Opinion | A Quisling and His Enablers – The New York Times

This is not a column about whether Donald Trump is a quisling — a politician who serves the interests of foreign masters at his own country’s expense. Any reasonable doubts about that reality were put to rest by the events of the past few days, when he defended Russia while attacking our closest allies. We don’t know Trump’s motivation. Is it blackmail? Bribery? Or just a generalized sympathy for autocrats and hatred for democracy? And we may never find out: If he shuts down the Mueller investigation and Republicans retain control of Congress, the cover-up may hold indefinitely. But his actions tell the story. As I said, however, this isn’t a column about Trump. It is, instead, about the people who are enabling his betrayal of America: the inner circle of officials and media personalities who are willing to back him up whatever he says or does, and the wider set of politicians — basically the entire Republican delegation in Congress — who have the power and constitutional obligation to stop what he’s doing, but won’t lift a finger in America’s defense.

Opinion | Will America Lose Canada? – The New York Times

It’s not every day you see an American president trade a two-century relationship with a reliable neighbor for what could amount to a one-night stand with a ruthless dictator in Singapore. Mr. Trump may well think bullying Canada is cost-free. After all, three-quarters of its exports go to the United States, which makes retaliation risky for Canada. But having limited options does not mean having none. Reversals like these come with a price, although how and when the United States will pay depends on many factors.

Net Neutrality Rules Died Today –

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Though the FCC voted to kill net neutrality last December, the formal repeal didn’t take effect until today. Moving forward, the FCC no longer has the full authority to police bad behavior by broadband monopolies like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast, thanks to the Trump FCC’s decision to gut classification of ISPs as common carriers. And while ISPs claim that the FTC is well suited to jump in and police any potential abuses, legal experts have argued that’s largely nonsense, since the FTC’s authority over ISPs is severely constrained.

But while ISPs think they’ve scored a major victory here by convincing Ajit Pai and the Trump FCC to ignore the public, ignore the experts, and cuddle up to telecom duopolies, this policy middle finger aimed squarely at consumers is likely to result in a policy and political backlash they’re going to be navigating for years.

To start, activists today will rally to gather support for an effort to use the Congressional Review act to reverse the FCC’s repeal with a majority vote in the House and Senate. The Senate already voted in favor of the effort, which now faces tougher odds in terms of getting a House vote and avoiding a veto by President Trump.

But that’s not the only effort underway to fight back against the FCC’s obvious regulatory capture.

Should the CRA reversal fail, the next best option rests with the courts and the numerous lawsuits that have been filed against the FCC for ignoring the public interest. Those suits will lean heavily on the administrative procedures Act, which requires the FCC to prove that market conditions were dramatic enough to warrant such a major reversal of an extremely popular policy. The court battle will also highlight how the FCC turned a blind eye to identity theft and fraud during the public comment period (which was the public’s only real chance to express disdain for the FCC’s policy).

Should that legal battle fail, there’s still the option of restoring the rules once the Trump era ends, whether that comes in the form of new FCC rules or a new federal law. That’s of course going to rely, in part, on angry consumers showing up at the midterms and voting out House and Senate ISP marionettes like Marsha Blackburn that have repeatedly prioritized monopoly profits over competition, consumers, and the health of the internet.

Knowing full well a political backlash looms, ISPs have been pushing for a bogus net neutrality law of their own they’ve crafted in a ham-fisted attempt to pre-empt any efforts tougher rules from being passed or the FCC rules from being restored (that gambit’s going poorly so far).

Meanwhile, more than half the states in the nation are exploring state level rules in the wake of federal apathy. These efforts range from executive orders banning states from doing business with ISPs that violate net neutrality, to new state laws in places like Oregon and Washington that in some instances go even further than the FCC’s federal-level rules did.

So while supporters of net neutrality may be currently frustrated by the Trump FCC’s grotesque fealty to some of the most hated companies in America, the decision to screw consumers in such a ham-fisted fashion will result in a backlash that these ISPs are going to be feeling for the better part of the next decade.
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Trump is a bully who thought Canada was weak. He was wrong about us | Jen Gerson | Opinion | The Guardian

Canadians won’t consent to scrapping our supply management system if it becomes a point of national self-respect. We won’t be reduced to a simpering client state. If a few years of economic hardship is the cost of our pride, so be it. To the walls with our overpriced cheese. And make the Americans pay for it! It is remarkable that the one thing this G7 summit has highlighted is that, in the long run, Canada can’t trust or rely upon its closest and most trusted ally. We need to rapidly diversify our economy and trade partnerships. In the meantime, Trump should take note of history. After Nixon’s quip, Pierre Trudeau went on to become one of Canada’s most iconic prime ministers. Nixon did not fare so well. And history seems to love a reboot.

Source: Trump is a bully who thought Canada was weak. He was wrong about us | Jen Gerson | Opinion | The Guardian

Canada and America are cousins. We don’t stab each other in the back | Margaret MacMillan | Opinion | The Guardian

The Trump administration is throwing away with both hands the soft power, the moral authority and the network of relationships that have served the US well. Trump himself seems far more comfortable with authoritarian regimes such as Russia, the Philippines or Saudi Arabia than he does with older friends such as Britain, France or Germany. The G7 was a useful meeting place for like-minded nations. It is probably done for. What next? Nato? The IMF? World Bank? World Trade Organization? The United States is shattering an international order – economic but also political – that has served the world and the US itself well. Poor Canada and poor world too.

Source: Canada and America are cousins. We don’t stab each other in the back | Margaret MacMillan | Opinion | The Guardian

It’s Brexit crunch time. Theresa May’s no-deal disaster is not an option | Keir Starmer

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This is the most important Brexit week since article 50. All MPs – Tories included – must back the Lords’ amendments to the withdrawal bill

• Keir Starmer is a Labour MP and shadow secretary of state for exiting the EU

Theresa May has just faced yet another torrid period of Tory revolts over her Brexit strategy. David Davis was on the verge of resignation. Government MPs were publicly rejecting her customs backstop fudge. And Boris Johnson became so exasperated that he was telling his supporters that he wanted Donald Trump to take over the negotiations.

Related: EU withdrawal bill: full list of proposed amendments

Continue reading…

Quick Hit: ICE Prevents Detainees from Observing Ramadan

As though ICE could get worse, this week at The Intercept Maryam Saleh reports on one immigration detention facility’s blatantly Islamophobic campaign to prevent Muslim detainees from observing Ramadan.

Saleh reports that ICE agents arbitrarily deny detainees’ request to be placed on the facility’s Ramadan list, deny fasting detainees adequate nutrition, discriminate against detainees who wear kufis, and deny or delay their requests for Qurans. (Unsurprisingly, detainees who ask for bibles are accommodated immediately.) Saleh writes:

Ramadan is, in many ways, a community affair: People tend to gather with friends and family for iftar, the meal eaten to break the fast, and spend their nights praying together at a mosque. Immigrant detainees, separated from their families, are not only denied that community experience, but at Glades, they’re also facing discriminatory treatment even if they’re included on the Ramadan list, the advocates charge. Several of the detainees have reported that their food is not halal and the portions are not sufficient after a long day of fasting. Those observing the fast are required to eat leftover meals, which means that, depending on when lunch is served, the meals have possibly been out in the open for more than eight hours by the time of iftar. Some detainees reported being served food that was hard to swallow, cold, or rotten.

By preventing Muslim detainees from observing the holy month as a faith community, the discriminatory treatment contributes to the intense social isolation imposed on detainees. This, in turn, can have a dehumanizing and demoralizing effect. As Yusuf Saei, a Fellow at Muslim Advocates, is quoted as saying in the article, such treatment is not only a violation in and of itself; it also discourages detainees and makes them less willing to fight their cases.

Read the full article at The Intercept. Also check out some of our immigration  coverage. Cover image: Glades County Detention Facility, The Intercept. 

‘Children are being used as a tool’ in Trump’s effort to stop border crossings – The Boston Globe

US Border Patrol agents separated Wil from his father six months ago, after the pair made the long journey from violence-torn Honduras to the US border in Arizona, attempting to claim asylum there. Within days of arriving in the United States, Wil watched as his father was taken away in handcuffs, joining a long line of other chained men. That, according to his foster parents, was the last time he saw his dad. In the intentionally brutal logic of President Trump’s policy of separating immigrant children from their parents at the US border, Wil is actually among the lucky kids. At least his foster parents know where his father is being held, though not when father and son might be reunited. Three other young children in the care of Coryn and Silas don’t know the location of their parents and have had no contact with them for weeks.

Source: ‘Children are being used as a tool’ in Trump’s effort to stop border crossings – The Boston Globe

Monday Open Thread | Yes…the Demons Are STILL After Obamacare

This came through last week.

Trump’s Justice Department says the ACA is unconstitutional

The Justice Department will not defend the Affordable Care Act in court, and says it believes the law’s individual mandate — the provision the Supreme Court upheld in 2012 — has become unconstitutional.

Why it matters: The Justice Department almost always defends federal laws when they’re challenged in court. Its departure from that norm in this case is a major development — career DOJ lawyers removed themselves from the case as the department announced this shift in its position.

The details: The ACA’s individual mandate requires most people to buy insurance or pay a tax penalty. The Supreme Court upheld that in 2012 as a valid use of Congress’ taxing power.

When Congress claimed it repealed the individual mandate last year, what it actually did was drop the tax penalty to $0.

So the coverage requirement itself is still technically on the books. And a group of Republican attorneys general, representing states led by Texas, say it’s now unconstitutional — because the specific penalty the Supreme Court upheld is no longer in effect.

The Justice Department agreed with that position in a brief filed Thursday night.

DOJ said the courts should strike down the coverage requirement, as well as the provision of the law that forces insurance companies to cover people with pre-existing conditions.

 

From the LA Times:
Got a preexisting condition? The Trump administration wants insurers to deny you coverage

In its latest effort to undermine the Affordable Care Act — and in the process, raise premiums for many Americans — the Trump administration is urging a federal judge in Texas to throw out the law’s protections for people with preexisting conditions.

In other words, the administration wants insurers to be able to deny coverage to the people most in need of it, or to charge them considerably higher premiums than they’re allowed to charge today.

This is jaw-dropping. Even Republicans who’ve complained about Obamacare have been loath to undo the protections for people with preexisting conditions who are not covered by large employers’ health plans. That’s because the public supports them, and unequivocally so.

A Kaiser Family Foundation poll in June 2017 showed that 70% of those polled, including 59% of Republicans, wanted Washington to continue barring insurers from charging people with preexisting conditions more for their coverage. Federal law has long provided such protection for people with health benefits at work; the ACA extended it to people shopping independently for insurance.

But then, the administration has done just about everything in its power to toss older, less healthy people under the bus if they’re unfortunate enough not to be covered by employer health insurance plans.

From Andy Slavitt:

Before I get into it, I have to stop and just repeat this another way:

The DOJ, responsible for upholding the rule of law, is not defending the people in a frivolous lawsuit to say that wi5out the mandate, the rest of the ACA can’t be enforced. 2/

— Andy Slavitt (@ASlavitt) June 8, 2018

NEW- CLARIFICATION OF WHAT TRUMP WANTS INSURANCE COMPANIES TO BE ABLE TO DENY OR UP-CHARGE FOR:

-Asthma inhaler
-Mild anxiety
-Alcoholism
-Toe fungus
-Being 50
-High blood pressure
-Birth control

Individual coverage for cancer, diabetes, a transplant, epilepsy wouldn’t exist https://t.co/CRFEYwEP45

— Andy Slavitt (@ASlavitt) June 8, 2018

300,000 people in each Congressional district have a pre-existing condition. Thursday Trump filed papers to end their guaranteed access to insurance.

Members of Congress who supported the tax cut set this in motion. Their phones might start ringing. https://t.co/GvjRSAul44

— Andy Slavitt (@ASlavitt) June 9, 2018

If ever you needed a reason to work to flip the House and Senate in 2018, this is it.

The Trump administration is refusing to uphold the law. Your pre-existing condition will not be covered if this goes any further.#SaturdayMorning#AMJoy https://t.co/c5AFYlMk0R

— Holly Figueroa O’Reilly 🌊 BWCS (@AynRandPaulRyan) June 9, 2018

NEW: 👀 Politico reports Trump plans to roll out a new blueprint for HHS. If these turn out to be true, health programs could be relabeled as welfare.

Would require Congress’s support and makes midterms . . . important.

https://t.co/VLZn8exhfJ via @politico

— Andy Slavitt (@ASlavitt) June 6, 2018

In light of yesterday’s news that the Justice Department will no longer be defending the Affordable Care Act, a reminder: the ACA isn’t collapsing. It’s being mugged. https://t.co/TvvtYrIJka

— Senator Angus King (@SenAngusKing) June 8, 2018

https://t.co/TOPb70qXCB

— Andy Slavitt (@ASlavitt) June 10, 2018

Healthcare is WELFARE?

HUH?

This isn’t some political shouting match. They really are coming after you and your healthcare. And they will be stopped if we win, but they will most certainly go through with it if we lose. https://t.co/eoAdPKKiu3

— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) June 9, 2018

Let’s be clear-they want to take away healthcare from everyone, except for those who had it before Obamacare. If you have a pre-existing condition, you will be once again SOL.

The Trump Administration decided to support axing pre-existing condition protections effective Jan 1, 2019.

It shows repeal-and-replace was not their goal. This is pure repeal. https://t.co/ReioE3zmUH

— Andy Slavitt (@ASlavitt) June 8, 2018

Um no…they are only mad that he did this BEFORE the midterms. They aren’t coming out AGAINST what Dolt45 is proposing. Not in strong terms.

Republicans spent Friday fleeing from the Trump administration’s legal effort to dismantle Obamacare. W/ @jenhab:https://t.co/CLoQ84Ng6J

— Adam Cancryn (@adamcancryn) June 8, 2018

So, we have to tell everyone you know. Everywhere you go. Everyone knows someone with a pre-existing condition. Tell them that their vote in November 2018 LITERALLY could mean THEIR LIFE.

This Week in Egypt: Week 23- 2018 (June 4-10)

Nervana

Top Headlines

  • President Sisi appoints Mostafa Madbouly, former housing minister, as new prime minister
  • Egypt, Ethiopia agree to settle differences over Nile mega-dam
  • Libya’s army air raid kills Egyptian al-Qaeda leader in Derna
  • Egypt unveils pay rises ahead of fresh subsidy cut
  • Egypt’s annual urban consumer price inflation decreases to 11.4 percent in May

Sisi and Ethiopian PM Main Headlines

 Monday

Tuesday

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Second Look Behind the Headlines – News you can use…

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