Category Archives: Global Politics

What Backlash Against “Political Correctness” is Really About

Discussions about political correctness often center around free speech, with the implication that free speech applies to some people—those with power and privilege—and not others. It’s incumbent on all of us to shift the conversation, and talk more about how to protect the free speech and voices of marginalized people, whose demands for basic respect too often remain the butt of jokes.

Source: What Backlash Against “Political Correctness” is Really About

‘I am dreaming of a way to kill almost every last person on earth’: A self-proclaimed white nationalist planned a mass terrorist attack, the government says – The Washington Post (a Trump inspired kill list)

Christopher Paul Hasson called for “focused violence” to “establish a white homeland” and said, “I am dreaming of a way to kill almost every last person on the earth,” in one of his letters that contemplated launching a biological plague, according to court records filed in U.S. District Court in Maryland. Though court documents do not detail a specific planned date for an attack, the government said he had been amassing supplies and weapons since at least 2017, developed a spreadsheet of targets that included House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and searched the Internet using phrases such as “best place in dc to see congress people” and “are supreme court justices protected.” “The defendant intends to murder innocent civilians on a scale rarely seen in this country,” the government said in court documents filed this week, arguing that Hasson should stay in jail awaiting trial.

Source: ‘I am dreaming of a way to kill almost every last person on earth’: A self-proclaimed white nationalist planned a mass terrorist attack, the government says – The Washington Post

Ilhan Omar, Elliott Abrams, and the El Mozote Massacre – The Atlantic

what did Abrams have to do with it? More than 900 peasants were murdered in and around several villages in the eastern province of Morazán. Most were old men, women, and children. At the Roman Catholic church in El Mozote, soldiers separated men from their families, took them away, and shot them. They herded mothers and children into the convent. Putting their American-supplied M-16 rifles on automatic, the soldiers opened fire. Then they burned the convent. Some 140 children were killed, including toddlers. Average age: 6. Omar’s questioning of Abrams was not artful, and Abrams wasn’t unreasonable in viewing it as a personal attack. But she was right to suggest that he had sought to diminish or even cover up the massacre by calling it communist propaganda. Nor was she wrong to question whether Abrams was ethically qualified to assume a high government position, with the mission to oust the Venezuelan dictatorship and promote democracy.

Source: Ilhan Omar, Elliott Abrams, and the El Mozote Massacre – The Atlantic

Trump’s emergency: the arbitrary action of an instinctive autocrat | Simon Tisdall | US news | The Guardian

The declaration, or attempted diktat, is the arbitrary action of an instinctive autocrat. It trashes convention, and co-equal Congressional rights and oversight. It is the product of an immature, egotistic mind. And it is based on a lie – namely, that Trump repeatedly promised he would make Mexico pay for the wall, not US taxpayers. More than anything, the wall is physically as well as politically divisive – and division is a trademark of Trumpism. It features in almost everything he does, whether the issue is race in the US, gun control, press freedom, Venezuela, Iran or the Israel-Palestine conflict. Trump is not alone in his myopic, fearful outlook. Walls, or the more euphemistic, antiseptic “separation barriers”, have been proliferating globally in recent years – in the West Bank, between India and Pakistan, and between EU countries, the Balkans and the Middle East. Another may soon be erected, in one form or another, on the island of Ireland. The world can be divided into those who build walls and those who build bridges. There is no doubt which side Trump is on.

Source: Trump’s emergency: the arbitrary action of an instinctive autocrat | Simon Tisdall | US news | The Guardian

Dear Mister President: The Royal We – LA Progressive

those four words – “I am extremely unhappy” – betrayed that your cause is not so much about ideology as about ego – the matter not public, but personal. And not, of course, personal to the kids in the cages or their brown-skinned parents, but personal to you. The dark cloud of your mood will hang over us all until your whim lets the lightning flash. When Louis XIV frowned, courtiers trembled in corners and whispered about whether the king’s displeasure meant war or peace.

Source: Dear Mister President: The Royal We – LA Progressive

Portland police and far-right leader had friendly relationship, texts reveal | World news | The Guardian

On 23 December 2017, Niiya texted to Gibson: “Heads up just told 4-5 black Bloch [antifascists] heading your way. One carrying a flag. We will have officers nearby but you may want to think about moving soon if more come.” Niiya also appears to advise Gibson about avoiding the arrest of group member Tusitala “Tiny” Toese, who has allegedly been involved in acts of violence in the city. On 8 December 2017, discussing Toese’s presence at a rally at a time when he was the subject of an outstanding warrant, Niiya wrote: “Just make sure he doesn’t do anything which may draw our attention. If he still has the warrant in the system (I don’t run you guys so I don’t personally know) the officers could arrest him. I don’t see a need to arrest on the warrant unless there is a reason.”

Source: Portland police and far-right leader had friendly relationship, texts reveal | World news | The Guardian

Rambling Trump calls an emergency in speech that goes on and on and on | US news | The Guardian

Trump’s White House screed was him at his Trumpiest – the old man at the bar sounding off about the world’s ills

Source: Rambling Trump calls an emergency in speech that goes on and on and on | US news | The Guardian

Wife of White House communications chief goes on anti-vaccine tirade | US news | The Guardian

Darla Shine, a former TV producer, is married to Bill Shine, the former executive at Fox News who was appointed last year as Donald Trump’s deputy chief of staff for communications. Faced with criticism over her comments, Shine accused “the Left” of attempting to smear her. She also suggested, without evidence, that measles can cure cancer, pointing to a 2014 case that was far more complex and did not draw any kind of definitive conclusions. Advertisement This is not the first time Darla’s Shine’s public statements have sparked controversy. She once declared that sunscreen was “a hoax” and on numerous occasions pushed debunked theories about the danger of vaccines. Other unearthed tweets found Darla Shine making profane remarks about race, questioning why white people were considered racist for using “the n’word” given its use by black people and defending the Confederate flag. She has repeatedly struck a dismissive tone when discussing allegations of sexual assault, be it in the military or at Fox News.

Source: Wife of White House communications chief goes on anti-vaccine tirade | US news | The Guardian

Donald Trump’s SOTU, AOC, and the History of Red Baiting DJT has no problem with Fascist Russian Dupe though – lol

“Here, in the United States, we are alarmed by new calls to adopt socialism in our country,” Donald Trump said in his State of the Union speech, adding that, “Tonight, we renew our resolve that America will never be a socialist country.”

Source: Donald Trump’s SOTU, AOC, and the History of Red Baiting