All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

Will it be a black woman who turfs Trump out of the White House? | Richard Wolffe

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Democrat Kamala Harris embodies the driving force behind the party’s electoral surge. She may be their best bet for 2020

Life, as Donald Trump has known it for the last two years, has just changed forever. Quagmired in a government shutdown of his own making, Trump’s ability to manipulate his world is already severely constrained in this very new year. The more he struggles against his new surroundings, the more he sinks.

Last week the president could only watch his beloved cable news channels as a bystander to the biggest tectonic shifts, as the Democrats took control of the House of Representatives and Senator Elizabeth Warren became the first candidate to officially emerge to run against him next year. And it won’t be long before the House launches several investigations into corruption and incompetence, while the Mueller investigation continues to tighten several nooses around all things Trumpian.

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‘Sonic attack’ on US embassy in Havana could have been crickets, say scientists

ha ha ha ha a ha ha ha

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Noise which saw diplomats complaining of headaches and nausea could be song of Indies short-tailed cricket

The US embassy in Havana more than halved its staff in 2017 when diplomats complained of headaches, nausea and other ailments after hearing penetrating noises in their homes and nearby hotels.

The mysterious wave of illness fuelled speculation that the staff had been targeted by an acoustic weapon. It was an explanation that appeared to gain weight when an audio recording of a persistent, high-pitched drone made by US personnel in Cuba was released to the Associated Press.

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Scott Morrison criticises ‘ugly racial protests’ but fails to condemn Fraser Anning | Australia news | The Guardian

Morrison has remained quiet about the independent Queensland senator Fraser Anning, who attended the rightwing event alongside its organisers. The acting Labor leader, Tanya Plibersek, said she was pleased Morrison had condemned the rally but “he also has to criticise Fraser Anning for attending a rally that’s been organised by people with a known record of seeking to divide Australians”. “What really concerns me is that this is a fellow that the government has to continue to rely on to get measures through the Senate,” Plibersek said. “He has voted with the government about 90% of the time.

Source: Scott Morrison criticises ‘ugly racial protests’ but fails to condemn Fraser Anning | Australia news | The Guardian

Labour faces ‘mass challenge’ over Brexit policy

Listen up and rethink

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Thousands of members demand second referendum as poll reveals party’s share of vote would plunge if it backed exit deal

Thousands of Labour members have demanded their party oppose Theresa May’s Brexit deal and back a second referendum over EU membership. The call comes before a key party gathering which will be held amid warnings that some are already ending their membership over the issue.

The pressure emerges as the biggest Brexit poll conducted since the referendum suggests support for Labour would fall significantly should it back or allow its MPs to back a Brexit agreement. More than 5,000 Labour members and supporters have contacted the party before its policy meeting of senior figures this week.

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Two British special forces soldiers injured by Isis in Syria

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Attack comes after Trump said he would withdraw US troops as ‘we have defeated Isis’

Two British special forces soldiers have been seriously injured in a missile attack by the Islamic State (Isis) in Syria. The incident is thought to have happened on Saturday morning and the soldiers were airlifted by US forces for medical treatment.

Rudaw, a Kurdish news outlet, reported that the British soldiers were hurt in an attack on a Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) base in the town of Deir ez-Zor, in the east of the country.

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A Reporter Detained: On Life Inside ICE Camps – IMM Print

The criminalization of those of us seeking political asylum has just begun. I asked Oscar for forgiveness for landing him in jail. My son’s response still reverberates in my ears: “We are together, we arrived together, and if we have to go back — we will go back together.” It was the response that today encourages me to return to my work with greater effort, a renewed commitment, stronger, and with more love and dedication.

Source: A Reporter Detained: On Life Inside ICE Camps – IMM Print

Thousands in Budapest march against ‘slave law’ forcing overtime on workers

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Anger at Viktor Orbán’s rule in Hungary also directed at courts system and state media

Thousands of protesters in Hungary braved snow and freezing temperatures on a march against Viktor Orbán’s rightwing government, denouncing harsh new legislation that has been dubbed the “slave law”.

Passed in December, it allows companies to demand that staff work up to 400 hours overtime a year – or the equivalent of an extra day a week.

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