Category Archives: Just strange

Tuesday Open Thread | Kremlin paid $40,000 to Michael Flynn for 2015 Moscow visit | 3CHICSPOLITICO

Here’s the sequence of confirmed events as we now know them. In April of 2014, Michael Flynn was forced out of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency for erratic behavior, ending his career in the United States military and government. In June of 2015, Donald Trump entered the presidential race. In December of 2015, the Kremlin paid Michael Flynn the sum of $40,000 to travel to Moscow and sit at the same dinner table as Vladimir Putin during a Russia Today event. In February of 2016, Michael Flynn became a campaign adviser for Donald Trump, during which time he routinely colluded with Russian agents.Flynn’s attendance with Putin at the dinner in Moscow has long been documented, and there’s even a now infamous photo of the two of them sitting together at the same table. But until today, it wasn’t known that Flynn had been paid to be there. New York Daily News now reports that Flynn was paid $40,000 just to attend the dinner, and that Flynn failed to ask for the necessary Pentagon approval for such a payment.

Source: Tuesday Open Thread | Kremlin paid $40,000 to Michael Flynn for 2015 Moscow visit | 3CHICSPOLITICO

How I dealt with masked men with guns pounding on my door | +972 Magazine – Deja vu of you know who…

Late one night last month I was shaken from my bed by Israeli riot police pounding on the door to our house. At first, I thought the noise was from people in the building fighting over a parking spot again. But when I heard shouting in Hebrew and the neighbor screaming, and when I felt my room shaking from the blows to the door, I realized it was serious — another terrible incursion by black-clad, masked invaders.I leapt out of bed in a panic, opened the door and was faced with around 20 masked riot police, armed with assault rifles and terrifying expressions. I was scared to death. One of them asked me, in Arabic: “What’s your name?” Using my most Ashkenazi accent, I responded: “My name is Sulimmm… Suliman. Who are you looking for, sir?”He fixed his eyes on me intimidatingly, and asked whether I know someone by the name of Mohammed (the officer mentioned a family name as well, although I’ve forgotten it). I answered cautiously, “Sir, I’m new to the area, I don’t know anyone in the neighborhood or even in the building, and I don’t speak to anyone.” I tried talking without an Arabic accent and emphasized certain consonants, so that he would know I speak Hebrew well.Unfortunately, my answers didn’t convince anyone. The masked cop invited himself into my apartment, pushed me against the wall and glanced toward my room. Two more officers accompanied him and asked me for my ID, as if it weren’t enough that I have to identify myself to them every day at the checkpoint.I showed them my identity card and prayed to God that they’d leave. One of them scrutinized me to make sure that I was indeed the person on the identity card, then gave it back to me. I have no idea how he came to the conclusion that it was me, given that it was the middle of the night, I’d just been asleep, and looked somewhat like The Joker from “The Dark Knight.”Eventually they left and continued on their way to intimidate the neighbors. I’ve actually gotten used to these monthly invasions, but this time it was different. It was so serious that I was afraid I’d lose control and react to the humiliation, which in turn brought the terrifying thought that protesting even a little would lead them to put a bullet in my head and tell the world that I had tried to snatch one of their weapons. Who knows? Anything is possible in this country.

Source: How I dealt with masked men with guns pounding on my door | +972 Magazine

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

Sellamma & her struggle to reclaim her house and land in Puthukudiyiruppu – Groundviews

Their struggle is just one of many struggles of displaced people to go home. Since the new government came into power, some of the lands occupied by the military have been released. But tens of thousands of displaced Sri Lankans await the military to move out of their lands and allow them to go home. From nearby Kepapulavu to Mullikulam to Ashrafnagar to Panama to Jaffna. And more. The list is long. They have been protesting, appealing to authorities, filing court cases. And still waiting.For Sellamma and all these peoples, reconciliation is about being allowed to go back to their houses and land. Whether and when they get their lands back will be a major factor in Sri Lanka’s reconciliation and transitional justice processes. Government and others say these processes takes time. But for Sellamma, time is running out. She would like to go back to her house and land before her death.

Source: Sellamma & her struggle to reclaim her house and land in Puthukudiyiruppu – Groundviews

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

Ivanka Trump becomes hot commodity in China with dozens of companies trying to trademark her name: Shanghaiist

Despite preaching “America First,” Trump and his daughter have both long manufactured products in China. Many of the products available in Ivanka Trump’s personal collection were made in China, including her scarves that were recalled last April because they were a fire hazard.According to SCMP, Ivanka Trump Marks LCC filed applications to use the name “Ivanka” for shoes and clothing in China back in 2010. Last May, the company filed an additional seven applications for selling jewelry, bags and other products.

Source: Ivanka Trump becomes hot commodity in China with dozens of companies trying to trademark her name: Shanghaiist

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

Donald “The Loser” Trump′s ′Sweden′ terror remark leaves the internet laughing | News | DW.COM | 19.02.2017

Trump’s ‘Sweden’ terror remark leaves the internet laughing

Swedes were left scratching their heads over what happened #LastNightInSweden after US President Trump invented a terror attack in their nation. Now, the gaff has become a running joke on online.

Source: Trump′s ′Sweden′ terror remark leaves the internet laughing | News | DW.COM | 19.02.2017

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