Sale of City Owned Property—The Council approved the sale of the following City owned properties: Ellicott District 476 Riley Street was sold to Mr. Edward Motley and Ms. Vernetta Harvin for $2,100 Appointments The Council approved the appointment of the following individual to a position within a City of Buffalo Department at a step above the base salary: Department of Permit and Inspection Services Chief Building Inspector Ronald Collins The Council accepted the appointment of the following individuals to positions within various City of Buffalo Departments at the base salary: Office of the Mayor Special Assistant to the Mayor II Jessica Smith Department of Public Works Meter Reader Pamela Orcutt The Council appointed the following individuals to positions within various District Common Council Offices: Ellicott District Legislative Aide Felicia Williams Masten District Legislative Assistant Nikita Fortune Assistant Legislative Aide Frank Garland, III The Council accepted the appointment of the following individual to seasonal positions within various City of Buffalo Departments at the base salary: Department of Assessment and Taxation Clerk Lyana Luciano Department of Law Law Clerk TheArthur Duncan License and Permit Approvals—Upon the recommendation of the Department Permit & Inspection Services, the Council approved the following license and permit applications: Delaware District Food Store License KRK Food Mart located at 523 Starin Avenue Restaurant Dance License Cole’s Restaurant located at 1104 Elmwood Avenue Gabel’s located at 1281 Hertel Avenue Niagara District Food Store License Zip’s Food located at 896 Niagara Street Permit for a LED Sign C. Lazarus, agent of the property located at 1379 Niagara Street South District Second Hand Dealer License APO.Com Inc. located at 2198 South Park Avenue Claims, Contracts, Change orders & Agreements The Council approved the following contract change orders submitted by the City of Buffalo Department of Public Works (“DPW”): The contract with Fibertech Environmental for the Police Headquarters Asbestos Abatement Project was increased by $27,731. The contract was initially awarded in the amount of $124,300 and with this change the contract will increase to $152,031. Upon the request of the City of Buffalo Department of Public Works (“DPW”), the Council: Authorized DPW to take proposals and hire an engineering consultant for construction management and inspection of intersection improvements needed at the Clinton and Cedar Streets intersection in the Ellicott District. Authorized DPW to dispose of 19 vehicles and equipment by means of auction or scrap. The vehicles and equipment are outdated and have outlived their usefulness to DPW. Upon the request of the City of Buffalo Department of Public Works, the Council approved the following reports of bids: Of the bids that were received for the Buffalo Zoological Gardens Roof Reconstruction Project, Grove Roofing Services, Inc. was the lowest with a bid of $145,000. Of the bids that were received for the Emergency Scaffolding Project at Linden & Colvin Avenues, Destro Safespan Scaffolding, LLC was the lowest with a bid of $5,180.]]>
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Trump’s blunders ‘raise the risk of global conflict’ as enemies ‘gang up’: analyst
After a series of diplomatic blunders, President Donald Trump and America's reputation loss could "raise the risk of global conflict" and come at a major cost, including "mischief or worse" from enemies.
In an opinion piece published Monday, Bloomberg columnist Andreas Kluth describes how a good reputation can be difficult to obtain or maintain, and Trump "has squandered whatever credibility America had left in foreign and security policy."
Following his rambling speech last week in front of the United Nations and his struggle to see the difference between "personal chemistry" with President Vladimir Putin and diplomatic action, Trump has effectively put both adversaries and allies on edge, wrote Kluth.
"Inklings of danger are everywhere," Kluth writes. "America’s partners are becoming more anxious and making alternative arrangements for their security: Saudi Arabia just signed a defensive pact with Pakistan after watching an Israeli strike against its Gulf neighbor Qatar, which is allied to, but got no help from, the United States. America’s adversaries keep testing the resolve of Trump and the West, as Putin is doing in eastern Europe. Or, like Xi Jinping in Beijing and Kim in Pyongyang, they’re recalculating bellicose scenarios in secret. Other countries, like India, are wary of committing to America and keeping all options open, even clutching hands with Moscow and Beijing."
And although Trump is not the first president to struggle with navigating U.S. reputation among foreign nations, it puts America at an unfortunate future disadvantage.
"Against this backdrop, anybody watching US policy for the past decade, from friendly Europe to adversarial China, already had reason to doubt US credibility. What Trump has done in his second term is to remove the doubts and confirm the loss. Allies now know they can’t trust America, while adversaries are ganging up and recalculating their plans for mischief or worse.
It's unclear what will happen in the future; a damaged reputation jeopardizes diplomacy.
"These responses to America’s loss of credibility will raise the risk of global conflict," Kluth writes. "The danger will go up even more if the US, under this or a future president, panics and decides to overcompensate in reestablishing its reputation, with a demonstratively hawkish turn that could tip into war. If America and the whole world are becoming less safe, it’s because Donald Trump’s foreign policy is, literally, in-credible."
