Category Archives: Fascism

Pipeline news – AP

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The Latest on the proposed four-state, $3.8 billion Dakota Access oil pipeline (all times local):7:25 p.m.Authorities say they arrested 76 Dakota Access oil pipeline protesters after they refused to leave a camp set up on private land.Morton County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Rob Keller says they repeatedly warned the protesters to leave the camp.On Wednesday afternoon, officers moved in and evicted the protesters. They were transported to several county jails.Law enforcement officials say they have made 696 arrests during protest activity since August, 2016.Protest spokesman Chase Iron Eyes couldn’t be reached for comment because his cellphone wasn’t accepting messages.

Source: News from The Associated Press

Trump’s Black History Talk: From Douglass to Media Bias and Crime – The New York Times

The president also repeated claims that American communities are not safe:We need safer communities, and we’re going to do that with law enforcement. We’re going to make it safe. We’re going to make it much better than it is right now. Right now it’s terrible.Recent F.B.I. data indicates that crime rates have been dropping for decades, despite a slight uptick in violent crimes in 2015 that was mostly concentrated in urban areas, including Chicago, which Mr. Trump referred to as “totally out of control.”

Trying to set up Chicago – President Obama’s home town and with powerful Democratic mayor for an invasion by US Army!

Video: Two U.S. Congresswomen Couldn’t Get Answers About Detainees At LAX On Saturday Night: LAist

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpPPat_XN70

 

Two U.S. congresswomen were among the slew of local politicians who had arrived at the airport to show their support. Despite the fact that a federal judge had issued an emergency stay against the implementation of Donald Trump’s executive order on Saturday night, Rep. Judy Chu and Rep. Nanette Barragán were still stonewalled by customs officials when they tried to get information about detainees. Here’s a video of the two congresswomen on the phone with customs officials just after 8 p.m. on Saturday night:

Source: Video: Two U.S. Congresswomen Couldn’t Get Answers About Detainees At LAX On Saturday Night: LAist

Trump’s whisperer-in-chief is treading on dangerous ground | Southern Poverty Law Center

It’s important that we all never forget who and what Bannon is.He is the media executive who, in his own words, turned the Breitbart News website into “the platform for the alt-right.” The alt-right is simply a rebranding of white nationalism for the digital age. At an alt-right gathering held shortly after the election just a few blocks from the White House, Richard Spencer – a man who has been lauded by Breitbart as one of the movement’s leading intellectuals – quoted Nazi propaganda and prompted sieg heils from the audience.During his campaign, Trump shared links to Breitbart’s racially charged content with his Twitter followers more often than he linked to any other media outlet. Another outlet that linked to Breitbart more than any other: the neo-Nazi website Daily Stormer, whose proprietor on election night exulted that “[o]ur Glorious Leader has ascended to God Emperor.”Now, Bannon sits at the right hand of the president and wants to silence the legitimate news media. He wants Americans to get their “news” from the website favored by neo-Nazis.We should all be very alarmed.

Source: Trump’s whisperer-in-chief is treading on dangerous ground | Southern Poverty Law Center

Donald Trump’s executive order means he is now officially gunning for Muslims | Moustafa Bayoumi | Opinion | The Guardian

The order is nothing short of a Muslim ban by another name. It is cruel and callous, espouses positions contrary to the professed values of the United States, and will certainly produce more problems than it purports to solve. In other words, it’s exactly like Donald Trump.I cannot tell you how livid these scant pages of bureaucratic language make me. In them, Trump is returning the country to the dark days of excluding masses of people on the basis of our national prejudices. It’s as if we’ve reverted to the late 19th century when laws were passed to bar Chinese entry to the United States, but this time the action is by executive fiat and trained on Muslims. Not incidentally, the case law for Chinese Exclusion also established the legal authority for the National Security Entry-Exist Registration System (Nseers), the US government’s previous incarnation of a Muslim registry. We’re never far away from our demons.

Source: Donald Trump’s executive order means he is now officially gunning for Muslims | Moustafa Bayoumi | Opinion | The Guardian

100+ Asian American & Pacific Islander Organizations Pledge to Resist Repression Under Trump Administration | Race Files

Mr. Trump’s campaign used explicit racial appeals to win the support of disaffected white voters, promising to restore their economic and social standing by deporting millions of immigrants, building a wall, creating a Muslim registry, banning Muslim immigration, and punishing Black dissent. He also engaged in deeply misogynistic language and behavior throughout his campaign. He insulted all people of color; people with disabilities; and women – all of whom amount to the majority of America. In the global arena, he has signaled at a new nuclear arms race, promised to expand the use of torture, and disparaged the United Nations.Since his election, Mr. Trump has chosen known white nationalists, corporate moguls, religious zealots, climate deniers, hawkish ex-generals, anti-Islam spokespersons, and anti-government crusaders to serve in his Administration. Right-wing extremists now dominate his party, which will control all three branches of the federal government and the majority of state legislatures, and are positioned to jeopardize the future of the Supreme Court for the next generation and beyond. Together this new realignment of forces seeks to turn back the clock on civil rights and environmental protections, to maximize corporate profits by privatizing the public sector, and to create a racially and culturally exclusive America.This is not business as usual, and we will not engage in business-as-usual tactics and strategies.

Source: 100+ Asian American & Pacific Islander Organizations Pledge to Resist Repression Under Trump Administration | Race Files

Russia to target Merkel with ‘more disinformation’ ahead of vote – The Local

Chancellor Angel Merkel will face an even broader Russian disinformation campaign ahead of elections this year, according to EU findings, a source close to the matter said on Monday.The source, who asked not to be identified, told reporters that France and the Netherlands were also likely targets as they too go to the polls with populist, anti-EU figures strongly in the running after Donald Trump’s upset US election victory.The source said the East StratCom Task Force set up in 2015 to combat a Russian disinformation campaign found Merkel had come under increasing attack last year, especially over her decision to let nearly a million immigrants into Germany.EU foreign affairs head Federica Mogherini formed the group in the fallout from the Ukraine crisis when Moscow manipulated information in the press and over social networks to wrong-foot Kiev and the 28-nation bloc about its intentions.The team of about ten experts and Russian-speakers monitors news stories, be it about Ukraine, the migrant crisis or terror attacks in Europe which show Western leaders in a poor light.It aims to demonstrate that apparently authoritative stories are  fake and so counter their impact.According to a statement on the group’s website, over the past 15 months it found “more than 2,500 examples in 18 languages of stories contradicting publicly available facts.”

Source: Russia to target Merkel with ‘more disinformation’ ahead of vote – The Local

I Kept Feeling the Women’s March on Washington Lacked Passion, But Then I Figured the Real Problem – The Ladies Finger The Ladies Finger

As I chanted “No Trump. No KKK. No Fascist USA,” I looked into the faces of the marchers around me, and I got my answer: Americans are not accustomed to this. Most of these hundreds of thousands of people had probably never been to a protest before, and never marched with their children and their parents and screamed at the top of their lungs in the middle of a metropolitan road. This was their first time, their introduction to taking the streets. What I assumed was a lack of passion turned out to be something equally important: a first step. The million people: women, men, children, and allies who marched on Washington, did not have the experience of fighting against overt oppression, but they knew they needed to show up; they knew they must be united in the face of a new era that will have them fight for the rights they have long taken for granted. On this day, the American Woman showed up, she rose to the occasion, and though she was hesitant, she was determined.We arrived at the White House, filling the National Mall with pink pussy hats and chants of “my body, my rights”, and made our presence known. Soon after people started to scatter, but for the rest of the day, one could not go anywhere without running into someone with a sign or a pussy hat. This may not be the desperate protest that started a revolution against a Middle Eastern dictatorship, but it is the American woman beginning her fight. The movement has begun.

Source: I Kept Feeling the Women’s March on Washington Lacked Passion, But Then I Figured the Real Problem – The Ladies FingerThe Ladies Finger

Thousands fill Loop after Women’s March rally in Chicago draws 250,000 – Chicago Tribune

The rally began with light-hearted music but quickly moved into difficult discussions on racism, homophobia, xenophobia and gun violence. Samantha Marie Ware, a Chicago cast member of ‘Hamilton,’ became emotional on stage recalling how she, as a black woman, once felt as though she couldn’t accomplish her goals because of her race. She encouraged the women before her to stand up.

Source: Thousands fill Loop after Women’s March rally in Chicago draws 250,000 – Chicago Tribune

The Anti-Fascist Scouting Report: What The Left Can Learn From the Right | Race Files

The cutting edge of Trump’s offensive against civil and human rights has been attacks against immigrants, Muslims, and Black radicals, leading many to believe that Trump will go directly after those groups first. While that may be true, in many ways LGBTQ people are the low hanging fruit where targeting groups to make good on campaign promises is concerned. Producing wins like “hate the sin, love the sinner” religious exemptions that equate discrimination with religious freedom, as well as attacks on same sex unions, insurance claims for sex reassignment surgery, and queer-friendly bathrooms is a lot easier than, say, building a border wall or executing millions of deportations. But, success in attacking LGBTQ rights could set the stage for much deeper cuts into civil rights and civil liberties that may, in the end, clear the way for Trump to consolidate the kind of anti-democratic authority necessary to dig even deeper into his xenophobic and discriminatory agenda.If Trump comes good on the anti-LGBTQ front (and abortion), conservative evangelicals may well look the other way if he reaches for policies that victimize those more likely to be viewed by the broader Christian community as innocents. After all, no one, no mainline or evangelical Christian denomination, stood in the way when Japanese Americans and Alaska Natives were interned during WWII (supposedly for our own safety, which is an argument the Trump regime may be laying the basis for by inciting anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant hatred and inviting and even condoning violence).It’s a frightening prospect

Source: The Anti-Fascist Scouting Report: What The Left Can Learn From the Right | Race Files