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.
Category Archives: Global Politics
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.
Five Pacific islands lost to rising seas as climate change hits – “Don’t tell the Sweet Potato Head kid… shhh!”
Five tiny Pacific islands have disappeared due to rising seas and erosion, a discovery thought to be the first scientific confirmation of the impact of climate change on coastlines in the Pacific, according to Australian researchers.The submerged islands were part of the Solomon Islands, an archipelago that over the last two decades has seen annual sea levels rise as much as 10mm (0.4in), according to research published in the May issue of the online journal Environmental Research Letters.The missing islands, ranging in size from 1 to 5 hectares (2.5-12.4 acres) were not inhabited by humans. But six other islands had large swaths of land washed into the sea and on two of those, entire villages were destroyed and people forced to relocate, the researchers found.
Source: Five Pacific islands lost to rising seas as climate change hits – Arid Zone Afforestation
When a Palestinian girl is shot and killed ‘by accident’ | +972 Magazine
Samah’s father, Abed, finished his work in the field at around midday, informing his daughters that he would pick them up from Nablus. The mother, Halleh, and younger brother A. also came along for the ride. After some shopping in the city they started back home. After an hour the family’s car reached Hawara checkpoint. They passed the checkpoint without any other cars ahead of them; soldiers were present, but they did not try and stop the car. Then shots rang out. The front windshield was smashed. After that came the screams.Abed shouted for the passengers to duck. The car lurched on for a short distance, and then stopped. When Abed looked back, Samah was bleeding from her head. The hospital will later determine that a bullet went through her forehead, having found an exit wound.A Red Crescent ambulance in the area evacuated Samah to Rafidia Hospital in Nablus. The rest of the family members hopped in a cab, and the two vehicles headed north back toward the checkpoint, where they were delayed. The soldiers refused to let the ambulance pass to Nablus. Abed, heated, asked the soldiers “Why did you kill my daughter?” “She had a knife,” they answered. He screamed at them: “A knife, what knife? She was holding a knife while sitting in a car with her mother and her siblings?”
Source: When a Palestinian girl is shot and killed ‘by accident’ | +972 Magazine
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
Anne Applebaum Interview About President Donald Trump – SPIEGEL ONLINE
Applebaum: I don’t want to predict calamity. But I am afraid of a new Russian occupation of parts of Eastern Europe. Also of a new Russian campaign to exert influence in Germany or other parts Europe, aimed at making continental politics less democratic. I am afraid of a US trade war and even a shooting war with China.
Source: Anne Applebaum Interview About President Donald Trump – SPIEGEL ONLINE
Donald Trump presidency: A man baby in the White House | In English | EL PAÍS
The most abnormal thing is his character; that the richest, most powerful and most influential nation on the planet is going to have as its president a “man baby,” as he was defined with terrifying lucidity by the US political humorist Jon Stewart. Trump is a 70-year-old man with the emotional development of, well, perhaps not a newborn baby, but certainly a spoiled elementary school brat.
Source: Donald Trump presidency: A man baby in the White House | In English | EL PAÍS
No, I Will Not Give Trump a Chance | Dame Magazine
There’s no giving a chance to a man who doesn’t understand the basic principles of the U.S. Constitution. Who threatens Americans their citizenship or prison for burning the flag.Not only will I refuse to participate in my own soul murder of a foul man who takes a Victory Tour that got rebranded a “Thank-you” tour while visiting only states where he “won,” but that foulness doesn’t get a chance.There’s not a person on the planet who gets a chance after allowing “Lock her up” chants or racial and imperialistic violence at his rallies to win a seat to work for us.No influential person worth his salt gets a chance after messing in the business dealings of Carrier or Toyota or General Motors or who influences stocks to fall when he publicly pouts about their loyalty. No one who affects Boeing stock and causes it to plummet after lying about the cost of it compared to Air Force 1, gets a chance.There’s no giving a chance to a man who sides with a murderous leader like the Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte. DUTERTE.






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