Category Archives: Global Politics

US defense chief plays down Trump comments on seizing Iraq oil | News | DW.COM | 20.02.2017

Trump brought up the issue during the campaign and told CIA staff in January: “We should have kept the oil. But okay. Maybe you’ll have another chance.” Trump did not elaborate on what he meant by “another chance.”But Mattis, a retired Marine who had commanded troops during the invasion of Iraq, distanced himself from Trump’s statement.”All of us in America have generally paid for gas and oil all along, and I am sure that we will continue to do so in the future,” Mattis told reporters. “We are not in Iraq to seize anybody’s oil,” he said.On Sunday, Iraq reported proven oil reserves of 153 billion barrels, the fifth largest in the world behind Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Canada and Iran.Differing positionsMattis was also expected to face questions from Iraqi leaders about Trump’s stalled executive order temporarily barring Iraqi citizens, as well as people from six other Muslim-majority countries, from entering the US.He has sought an exemption from the ban for Iraqis who had served with US troops, but had not yet seen a new executive order which the administration was considering. “I right now am assured that we will take steps to allow those who have fought alongside us, for example, to be allowed into the United States,” Mattis said.Mattis has stuck closer to established US foreign policy than Trump, including emphasizing support for the NATO alliance and having a less favorable view of Russia and President Vladimir Putin.Mattis also said he had no problems with the press, after Trump labeled the media “the enemy of the American people.”

Source: US defense chief plays down Trump comments on seizing Iraq oil | News | DW.COM | 20.02.2017

Head of the AfD Frauke Petry meets with Russian officials in Moscow | Germany | DW.COM | 20.02.2017

Frauke Petry, the prominent co-chair of Germany’s nationalist AfD party, met with senior Russian politicians in Moscow at the weekend.In a statement issued on Monday, the office of the populist politician said she traveled to Moscow to discuss cooperation between German and Russian regional assemblies. She also met “on the sidelines” with Duma speaker and Putin confidant Vyacheslav Volodin as well as deputy speaker Pyotr Tolstoy.

Source: Head of the AfD Frauke Petry meets with Russian officials in Moscow | Germany | DW.COM | 20.02.2017

Fake News by Fox and Trump – Swedish Fox News cops hit out at filmmaker: ‘He is a madman’ – The Local

“I don’t understand why we are part of the segment. The interview was about something completely different to what Fox News and Horowitz were talking about,” one of the police officers, Anders Göranzon, told the Dagens Nyheter newspaper on Monday. “It was supposed to be about crime in high risk areas. Areas with high crime rates. There wasn’t any focus on migration or immigration.”He said neither he nor his colleague Jacob Ekström recognized the image painted of Sweden in the report, which has been criticized in Sweden for being riddled with inaccuracies and false claims.”We don’t stand behind it. It shocked us. He has edited the answers. We were answering completely different questions in the interview. This is bad journalism,” Göranzon told Dagens Nyheter, which said it had attempted to contact Horowitz for a comment.

Source: Swedish Fox News cops hit out at filmmaker: ‘He is a madman’ – The Local

Why Is the GOP Still Supporting Trump? | Dame Magazine

Since Obama took office in 2008, this unholy trinity has worked overtime to undermine liberal democracy and shift the Republican Party further rightward. Wealthy oligarchs such as the Kochs and Mercers funded training and campaigns for hand-selected far right candidates, and utilized fake grassroots movements to unseat less extreme GOP candidates. They orchestrated the Citizens United case to eliminate soft money restrictions so they could further expand their influence. Far right GOP operatives undertook a coordinated effort to suppress Democratic votes through gerrymandering and aggressive voter ID laws, and gutted the Voting Rights Act by bringing carefully planned challenges to a sympathetic Supreme Court. At the same time, corporate and religious right wing media stoked a non-stop propaganda machine to gain support of the white working and middle class by appealing to racism and economic insecurity.Which brings us back to 2016. Putin saw in Trump’s candidacy a perfect opportunity to sow discord and doubt in America’s electorate and weaken the U.S. whether or not he won the election. When he defied expectations and started winning primaries, some on the far right realized that he had enough charisma and name recognition to carry the GOP nomination, and that with no clear ideology of his own (other than “what’s in it for me”) he could serve as an ideal Trojan Horse for their extremist agenda. The fact that many on the right already had a strange admiration for Putin, and that both white supremacist and fundamentalist Christian supporters had close ties to Russia probably served to lessen concern among GOP electeds that their candidate might be compromised by a foreign nation.So the next time Congress declines to investigate Russian influence or ethics breaches by the Trump administration, just remember: they’re getting exactly what they want out of this arrangement, and will continue to enact their far-right agenda as long as they have the votes. Congress, Trump, and Putin all back the same vision of a Christian, white nationalist, authoritarian world order that will protect the wealth of oligarchs while suppressing women, people of color, LGBTQ people, and anyone else they perceive as a threat to their control.

Source: Why Is the GOP Still Supporting Trump? | Dame Magazine

Trump as ‘Leader of Free World’ attacks free press: Darcy cartoon | cleveland.com

Trump and his staff have been prolific in propagating fake news, starting with Trump adopting the racist Obama ‘birther’ story eight years ago

Source: Trump as ‘Leader of Free World’ attacks free press: Darcy cartoon | cleveland.com

Sweden wants Trump to explain mysterious ’last night in Sweden’ incident – The Local

The Swedish government on Sunday demanded that the White House clarifies what US President Donald Trump meant while speaking at a Florida rally on Saturday during which he referred to what appeared to be a serious incident “last night in Sweden”.The only twist was that nothing spectacular happened in Sweden on Friday.Twitter ran wild with speculation about what the American leader might have been referring to – the fact that it had snowed? That a large amount of reindeer had crossed the border? Or perhaps Sweden’s generous social welfare system? – and a series of hashtags sprung to life, including #LastNightInSweden and #JeSuisIkea.The Swedish government, however, wasn’t as amused.Government spokeswoman Catarina Axelsson told Swedish news agency TT that Stockholm is now demanding an explanation from the Trump administration.

Source: Sweden wants Trump to explain mysterious ’last night in Sweden’ incident – The Local

Pence’s speech on Nato leaves European leaders troubled over alliance’s future | World news | The Guardian

The audience, made up of national leaders, defence and foreign ministers and other senior government figures, who would normally, out of politeness, offer up a warm welcome for a senior US politician, greeted some of his comments with sparse applause.Pence, reiterating that the US remained committed to Nato, attempted to soothe concerns that Trump might deal directly with Putin, bypassing western Europe. The audience welcomed his promise that Russia will be held “accountable” for its actions in Ukraine, although he didn’t spell out how.But he lost them when he went further than US defence secretary James Mattis at Nato headquarters last week in rebuking Nato members such as Germany, France and Italy for failing to pay a fair share of its financial burden.Echoing Trump’s threat last year that he would not necessarily be bound by Nato’s article five, which commits every member to come to the aid of any that comes under attack, Pence reiterated the president’s warning that military help might depend on how much a country under attack had contributed to Nato.

Source: Pence’s speech on Nato leaves European leaders troubled over alliance’s future | World news | The Guardian

McCain savages Trump administration and inability to ‘separate truth from lies’ | US news | The Guardian

The chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said “more and more of our fellow citizens seem to be flirting with authoritarianism and romanticising it as our moral equivalent”. The senator also regretted the “hardening resentment we see toward immigrants, and refugees, and minority groups, especially Muslims”.European governments have been unsettled by the signals sent by Trump on a range of foreign policy issues ranging from Nato and Russia to Iran, Israel and European integration.The debut trip to Europe of Trump’s defence secretary, Jim Mattis, and his secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, to a meeting of G20 counterparts in Bonn, went some way to assuaging concerns as they both took a more traditional US position. But Trump is wrestling with a growing controversy at home about potential ties between his aides and Russia, which he dismissed on Thursday as a “ruse” and “scam” perpetrated by a hostile news media.

Source: McCain savages Trump administration and inability to ‘separate truth from lies’ | US news | The Guardian

Why is Trump’s adviser wearing a medal of Nazi collaborators? | +972 Magazine

Gorka’s decision to publicly identify with Vitezi Rend raises questions about Trump’s adviser and the administration’s flirtations with anti-Semitism and the alt-right. It’s even more awkward that he’s the person defending the administration’s explicit omission of Jewish victim of the Holocaust from the Holocaust Remembrance Day statement.

Source: Why is Trump’s adviser wearing a medal of Nazi collaborators? | +972 Magazine

Joe McCarthy Must Be Rolling in His Grave | La Prensa San Diego

Talk that during the 1950s would have led to Congressional hearings for un-American activities is today coming, not from Hollywood liberals and intellectuals, but from the President of the United States and his closest advisors.During last year’s presidential campaign, Donald Trump offered glowing praise for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s strong leadership and decisive action in Syria where Russian bombings killed innocent women and children.Trump also said Putin was a stronger leader than President Barack Obama, leading many Washington insiders to question Trump’s seemingly un-American rhetoric.Then came news that hackers had breached the computers of the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton’s campaign, leading to the release of embarrassing emails that eventually drove a wedge between Clinton and Bernie Sanders supporters.At the time when many suspected Russia was behind the hacking, Trump publicly encouraged Russia to continue hacking and release more emails. Trump doesn’t mind international meddling in our elections as long as it seemed to have been in his favor.Now this week, intelligence officials confirmed that retired General Michael Flynn, Trump’s pick for National Security Advisor, had several contacts with Russia’s Ambassador to the US during the presidential transition. During those conversations, Flynn discussed sanctions against Russia put in place by Obama in his final weeks in office.Flynn had denied having had such conversations, but CIA intercepts revealed he had lied to Trump, Mike Pence, and the nation.And this wasn’t the first Trump advisor with Russian connections. His campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, had various ties with Russian politicians and sympathizers. During the campaign, several others staffers had continued interactions with Russian operatives.Trump himself has had trouble explaining clearly what, if any, business ties he has with Russians. His story has changed from having no relationships to having excellent ones.Last month, a former British spy released a dossier of intelligence reports claiming Russia has information on Trump they could use to blackmail him. The report was unconfirmed, but many intelligence experts suggest the former British spy is a credible source.In the last few days, after General Flynn finally resigned in light of his inconsistent recollection of contacts with the Russians, the White House’s position on Flynn varied.Some reported Trump continued to support Flynn, some said Trump fired him, and other said Flynn resigned.But what didn’t happen was a clear articulation that playing footsies with the Russians is a problem to the Trump Administration.Russia has invaded its neighbors, annexed land, and bolstered a bloody regime in Syria. Putin has poked and prodded US military ships and aircraft around the world. And Russia this week parked a spy ship off the East Coast to watch one of our largest submarine bases.Yet, still, Trump refuses to hold Russia accountable.In the 1950s, Trump and his close advisors would have been on a blacklist by now, hauled before Congressional committees, and asked tough questions.Instead, we’re watching the American President play into Putin’s hand, seemingly pliable like a puppet.Maybe it’s true Trump is being blackmailed, or he’s naive enough to think Putin really likes him. Either way, America is less safe.Trump should stand strong against any country that tries to influence our elections, provoke our military, or hack our infrastructure. Even if they say nice things about Trump and stroke his ego.

Source: Joe McCarthy Must Be Rolling in His Grave | La Prensa San Diego