

The year was 1972 and Americans wanted out of the Vietnam War; the right because it was not being won and the left because of the increasing body count and lies from generals and politicians about "progress" toward defeating the communists. Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern's slogan "Come Home, America" resonated with growing numbers of people. When Richard Nixon defeated McGovern in a landslide, even Nixon began planning for a U.S. withdrawal. "Peace with honor" was his slogan. The late al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden cited that withdrawal as evidence that the U.S. ...

U.S. troop pull-out was unavoidable

President Donald Trump’s decision to pull a few dozen U.S. troops out of an area of northern Syria controlled by Kurdish military forces is being criticized widely, by both Republicans and Democrats. It is being portrayed as a betrayal of a staunch ally in the war against Islamic terrorists. It is that — but the decision probably was unavoidable. The issue now is what, if anything, Trump can do to mitigate damage from the action. It helps to understand the situation: The Kurdish people of the Middle East have been fighting for decades to establish an independent homeland. It ...

Addressing construction noise pollution a daunting task

Minot city staff was tasked with quite a challenge by the city council during Monday’s meeting. The Minot City Council directed staff to look into potential remedies for numerous complaints about construction-related noise disturbing residents via ordinance changes and bring back recommendations in early 2020. Council member Josh Wolsky brought the issue up at the meeting and specifically mentions construction-related noise at “taking place outside of times that I would consider reasonable construction hours.” Noise in the evenings and early morning hours in residential ...

Be prepared for patience

Whether it’s this week’s anticipated snow or the next round behind it – hopefully well behind it – the time is approaching when the city and region will be buried beneath a blanket of heavy snow, roads will be blocked and travel will be perilous if not impossible. It’s that time of year. Minot’s administration made it clear earlier this week that they are ready for the impending weather. As of Monday, two graders had been equipped and readied with cutting edges, and leased machines were in the process of being prepared, according to City Manager Tom Barry. The Minot ...