Yes, Donald Trump can be removed from the US presidency. Here’s how | Jonathan Freedland

Sooner or at least before a nuclear war or other type of meltdown caused by his action or inaction.

4031.jpg?w=300&q=55&auto=format&usm=12&f

There are a lot of people hoping he’ll be turfed out of office soon – but first the Democrats have to start winning elections

The bar is set so low for Donald Trump that every day he doesn’t trigger a nuclear confrontation with a distant adversary is seen as a bonus. Today was one such day, as Trump signalled that he would not, after all, tear up the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, as many – including his closest lieutenants – once feared he would.

Sure, he disavowed the accord, slamming Tehran as a “rogue regime”, imposing fresh sanctions on the Revolutionary Guard and refusing to certify that Iran has complied with its terms, but he did not feed it into the shredder. Instead, he kicked the decision on its future over to Congress. That certainly puts the deal’s survival in jeopardy, but it does at least live to see another day..

Continue reading…

Women Are Boycotting Twitter for a Day and Their Silence Is Louder Than All Their WordsThe Ladies Finger

Twitter has been under fire for the way it has treated McGowan and women before this. Remember when The News Minute editor Dhanya Rajendran was attacked online by trolls and fans of Tamil actor Vijay for criticising his film? Twitter took no action till the trolling took a surmounting toll on Rajendran. But it’s disgusting how easy it is to jump the gun on women like McGowan who speak up against abusers like Weinstein. Many may argue what this silent protest is even going to achieve. If you’re protesting being silenced then why go silent, they may say. But the ironic nature of the protest is it’s very point. Maybe this one day protest won’t change anything on Twitter or affect the way it treats harassment online, but it’s still a start. Sometimes, silence does speak louder than words.

Source: Women Are Boycotting Twitter for a Day and Their Silence Is Louder Than All Their WordsThe Ladies Finger

Avian Flu Diary: Madagascar: Pneumonic Plague Update From the MOH

We’ve a new update from the Madagascar MOH on their ongoing plague outbreak – that while dated the 13th – is a summary of activity through the 12th. The trajectory of the outbreak continues to be concerning, with 561 cases now reported across 35 districts Remarkably, of those, 415 (74%) are pneumonic plague, which is normally a relatively rare presentation which spreads as a respiratory illness. Updates from the MOH are in French, and are often presented in formats that make machine translation difficult, but we can piece together the gist from the following PDF file.

Source: Avian Flu Diary: Madagascar: Pneumonic Plague Update From the MOH

Puerto Rico needs help & support, not threats & insults hurled from the White House – Latina Lista: News from the Latinx perspective

Mr President, you seem to want to disregard the moral imperative that your administration has been unable to fulfill. Your replacement of the FEMA Coordinator in Puerto Rico is an admission that things are not going the way they should.Your tweets and comments just show desperation and underscore the inadequacy of your government’s response to this humanitarian crisis. It is not that you do not get it, it is that you are incapable of empathy and frankly simply cannot get the job done.Ever since this ordeal began, San Juan has had over 300 sustained volunteers from the United States. Good, hard working people from New York, Florida, California, Texas and many others who embody the fundamental values of compassion, ingenuity and hard work that you are certainly unable to express.These men and women, most of them union workers, have literally taken care of our bodies and souls. They did not come for a photo op or to throw paper towels and insults at us. They came to help, something you seem to be unable to grasp.These volunteers have seen the horror that you continue to want to dismiss. They embody the true spirit of the American values that you dismiss with every inappropriate and derogatory action and comment.Tweet away your hate to mask your administration’s mishandling of this humanitarian crisis.While you are amusing yourself throwing paper towels at us, your compatriots and the world are sending love and help our way. Condemn us to a slow death of non-drinkable water, lack of food, lack of medicine while you keep others eager to help from reaching us since they face the impediment of the Jones Act.I ask every American that has love, and not hate in their hearts, to stand with Puerto Rico and let this President know we WILL NOT BE LEFT TO DIE.

Source: Puerto Rico needs help & support, not threats & insults hurled from the White House – Latina Lista: News from the Latinx perspective

A Disaster in the White House for Puerto Rico – The New York Times

Americans have gotten into the uneasy habit of wondering how low President Trump might go each day in his multiple tirades against those he imagines as enemies, critics and easy targets. But did he really have to pick on the storm-ravaged American citizens of Puerto Rico, of all defenseless people, and reveal such a cold-hearted lack of empathy for their plight?Mr. Trump’s salvo of tweets on Thursday as the island struggled with devastation — suggesting people were ingrates responsible for much of their suffering — set a new low, even meaner than his usual harangues and self-aggrandizement. It called into question whether Mr. Trump grasps and accepts the responsibilities of his office when he imperiously suggested that federal emergency aid and workers could not be maintained on the island “forever.”In his rant, Mr. Trump made it sound as if the island’s 3.4 million residents were at his executive mercy. But in fact the federal emergency process, backed by congressional funding, typically stations workers on site for years to help communities recover from natural disasters.

Let Them Eat Paper Towels – The New York Times

It’s hard to make an accurate assessment of the initial emergency response to Hurricane Maria, although there are a number of indications that it was woefully inadequate, falling far short of the response to natural disasters in other parts of the United States. What is clear, however, is that recovery has been painfully slow, and that life is actually getting worse for many residents as the cumulative effects of shortages of power, water and food take their toll.And the Trump administration seems increasingly to see this tragedy as a public relations issue, something to be spun — partly by blaming the victims — rather than as an urgent problem to be solved.

Trump hints at ending aid as Puerto Ricans forced to drink polluted water

#TraitorTrump: If you are Brown, Black, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transexual, Mexican, Canadian you are on forget you list!

4000.jpg?w=300&q=55&auto=format&usm=12&f

Donald Trump has seemingly threatened to pull federal emergency support from Puerto Rico a day after his administration reported that desperate people in the US territory have been drinking from contaminated wells due to a lack of water.

In a series of tweets sent on Thursday morning, Trump said: “We cannot keep FEMA, the Military & the First Responders, who have been amazing (under the most difficult circumstances) in P.R. Forever!”

Continue reading…

Britain will greet Trump with our biggest ever carnival against hatred | Owen Jones | Opinion | The Guardian

May’s government is weak, shambolic and crisis-ridden. The last thing it wants or needs is mass protests on the streets. As soon as Trump touches down on British soil, this is what will happen. That is their choice. The biggest carnival against hatred this country has ever seen awaits. From LGBT rights to women’s rights, from workers’ rights to anti-racism, we already know that protest works. Both May and Trump deserve to learn this instructive lesson.

Source: Britain will greet Trump with our biggest ever carnival against hatred | Owen Jones | Opinion | The Guardian