When the Philadelphia 76ers signed Paul George this offseason, they signed him believing he would be the top-notch isolation scorer he’s been throughout his career. More than that, George's addition was supposed to replace what James Harden once brought to the Sixers as an iso scorer. Thus far, the results have not been promising when comparing the two. Harden may not be the same player he was at the peak of his powers with the Houston Rockets, but he's still lethal enough in that department to still be considered one of the best isolation scorers in the NBA. In fact, Harden leads all NBA players in points scored in isolation with 131 points, according to NBA.com. With Kawhi Leonard out, the Los Angeles Clippers have asked Harden to shoulder the scoring load, and he's risen to the challenge. In that same respect, compare that to George, Harden's former teammate, and the results are not pretty. Paul George’s isolation scoring has also been putrid Again, George came to the Sixers with the reputation of a wing scorer. He has that reputation because he’s earned it from his time with the Indiana Pacers, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Clippers. However, he has not started the season well in isolation. George has scored 27 points in isolation in the eight games he’s played for the Sixers. It's, of course, worth noting Harden has played in 18 games, but the trends do not point to George matching Harden's impressive total with additional appearances. That is well short of what the Sixers wanted to see from George when they signed him. Seeing how much better Harden has been in that department makes it harder to stomach how underwhelming George has been as a player. The Sixers may have other scorers around him, like Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid, but George was supposed to take the pressure off them and vice versa. At age 34 and with his injury history, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that George has declined a bit. However, his numbers tumbling to this extent is a major red flag that the Sixers may be unable to ignore if things don’t pick up soon. Harden thriving in this particular category may make George’s struggles even more painful to watch. MORE SIXERS NEWS: 76ers loss to Clippers goes from bad to worse with viral social media slipupIt seems counterintuitive and contradictory to think of an intellectual foundation behind United States President-elect Donald J Trump when he is professedly unintellectual, even anti-intellectual. But make no mistake. Mr Trump is merely a phenomenon. Understanding it reveals his worldview and consequent policy prospects. But doing so requires seeing the Trump phenomenon as it is rather than why and how it is detested by countless millions of us. Indeed, the biggest difficulty when analysing Mr Trump and his second administration is the global disdain he elicits. To be sure, Mr Trump represents a political movement that has been gestating in American politics for several decades. Tellingly, at the Republican Party primaries in 1992, candidate Patrick Buchanan advocated similar positions as compared to Mr Trump against immigration, multiculturalism, abortion, American imperialism, and an excessively regulated state. Proponents of this anti-establishment and insular line of thinking demanded a different socio-political order at home and an alternative paradigm abroad that must no longer be determined by the post-Second World War structure but a post-Cold War reality. To them, after having successfully fought global conflicts on two continents in the 1940s and won the Cold War in the following four decades, an exhausted and overstretched America should come home to repair and recover the domestic front. Underpinning this strand of relative isolationism and abandonment of American imperialism, and disengagement from international obligations is nativism at home. This nativist outlook was fundamentally supportive of social conservatism and opposed to illegal immigration, not xenophobia per se, but a cap on immigrant inflows consistent, for example, with the quota-driven Immigration Act of 1924, which was overturned in 1965, thereby opening the floodgates to non-American outsiders, especially from next-door Mexico and other Latin American countries to the south. By 2004, the famous Harvard political scientist Samuel P Huntington conceptualised and codified this simmering nativism into a book entitled Who Are We?: The Challenges to America's National Identity. More famous for his Clash of Civilizations thesis, Huntington's last book before he passed is less mentioned due to its xenophobic undertones and cultural bias towards Americans who were White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP) -- referred to as "Anglo-Protestant". Yet it is the intellectual basis of sorts behind the movement that has enabled Mr Trump's rise. America was set up by English settlers and should, therefore, not become dominated by an immigrant majority from Mexico and other countries. From the fringe of the Republican Party, nativism has taken 30-odd years to move towards front and centre, spearheaded by an anti-intellectual president who is despised and deplored by establishment centrists and liberals but who sees it as a self-correcting catharsis for national renewal and rejuvenation. Accordingly, Mr Trump's nativist leanings at home and rejection of the established rules-based liberal international order will likely lead to a policy projection abroad pivoting around trade protectionism and economic nationalism on the one hand and relative withdrawal with conditional engagement in foreign and security policy on the other. In practice, this means international trade on America's terms and a strong military that will no longer be the world's policeman. Partners and allies will need to pull their weight as the US's priorities shift wholesale to reclaiming the greatness it lost since the end of the Cold War. By the same logic, rivals and competitors will be confronted and pushed back for having taken advantage of America's post-Cold War weakness when hyper-globalisation and international economic integration allowed them to ascend and challenge American supremacy in an effort to eclipse it. Coming to grips with Trump II requires taking the Trump mantra of "Making America Great Again" seriously and literally. The questions that will frame US economic and security policy prospects will be based on the MAGA mindset: What was America's greatness like? Why, when and how it has been lost? And how to get it back? Trump II's answers to these questions can already be anticipated. Clearly, such greatness existed in the past, perhaps around the 1950s and the end of the Cold War when American primacy was unchallenged. It was somehow eroded and lost in the post-Cold War period. Getting it back means bringing others down while America relatively goes up. The international system, with its rules-based liberal order, has drained American resources. Allies are free-riders, as Trump II thinking goes, that are often geoeconomic competitors while they benefit geopolitically from US support and largess. Economic partners have gained substantially from access to the US's huge market to become major economies in their own right. To regain greatness, the international political and economic system needs to be revamped so that it is rebalanced in America's favour. This is why China will be the top target of Trump II's wrath because the Trump movement views China as a challenger of the worst kind, which has stolen US technology and ripped off Americans by attracting factories and jobs that used to belong to them. China has done all that so shrewdly that it is on the cusp of surpassing the US in economic size and technological prowess. We can, therefore, expect US industrial policies under the outgoing government of President Joe Biden to become outright mercantilism with direct export subsidies, import quotas, and wide-ranging tariffs. Trump II is likely to proceed with its pre-election tariff threats of 60% against Chinese imports and 20% on goods from other countries, not to mention the pledge to levy upwards of 200% duties on imported electric vehicles. Although it might not come up overnight and perhaps not as high as feared, the Trump II tariff wall will be erected to a height not seen in recent memory. That Mr Trump is despised worldwide is natural because he is fundamentally anti-establishment, both at home and abroad. In US domestic politics, he is contesting American national identity that is being overwhelmed by continuous waves of immigration from Mexico and other Latin American countries. Internationally, Mr Trump is against the established institutional architecture of power, how authority has been exercised, and by whom. He is the antithesis of our understanding of the international system and how it works because he wants to cleanse it in the US's favour. That he won the US presidential poll in 2016 and again eight years later with an even more decisive margin should behove outsiders to be aware that people in America want to change at home and abroad. Thitinan Pongsudhirak, on leave from Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Political Science, is a visiting professor at the London School of Economics.
. — The James Wood boys’ basketball team captured the Tri-State Shootout at Berkeley Springs (West Virginia) High School with a 49-34 win over Southern Fulton (Pennsylvania) on Saturday. The Colonels (5-4) — who won their fifth straight game — outscored Southern Fulton 30-17 in the second half, including 16-6 in the fourth quarter. James Wood trailed 9-8 after one quarter and led 19-17 at the half and 33-28 after three quarters. Paul Brooks (10 points) was named Tournament MVP. Brodie Sirbaugh and Ashby Copenhaver (6 points) were each named to the All-Tournament team. Other James Wood leaders: Mike Bell 15 points, 5 rebounds; Zach Woskobunik 6 points. Handley 75, Staunton 58 PENN LAIRD — Will Braun-Duin had 34 points, seven assists and seven rebounds to lead Handley to a win over Staunton in the Spotswood tournament on Saturday. The Judges (7-0) will continue play in the tournament at 3:30 p.m. on Monday against Eastern Mennonite. Other Handley leaders: Jaevon Brisco 13 points, 2 assists; Kyren Oglesby 10 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals; Amari Brown 7 points. Sherando 53, Strasburg 51 STRASBURG — Josh Miller scored 26 points (18 on 6 3-pointers) and Sherando improved to 2-0 in the Ram Hardwood Classic with a win over Strasburg on Saturday. The Warriors (5-2) led 16-15 after one quarter, 27-17 at the half and 39-30 after three quarters. Strasburg was down 53-45 until hitting two 3-pointers in the final seconds, including one at the buzzer. Sherando will play Buffalo Gap on Monday on the final day of the tournament. Other Sherando leaders: Jackson Ogle 10 points; Sean Benton 6 points. Clarke County 38, The Covenant School 31 FISHERSVILLE — Clarke County broke a seven-game losing streak with a win over The Covenant School in the Wilson Memorial tournament on Saturday. The Eagles are 2-7. Clarke County leaders: Jacob Taylor 13 points; Lincoln Booker 8 points; Wilson Taylor 7 points; Wyatt Palmer 6 points. Girls’ basketball: Handley 56, E.C. Glass 21 PENN LAIRD — Reagan Edsell had a triple-double of 31 points, 13 steals and 10 rebounds to lead Handley to a win over E.C. Glass on Saturday in the Spotswood tournament. The Judges (7-1) led 11-3 after one quarter, 35-13 at the half and 45-17 after three quarters. Other Handley leaders: Nakayla Armel 9 points; Olivia Jett 8 points. Avonworth 57, Millbrook 48 OAKLAND, Md. — Millbrook finished 1-1 in the Deep Creek Holiday Classic with a loss to Avonworth (Pa.) on Saturday. The Pioneers are 5-3 overall. Millbrook leaders: Jaliah Jackson 18 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 assists, 2 blocks; Jane Moreland 14 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks; Mackenzie Jones 10 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals. Clarke County 52, Fairfax 18 ALDIE — Clarke County won on the final day of the Boltball tournament at Lightridge High School, beating Fairfax 52-18 on Saturday. The Eagles (6-3) led 17-1 after one quarter, 26-12 at the half and 46-16 after three quarters. Clarke County leaders: Alainah McKavish 19 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals; Kendall Harman 11 points, 5 steals, 3 assists; Paige McKavish 6 points, 4 assists; Devin Simmons-Mcdonald 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals; Paige Stemberger 6 steals, 4 assists; Eryn Demko 6 rebounds. Broadway 48, Sherando 15 STRASBURG — Sherando fell to 2-7 with a loss to Broadway in the Ram Hardwood Classic on Saturday at Strasburg High School. The Warriors trailed 10-3 after one quarter, 27-11 at the half and 38-13 after three quarters. Sherando leaders: Hannah Sutphin 4 points; Josie Willett 3 points. Wrestling: Millbrook 7th at Battle of the Bridge WOODBRIDGE — Millbrook placed seventh out of 55 teams at the Battle of the Bridge tournament that took place Friday and Saturday at Woodbridge High School. The Pioneers scored 137 points. West Springfield won with 228 and Strasburg took second with 187.5. Millbrook leaders: 2nd place: William Potter (190), 4-1, 4 falls, lost 16-1 to Ethan Osburn of Hayfield by tech fall in title match; 4th place: Bryan Gomez (132), 6-2, 2 pins, 2 tech falls, 2 major decisions; Ezra Doyle-Naegeli (285) 6-2, 5 falls. Winning records: Alex Stubblefield (138), 5-2, 4 pins, 1 tech fall; Landon Jones (113), 4-2, 3 pins, Kenny Spaulding (120), 3-2, 1 pin; Gavin Hensley (157), 3-2, 2 pins. Sherando 33rd at Trojan Wars CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. — Sherando placed 33rd out of 47 teams at the Trojan Wars tournament that took place Friday and Saturday at Chambersburg (Pennsylvania) Senior High School. The Warriors scored 61 points without three-time state champion Anthony Lucchiani competing. Pennsylvania’s Grassfield won with 162.5 points and Sun Valley placed second with 161. Sherando leaders: 3-2 wrestler: Ben Taylor (172); 2-2 wrestlers: Connor Orth (152), 2 pins; Judson Dean (215), 1 pin; 285: Kaden Hurst (285), 1 pin.NoneSnell, Dodgers reportedly agree to $182 million, 5-year contractFinding the perfect gift can be daunting. The only way to truly ensure you get it right would be to ask the recipient what they want, but that wouldn’t be much fun for either of you. Luckily, there’s another tactic to help you earn a “gift whisperer” reputation: seeking out unique, practical, game-changing gifts that will truly surprise and delight. But that’s about as easy as it sounds, which is to say it’s not easy at all. So, we’ve done the legwork for you. Start making your list with this compilation of some of the most innovative, functional and fun gifts of 2024. There’s something for every budget. This image provided by FinaMill shows the FinaMill Ultimate Spice Grinder Set. The new FinaMill Ultimate Spice Grinder set elevates the pedestrian pepper and spice mill in both function and style. Bear with me: The new FinaMill Ultimate Spice Grinder set elevates the pedestrian pepper and spice mill in both function and style. Available in three colors (Sangria Red, Midnight Black and Soft Cream), the rechargeable-battery unit grinds with a light touch rather than hand-tiring twists. That’s easier for everyone and especially helpful for those experiencing hand or wrist issues such as arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome or tendinitis. And it’s fun to use. The set includes a stackable storage tray and four pods that can be easily swapped as needed: The GT microplane grater for hard spices, nuts and chocolate; the MAX for large spices and dried herbs; the ProPlus for smaller and oily spices; and the Pepper Pod for, well, pepper. $110. This image provided by Pull Start Fire shows the matchless fire igniter in use. Made of 89% recycled materials, the food-safe, eco-friendly, 3-by-2-by-1-inch fire starters will light a fire quickly without matches, lighters or kindling. Campers and backyard firepit lovers who have experienced the heartbreak of wet wood will appreciate having a three-pack of Pull Start Fire on hand. Made of 89% recycled materials, including sanding dust, wax and flint, the food-safe, eco-friendly, 3-by-2-by-1-inch fire starters will light a fire quickly without matches, lighters or kindling. Just loop the attached green string around a log, incorporate it into a wood stack, and pull the attached red string to ignite. Each windproof, rainproof block burns for 30 minutes. $29.99. This image provided by Souper Cubes shows No Mess Utensils held upright on pot edges. The No Mess Utensil lives up to its name. The utensils, a serving spoon and a ladle, have innovative, S-shaped handles designed to rest on the edge of a pot. The No Mess Utensil Set from Souper Cubes , a company known for its portioned, silicone freezer trays, lives up to its name. The utensils — a serving spoon and a ladle — have innovative, S-shaped handles designed to rest on the edge of a pot, keeping them upright so they won’t slip in. The design also eliminates the need for a spoon rest or, worse, placing dirty utensils on the kitchen counter or stovetop between stirs. A silicone coating in a choice of Aqua, Charcoal, Cranberry or Blueberry keeps handles cool to the touch. $24.99. This image provided by FeatherSnap shows a female cardinal bird perched on a FeatherSnap Wi-Fi Solar Powered Camera Smart Bird Feeder. Equipped with an HD camera, the dual-chamber feeder enables up-close livestreaming of avian visitors, as well as species-logging via the free mobile app. The FeatherSnap Wi-Fi smart bird feeder could turn anyone into an avid birdwatcher. Equipped with an HD camera, the dual-chamber feeder enables up-close livestreaming of avian visitors, as well as species-logging via the free mobile app. An optional premium subscription ($59.99 annually or $6.99 monthly) includes unlimited photo and video storage, AI identification with species-specific details, and the opportunity to earn badges for logging new visitors. Turn on notifications to get alerts sent to your phone whenever there’s activity at the feeder. $179.99. This image provided by FUJIFILM North America Corporation and FUJIFILM Corporation Tokyo shows a smartphone printer. Fujifilm Instax's Mini Link 3 smartphone printer offers a touch of nostalgia without sacrificing technology. Just load the printer with film and connect it to your Android or iOS device via Bluetooth to print wallet-size photos. Fujifilm's Instax Mini Link 3 smartphone printer offers a touch of nostalgia without sacrificing technology. Just load the 4.9-by-3.5-by-1.3-inch printer with Instax Mini instant film and connect it to your Android or iOS device via Bluetooth to print wallet-size photos. If you want to get fancy, you can adjust brightness, contrast and saturation, or apply filters, including 3D augmented-reality effects, via the free Instax Mini Link app. It can also make collages of up to six images, or animate photos to share on social media. Available in Rose Pink, Clay White and Sage Green. $99.95. This image provided by easyplant shows a Marxii Calathea plant in a small, beige, self-watering pot. The appropriately named easyplant is one of the best gifts you can give your houseplant-loving friends, regardless of their experience level. The appropriately named easyplant is one of the best gifts you can give your houseplant-loving friends, regardless of their experience level. Select a pot color, size and plant (or get recommendations based on sunlight requirements, pet friendliness and other attributes) and fill the self-watering container’s built-in reservoir roughly once a month. Moisture will permeate the soil from the bottom as needed, eliminating the often-fatal consequences of over- or under-watering. It’s also a literal lifesaver come vacation time. $49-$259. This image provided by Nama shows the M1 plant-based milk maker. If you've got a no-dairy friend on your list, a plant-based milk maker could save them money while allowing them to avoid unnecessary ingredients like sugar, stabilizers, thickeners and preservatives. If you’ve got a no-dairy friend on your list, a plant-based milk maker could save them money while allowing them to avoid sugar, stabilizers, thickeners and preservatives. The Nama M1 appliance both blends and strains ingredients, converting nuts, seeds, grains or oats into velvety-smooth milk in just one minute, with zero grit. And for zero waste, the pasty leftover pulp can be used in other recipes for added nutrients. The device also makes infused oils, flavored waters and soups. And, importantly, cleanup is easy. Available in white and black. $400. This image provided by QelviQ shows a wine bottle chiller. For friends who prefer stronger beverages, the QelviQ personal sommelier uses "smart" technology to ensure wine is served at its ideal temperature. For friends who prefer stronger beverages, the QelviQ personal sommelier uses “smart” technology to ensure wine is served at its ideal temperature. Unlike traditional wine refrigerators, this device doesn’t take up any floor space. It also doesn’t chill wine to just one or two temperatures based on its color. Instead — paired with the free QelviQ app — the tabletop chiller relies on a database of more than 350,000 wines to bring a bottle to its specific recommended serving temperature in as little as 20 minutes. It also suggests food-wine and wine-food pairings. Plus, the appliance serves as a great icebreaker to inspire dinnertime conversation. Available in Exciting Red, Dashing Black and Dreamy White. $495. This image provided by Uncommon Goods shows a 2-piece LED Grilling Tool Set. Uncommon Good's 2-piece LED Grilling Tool Set puts illumination into the handles of its stainless-steel spatula and tongs. Grilling food after dark — and ascertaining its doneness — can prove challenging without outdoor lighting, and it’s nearly impossible to cook while holding a flashlight. But as is often the case, the simplest of solutions can make the biggest of impacts: Uncommon Good’s 2-piece LED Grilling Tool Set puts illumination into the handles of its stainless-steel spatula and tongs. After use, the lights can be removed and the utensils run through the dishwasher. $40. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. 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Inquirer file and stock photos MANILA, Philippines — Not a lot of Filipino workers who will end up unemployed when Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos) and internet gaming licensees (IGLs) shut down by the end of the year are taking advantage of job fairs organized by the government for their benefit. For the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole), there were a number of reasons for this, including their belief that the total ban on Pogo and IGL operations ordered by President Marcos starting Jan. 1 would not push through. “Some of them were still looking for jobs with similar wages and benefits they are receiving from their work at IGLs. But we all know that most of the work offered in job fairs are for entry-level positions,” Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma said in a news conference on Monday. READ: Pogo ban will affect over 30,000 Filipino workers – DOLE It was also possible they were just not interested in the positions being offered, he noted. Laguesma added that aside from skills mismatch, applicants might also be facing “geographical mismatch”—which means they may have the required skills set but their work might take them to another region. “On that score, we are also advocating for employers to do telecommuting, so that their workers will not be dislocated and there will be no social cost. But there are just some jobs that really require a physical presence,” he explained. “There are no extensions to the Dec. 31 deadline, but the Dole will still continue in January and February to help the displaced employees of Pogos and IGLs. I assure you that we will help those who will go to Dole. To those who will not reach out, we will still provide help through Public Service Employment Services in partnership with local governments,” Laguesma said. Affected employees of unregistered Pogo and IGL firms can also apply at job fairs, he added. “Although we are focused on providing jobs to displaced workers of legitimate Pogos and IGLs, we will not drive away workers of illegal firms because we know that they also need help,” Laguesma said. The Dole has also finished profiling some 27,790 Filipino workers with existing IGL operations in Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Calabarzon and Central Visayas. But the number of affected workers may reach up to 42,000, which also accounts for indirectly hired and utility workers. Subscribe to our daily newsletter By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . Four mega job fairs dedicated to displaced Pogo and IGL workers were held in Parañaque City, Makati City, Cavite province and Pasay City from October to November. At least 202 IGL workers were hired on the spot. A total of 435 workers applied for unemployment insurance benefit, 708 for employment facilitation, 118 were given livelihood assistance, and two were referred for skills and technical training.( MENAFN - Jordan Times) CAIRO - War-torn Sudan is on a "countdown to famine" ignored by world leaders while humanitarian aid is only "delaying deaths", Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) chief Jan Egeland told AFP on Saturday. "We have the biggest humanitarian crisis on the planet in Sudan, the biggest hunger crisis, the biggest displacement crisis... and the world is giving it a shrug," he said in an interview from neighbouring Chad after a visit to Sudan this week. Since April 2023, war has pitted Sudan's regular army against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), killing tens of thousands of people and uprooting more than 11 million. The United Nations says that nearly 26 million people inside Sudan are suffering acute hunger. "I met women barely surviving, eating one meal of boiled leaves a day," Egeland said. One of few organisations to have maintained operations in Sudan, the NRC says some 1.5 million people are "on the edge of famine". "The violence is tearing apart communities much faster than we can come in with aid," Egeland said. "As we struggle to keep up, our current resources are merely delaying deaths instead of preventing them." 'Me first' politics Two decades ago, allegations of genocide brought world attention to Sudan's vast western region of Darfur where the then government in Khartoum unleashed Arab tribal militias against non-Arab minorities suspected of supporting a rebellion. "It is beyond belief that we have a fraction of the interest now for Sudan's crisis than we had 20 years ago for Darfur, when the crisis was actually much smaller," Egeland said. He said Israel's wars in Gaza and Lebanon and Russia's war with Ukraine had been allowed to overshadow the conflict in Sudan. But he said he detected a shift in the "international mood", away from the kind of celebrity-driven campaigns that brought Hollywood star George Clooney to Darfur in the 2000s. "More nationalistic tendencies, more inward-looking," he said of Western governments led by politicians compelled to "put my nation first, me first, not humanity first." "It will come to haunt" these "short-sighted" leaders, when those they failed to assist in their homeland join the tide of refugees and migrants headed north. In Chad, he said he had met young people who just barely survived ethnic cleansing in Darfur, and had made the decision to brave the perilous crossing of the Mediterranean to Europe even though they had friends who had drowned. 'Freefall into starvation' Inside Sudan, one in every five people has been displaced by this or previous conflicts, according to UN figures. Most of those displaced are in Darfur, where Egeland says the situation is "horrific and getting worse". The North Darfur state capital of El-Fasher has been under siege by the RSF for months, nearly disabling all aid operations in the region and pushing the nearby Zamzam displacement camp into famine. But even areas spared the devastation of war "are bursting at the seams," Egeland said. Across the army-controlled east, camps, schools and other public buildings are filled with displaced people left to fend for themselves. On the outskirts of Port Sudan -- the Red Sea city where the army-backed government and UN agencies are now based -- Egeland said he visited a school sheltering more than 3,700 displaced people where mothers were unable to feed their children. "How come next door to the easiest accessible part of Sudan... there is starvation?" he asked. According to the UN, both sides are using hunger as a weapon of war. Authorities routinely impede access with bureaucratic hurdles, while paramilitary fighters have threatened and attacked aid workers. "The ongoing starvation is a man-made tragedy... Each delay, every blocked truck, every authorisation delayed is a death sentence for families who can't wait another day for food, water and shelter," Egeland said. But in spite of all the obstacles, "it is possible to reach all corners of Sudan," he said, calling on donors to increase funding and aid organisations to have more "guts". "Parties to conflicts specialise in scaring us and we specialise in being scared," he said, urging UN and other agencies to "be tougher and demand access". MENAFN25112024000028011005ID1108925460 Legal Disclaimer: MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.
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ATLANTA (AP) — Jimmy Carter, the peanut farmer who won the presidency in the wake of the Watergate scandal and Vietnam War, endured humbling defeat after one tumultuous term and then redefined life after the White House as a global humanitarian, has died. He was 100 years old. The longest-lived American president died on Sunday, more than a year after entering hospice care , at his home in the small town of Plains, Georgia, where he and his wife, Rosalynn, who died at 96 in November 2023 , spent most of their lives, The Carter Center said. “Our founder, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, passed away this afternoon in Plains, Georgia,” the center said in posting about his death on the social media platform X. It added in a statement that he died peacefully, surrounded by his family. Businessman, Navy officer, evangelist, politician, negotiator, author, woodworker, citizen of the world — Carter forged a path that still challenges political assumptions and stands out among the 45 men who reached the nation’s highest office. The 39th president leveraged his ambition with a keen intellect, deep religious faith and prodigious work ethic, conducting diplomatic missions into his 80s and building houses for the poor well into his 90s. “My faith demands — this is not optional — my faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can, with whatever I have to try to make a difference,” Carter once said. A moderate Democrat, Carter entered the 1976 presidential race as a little-known Georgia governor with a broad smile, outspoken Baptist mores and technocratic plans reflecting his education as an engineer. His no-frills campaign depended on public financing, and his promise not to deceive the American people resonated after Richard Nixon’s disgrace and U.S. defeat in southeast Asia. “If I ever lie to you, if I ever make a misleading statement, don’t vote for me. I would not deserve to be your president,” Carter repeated before narrowly beating Republican incumbent Gerald Ford, who had lost popularity pardoning Nixon. Carter governed amid Cold War pressures, turbulent oil markets and social upheaval over racism, women’s rights and America’s global role. His most acclaimed achievement in office was a Mideast peace deal that he brokered by keeping Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin at the bargaining table for 13 days in 1978. That Camp David experience inspired the post-presidential center where Carter would establish so much of his legacy. Yet Carter’s electoral coalition splintered under double-digit inflation, gasoline lines and the 444-day hostage crisis in Iran. His bleakest hour came when eight Americans died in a failed hostage rescue in April 1980, helping to ensure his landslide defeat to Republican Ronald Reagan. Carter acknowledged in his 2020 “White House Diary” that he could be “micromanaging” and “excessively autocratic,” complicating dealings with Congress and the federal bureaucracy. He also turned a cold shoulder to Washington’s news media and lobbyists, not fully appreciating their influence on his political fortunes. “It didn’t take us long to realize that the underestimation existed, but by that time we were not able to repair the mistake,” Carter told historians in 1982, suggesting that he had “an inherent incompatibility” with Washington insiders. Carter insisted his overall approach was sound and that he achieved his primary objectives — to “protect our nation’s security and interests peacefully” and “enhance human rights here and abroad” — even if he fell spectacularly short of a second term. Ignominious defeat, though, allowed for renewal. The Carters founded The Carter Center in 1982 as a first-of-its-kind base of operations, asserting themselves as international peacemakers and champions of democracy, public health and human rights. “I was not interested in just building a museum or storing my White House records and memorabilia,” Carter wrote in a memoir published after his 90th birthday. “I wanted a place where we could work.” That work included easing nuclear tensions in North and South Korea, helping to avert a U.S. invasion of Haiti and negotiating cease-fires in Bosnia and Sudan. By 2022, The Carter Center had declared at least 113 elections in Latin America, Asia and Africa to be free or fraudulent. Recently, the center began monitoring U.S. elections as well. Carter’s stubborn self-assuredness and even self-righteousness proved effective once he was unencumbered by the Washington order, sometimes to the point of frustrating his successors . He went “where others are not treading,” he said, to places like Ethiopia, Liberia and North Korea, where he secured the release of an American who had wandered across the border in 2010. “I can say what I like. I can meet whom I want. I can take on projects that please me and reject the ones that don’t,” Carter said. He announced an arms-reduction-for-aid deal with North Korea without clearing the details with Bill Clinton’s White House. He openly criticized President George W. Bush for the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He also criticized America’s approach to Israel with his 2006 book “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid.” And he repeatedly countered U.S. administrations by insisting North Korea should be included in international affairs, a position that most aligned Carter with Republican President Donald Trump. Among the center’s many public health initiatives, Carter vowed to eradicate the guinea worm parasite during his lifetime, and nearly achieved it: Cases dropped from millions in the 1980s to nearly a handful. With hardhats and hammers, the Carters also built homes with Habitat for Humanity. The Nobel committee’s 2002 Peace Prize cites his “untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.” Carter should have won it alongside Sadat and Begin in 1978, the chairman added. Carter accepted the recognition saying there was more work to be done. “The world is now, in many ways, a more dangerous place,” he said. “The greater ease of travel and communication has not been matched by equal understanding and mutual respect.” Carter’s globetrotting took him to remote villages where he met little “Jimmy Carters,” so named by admiring parents. But he spent most of his days in the same one-story Plains house — expanded and guarded by Secret Service agents — where they lived before he became governor. He regularly taught Sunday School lessons at Maranatha Baptist Church until his mobility declined and the coronavirus pandemic raged. Those sessions drew visitors from around the world to the small sanctuary where Carter will receive his final send-off after a state funeral at Washington’s National Cathedral. The common assessment that he was a better ex-president than president rankled Carter and his allies. His prolific post-presidency gave him a brand above politics, particularly for Americans too young to witness him in office. But Carter also lived long enough to see biographers and historians reassess his White House years more generously. His record includes the deregulation of key industries, reduction of U.S. dependence on foreign oil, cautious management of the national debt and notable legislation on the environment, education and mental health. He focused on human rights in foreign policy, pressuring dictators to release thousands of political prisoners . He acknowledged America’s historical imperialism, pardoned Vietnam War draft evaders and relinquished control of the Panama Canal. He normalized relations with China. “I am not nominating Jimmy Carter for a place on Mount Rushmore,” Stuart Eizenstat, Carter’s domestic policy director, wrote in a 2018 book. “He was not a great president” but also not the “hapless and weak” caricature voters rejected in 1980, Eizenstat said. Rather, Carter was “good and productive” and “delivered results, many of which were realized only after he left office.” Madeleine Albright, a national security staffer for Carter and Clinton’s secretary of state, wrote in Eizenstat’s forward that Carter was “consequential and successful” and expressed hope that “perceptions will continue to evolve” about his presidency. “Our country was lucky to have him as our leader,” said Albright, who died in 2022. Jonathan Alter, who penned a comprehensive Carter biography published in 2020, said in an interview that Carter should be remembered for “an epic American life” spanning from a humble start in a home with no electricity or indoor plumbing through decades on the world stage across two centuries. “He will likely go down as one of the most misunderstood and underestimated figures in American history,” Alter told The Associated Press. James Earl Carter Jr. was born Oct. 1, 1924, in Plains and spent his early years in nearby Archery. His family was a minority in the mostly Black community, decades before the civil rights movement played out at the dawn of Carter’s political career. Carter, who campaigned as a moderate on race relations but governed more progressively, talked often of the influence of his Black caregivers and playmates but also noted his advantages: His land-owning father sat atop Archery’s tenant-farming system and owned a main street grocery. His mother, Lillian , would become a staple of his political campaigns. Seeking to broaden his world beyond Plains and its population of fewer than 1,000 — then and now — Carter won an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy, graduating in 1946. That same year he married Rosalynn Smith, another Plains native, a decision he considered more important than any he made as head of state. She shared his desire to see the world, sacrificing college to support his Navy career. Carter climbed in rank to lieutenant, but then his father was diagnosed with cancer, so the submarine officer set aside his ambitions of admiralty and moved the family back to Plains. His decision angered Rosalynn, even as she dived into the peanut business alongside her husband. Carter again failed to talk with his wife before his first run for office — he later called it “inconceivable” not to have consulted her on such major life decisions — but this time, she was on board. “My wife is much more political,” Carter told the AP in 2021. He won a state Senate seat in 1962 but wasn’t long for the General Assembly and its back-slapping, deal-cutting ways. He ran for governor in 1966 — losing to arch-segregationist Lester Maddox — and then immediately focused on the next campaign. Carter had spoken out against church segregation as a Baptist deacon and opposed racist “Dixiecrats” as a state senator. Yet as a local school board leader in the 1950s he had not pushed to end school segregation even after the Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision, despite his private support for integration. And in 1970, Carter ran for governor again as the more conservative Democrat against Carl Sanders, a wealthy businessman Carter mocked as “Cufflinks Carl.” Sanders never forgave him for anonymous, race-baiting flyers, which Carter disavowed. Ultimately, Carter won his races by attracting both Black voters and culturally conservative whites. Once in office, he was more direct. “I say to you quite frankly that the time for racial discrimination is over,” he declared in his 1971 inaugural address, setting a new standard for Southern governors that landed him on the cover of Time magazine. His statehouse initiatives included environmental protection, boosting rural education and overhauling antiquated executive branch structures. He proclaimed Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the slain civil rights leader’s home state. And he decided, as he received presidential candidates in 1972, that they were no more talented than he was. In 1974, he ran Democrats’ national campaign arm. Then he declared his own candidacy for 1976. An Atlanta newspaper responded with the headline: “Jimmy Who?” The Carters and a “Peanut Brigade” of family members and Georgia supporters camped out in Iowa and New Hampshire, establishing both states as presidential proving grounds. His first Senate endorsement: a young first-termer from Delaware named Joe Biden. Yet it was Carter’s ability to navigate America’s complex racial and rural politics that cemented the nomination. He swept the Deep South that November, the last Democrat to do so, as many white Southerners shifted to Republicans in response to civil rights initiatives. A self-declared “born-again Christian,” Carter drew snickers by referring to Scripture in a Playboy magazine interview, saying he “had looked on many women with lust. I’ve committed adultery in my heart many times.” The remarks gave Ford a new foothold and television comedians pounced — including NBC’s new “Saturday Night Live” show. But voters weary of cynicism in politics found it endearing. Carter chose Minnesota Sen. Walter “Fritz” Mondale as his running mate on a “Grits and Fritz” ticket. In office, he elevated the vice presidency and the first lady’s office. Mondale’s governing partnership was a model for influential successors Al Gore, Dick Cheney and Biden. Rosalynn Carter was one of the most involved presidential spouses in history, welcomed into Cabinet meetings and huddles with lawmakers and top aides. The Carters presided with uncommon informality: He used his nickname “Jimmy” even when taking the oath of office, carried his own luggage and tried to silence the Marine Band’s “Hail to the Chief.” They bought their clothes off the rack. Carter wore a cardigan for a White House address, urging Americans to conserve energy by turning down their thermostats. Amy, the youngest of four children, attended District of Columbia public school. Washington’s social and media elite scorned their style. But the larger concern was that “he hated politics,” according to Eizenstat, leaving him nowhere to turn politically once economic turmoil and foreign policy challenges took their toll. Carter partially deregulated the airline, railroad and trucking industries and established the departments of Education and Energy, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He designated millions of acres of Alaska as national parks or wildlife refuges. He appointed a then-record number of women and nonwhite people to federal posts. He never had a Supreme Court nomination, but he elevated civil rights attorney Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the nation’s second highest court, positioning her for a promotion in 1993. He appointed Paul Volker, the Federal Reserve chairman whose policies would help the economy boom in the 1980s — after Carter left office. He built on Nixon’s opening with China, and though he tolerated autocrats in Asia, pushed Latin America from dictatorships to democracy. But he couldn’t immediately tame inflation or the related energy crisis. And then came Iran. After he admitted the exiled Shah of Iran to the U.S. for medical treatment, the American Embassy in Tehran was overrun in 1979 by followers of the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Negotiations to free the hostages broke down repeatedly ahead of the failed rescue attempt. The same year, Carter signed SALT II, the new strategic arms treaty with Leonid Brezhnev of the Soviet Union, only to pull it back, impose trade sanctions and order a U.S. boycott of the Moscow Olympics after the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. Hoping to instill optimism, he delivered what the media dubbed his “malaise” speech, although he didn’t use that word. He declared the nation was suffering “a crisis of confidence.” By then, many Americans had lost confidence in the president, not themselves. Carter campaigned sparingly for reelection because of the hostage crisis, instead sending Rosalynn as Sen. Edward M. Kennedy challenged him for the Democratic nomination. Carter famously said he’d “kick his ass,” but was hobbled by Kennedy as Reagan rallied a broad coalition with “make America great again” appeals and asking voters whether they were “better off than you were four years ago.” Reagan further capitalized on Carter’s lecturing tone, eviscerating him in their lone fall debate with the quip: “There you go again.” Carter lost all but six states and Republicans rolled to a new Senate majority. Carter successfully negotiated the hostages’ freedom after the election, but in one final, bitter turn of events, Tehran waited until hours after Carter left office to let them walk free. At 56, Carter returned to Georgia with “no idea what I would do with the rest of my life.” Four decades after launching The Carter Center, he still talked of unfinished business. “I thought when we got into politics we would have resolved everything,” Carter told the AP in 2021. “But it’s turned out to be much more long-lasting and insidious than I had thought it was. I think in general, the world itself is much more divided than in previous years.” Still, he affirmed what he said when he underwent treatment for a cancer diagnosis in his 10th decade of life. “I’m perfectly at ease with whatever comes,” he said in 2015 . “I’ve had a wonderful life. I’ve had thousands of friends, I’ve had an exciting, adventurous and gratifying existence.” Former Associated Press journalist Alex Sanz contributed to this report.
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