Tag Archives: WorldNews

May has tied us to Donald Trump. She must face the consequences | Polly Toynbee

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The missile attack on Syria was a pointless, dangerous gesture. If given the chance, MPs must vote to condemn it

Mission accomplished!” The presidential tweet was beyond ominous, reprising as it did George W Bush’s ill-fated banner 15 years ago. As his Iraq war dragged on its bloody course, Bush later admitted it had “conveyed the wrong message”. Now Trump’s crass ignorance of history should serve as a warning he may be destined, or “locked and loaded”, to repeat it.

Theresa May has tied this country to his fickle whims. Inside Donald Trump’s circus, war breaks out between James “Mad Dog” Mattis, the defence secretary who emerges as the sanest in that shape-shifting entourage, and Trump’s terrifying new national security adviser, John Bolton, who reportedly wanted to bomb the hell out of Iranian forces while they were at it on Friday night, urging the president to cancel the Iran nuclear deal. This is where May’s hand-holding has left us: hitched to these dangerous men. What a political risk she has taken, out there alone, against public opinion both before and after the bombing: an instant Survation poll finds 40% against, 36% in favour. Even more striking, 54% say she was wrong not to consult parliament, with only 30% backing her on that.

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The west’s double standards over the bombing of Syria | Letters

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Letters from Dr Paula James, Dr Ghada Karmi, Brigid Keenan, Jane Ghosh and Hazel Davies

It’s Saturday morning and I am watching Theresa May on BBC1 with increasing incredulity. We’ll pass over the fact that there is no secure evidence that Assad has used chemical weapons in an area where Syrian government troops had already won and no questions from journalists about what his motivation could possibly be. Let us focus instead upon the double standards displayed by the UK and the US. The prime minister says the deaths of civilians in Syria cannot be tolerated. The US president states that action must be taken against mass murderers of men, women and children, and nations should be judged by the friends or global company they keep.

May and Trump are supporters of Saudi Arabia, assisting its genocide of the people of Yemen. They remain silent while Israel shoots down unarmed civilians and has deployed white phosphorus in its previous devastating assaults upon Gaza. It is clear to me that we have fostered conflict in Syria for many years, and that, in general, western interventions have only served to destabilise the Middle East. The cost in human life is huge and will not be reduced or stopped by bombing raids from the US and its allies. Theresa May can strike all the Churchillian poses she likes, but this is all about the geopolitics.
Dr Paula James
Chelwood Gate, East Sussex

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At least the NFL isn’t pretending it’s not blackballing Colin Kaepernick

Seahawks joins anti-Black Lives Matters racists! “As if there were any doubt that the NFL was going to continue its blacklist against Colin Kaepernick, the former Super Bowl starting quarterback was once again denied an opportunity this week. This time, it was in Seattle, and there was none of the hemming and hawing about Kaepernick’s numbers not being good enough or his playstyle not being the right fit for the offense. No, instead, an NFL source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that Seahawks officials cancelled Kaepernick’s workout after he refused to commit to ending his kneeling protests during the national anthem during the 2018 season.”

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Kaepernick and comrade-in-arms Eric Reid have again been denied employment due to their anthem protest, further proof that for the NFL’s owners it’s simply a matter of power

As if there were any doubt that the NFL was going to continue its blacklist against Colin Kaepernick, the former Super Bowl starting quarterback was once again denied an opportunity this week. This time, it was in Seattle, and there was none of the hemming and hawing about Kaepernick’s numbers not being good enough or his playstyle not being the right fit for the offense. No, instead, an NFL source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that Seahawks officials cancelled Kaepernick’s workout after he refused to commit to ending his kneeling protests during the national anthem during the 2018 season.

Related: Seahawks ‘postpone’ Colin Kaepernick audition over anthem protest stance

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US envoy to Vietnam quit in protest at Trump plan to deport thousands of refugees

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Ted Osius says administration asked him to press Vietnam to accept the deportees, who had mostly fled to America after 1975

The former US ambassador to Vietnam has said he resigned last year in opposition to a Trump administration plan to deport more than 8,000 Vietnamese people, most of whom are refugees.

Ted Osius, who worked in the US foreign services for 30 years, said the Trump administration asked him to press Vietnam’s government to accept the deportees – who had mostly fled the country after the fall of Saigon in 1975.

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Muslim rape-murder case in India disrupted by Hindu groups

Religious-based racism is the worst!

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Arrest of temple custodian leads to confrontation between police and dozens of Hindu lawyers

When police in northern India went to court to lodge a charge sheet on Monday, they were confronted by dozens of lawyers determined to keep them out.

The lawyers were Hindus. The charges, which police managed to lodge only after calling backup, implicated eight men in the rape and murder of a Muslim child.

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Finland has found the answer to homelessness. It couldn’t be simpler | Harry Quilter-Pinner

The evidence from Finland – as well as numerous other pilot schemes across the world – shows the opposite is true. When people are given homes, homelessness is radically reduced, engagement in support services goes up and recovery rates from addiction are comparable to a “treatment first” approach. Even more impressive is that there are overall savings for government, as people’s use of emergency health services and the criminal justice system is lessened.

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The number of rough sleepers in Britain is soaring, with deaths now a weekly occurrence. It’s time we got over our prejudices

“I was born in Liverpool and grew up on a council estate. I had a clean home, toys and nice meals as a kid. When I was nine years old, the sexual abuse started. My abusers made me feel special. They gave me gifts, moneys, cigarettes and sweets. When I was 13 I ran away from home and soon found myself in the murky world of prostitution on the streets. My life was out of control.”

Related: Homelessness is now the public face of this Tory era | Polly Toynbee

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Trump’s tweets run far ahead of US military’s readiness to hit Syria | Peter Beaumont

ROTFLMAO

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Pentagon not tactically prepared to back up president’s bellicose language with US firepower

Despite Donald Trump’s tweet suggesting that a US strike on Syria was imminent – and warning Russia to “get ready” – the US naval and other forces in the region suggest his rhetoric may have outpaced military readiness for anything but the most limited action.

Trump’s tweetwhich he appeared to row back on on Thursday – appears to have given Syrian forces ample warning to move key assets, suggesting that any strike now would be largely symbolic and have little meaningful impact on the conduct of the war in Syria.

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How world’s first electrified road charges moving vehicles – video

Sweden has opened the world’s first electrified road. The 1.2-mile route, between Stockholm Arlanda airport and a logistics site, will now actively charge cars and lorries as they travel along it using an innovative energy transfer system 

World’s first electrified road for charging vehicles opens in Sweden

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Secret rightwing strategy to discredit teacher strikes revealed

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  • Manual provides ‘dos and don’ts’ for how to smear the strikes
  • Top of the list: ‘teacher strikes hurt kids and low-income families’

A nationwide network of rightwing thinktanks is launching a PR counteroffensive against the teachers’ strikes that are sweeping the country, circulating a “messaging guide” for anti-union activists that portrays the walkouts as harmful to low-income parents and their children.

The new rightwing strategy to discredit the strikes that have erupted in protest against cuts in education funding and poor teacher pay is contained in a three-page document obtained by the Guardian. Titled “How to talk about teacher strikes”, it provides a “dos and don’ts” manual for how to smear the strikers.

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