Resistance in the Time of a Madman
By Joy First
I was with the National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance (NCNR) in DC on January 20, one of many groups demonstrating against Trump during his inauguration. NCNR has been speaking out and acting in resistance against the crimes of our government since 2003. Though our focus has been on ending war, including drone warfare, we have recognized the intersectionality with other issues such as racial justice, social-economic justice, and the threat of ecocide resulting from the climate crisis, and have brought those issues into our work. Many of us have been arrested over and over in acts of nonviolent civil resistance during the Bush and Obama years.
We had been planning a direct action for the inauguration since last spring, but we fully expected that we would be up against Hillary Clinton With Clinton in office there was no question that the wars started by Bush and Obama would continue and even escalate, and so our work in resistance would have continued. But with Trump’s surprising win in November, everyone was left stunned. His stated views on women, racism, immigration, and on and on left so many fearful of what the future would hold. We would take action on January 20 knowing it would be a totally different atmosphere than we had expected.
Trump’s misplaced wall: It’s Not an Immigrant Tsunami We Should Fear, It’s a Climate Change One
By Dave Lindorff
Tomgram: William Astore, A Violent Cesspool of Our Own Making
This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To receive TomDispatch in your inbox three times a week, click here.
White Silence Equals Violence: Awaiting a Verdict
By Kathy Kelly
This morning, here in Minneapolis, I’ll learn whether six jurors believe beyond a reasonable doubt that Dan Wilson and I are criminals. The court case stems from an action protesting the execution of Jamar Clark, age 24, who died in the early morning of November 15, 2015 outside a north Minneapolis apartment complex. Two Minneapolis police officers, Mark Ringgenberg and Dustin Schwarze, were involved in the shooting. Jamar Clark died after a bullet was fired directly into his head. Several witnesses say that he was handcuffed and motionless when he was shot dead. The police officers have been cleared of all charges and are back on the job.
Dan and I are among 25 defendants charged with obstructing a Minneapolis Metro transit vehicle on April 11, the opening day of the Minnesota Twins baseball season. The Legal Rights Center lawyers working with us arranged a calendar so that small groups would be tried weekly. Earlier this month, two people were acquitted of all charges and one person has been convicted. Two days ago, Andrew Gordon and Priyanka Premo, lawyers from the Minneapolis Legal Rights Center who are representing Dan and me, began the jury selection process. Yesterday, evidence was presented and the six-person jury was asked to determine a verdict. The jury didn't arrive at a verdict last night. We felt grateful they are not rushing to judgement on what many would see as a cut and dry case. The prosecution presented, as evidence, a photo of me standing, arms linked with others, in front of a bus.
Be Glad the White House Comment Line Is Closed
The White House comment phone line directs people to kindly go away and think about what losers they are. Oops, sorry, I mean it directs people not to leave any comments. Instead it says to use a White House web form or to send a message through a White House Facebook account (which has no messaging capability). I'm not inclined to use the web form, because I doubt anyone reads it and I'd rather not be added to a White House email list.
If I'm going to publish a comment to the White House elsewhere, maybe I'll submit it through their website form too. But what I need is a place to post my comments publicly and then tweet them @POTUS.
So I've created http://commentstotrump.org Anybody can post any comment to Trump there that they like. It's public and uncensored. Using it does not put you on any email list or provide your information to anyone. It's just an automated website that displays comments as they come in. All I expect to do is perhaps create more categories for the comments as new topics arise.
Here's a taste of what people have posted there, for Trump, thus far:
Please do not repeal the affordable health care act before replacing it with something even better. It should be something that is similar to what other advanced countries have, namely Universal Healthcare system.
Stop Obama's policy of drone murder.
Do not continue it, please.
Drones make us judge, jury and executioner.
No one, NO ONE is advocating for abortion. No one celebrates them. The issue is just this: whose body do YOU have the right to control? Your own. Well, my body is mine and I have the right to control it. Even if some monstrous male rapes and impregnates me. When I am eleven years old. What I do in such a case is not in your power to decide.
If the right to decide when/if pregnancy is to occur belongs to both parents (man and woman in most cases), then the right to terminate a forced pregnancy or one that endangers the life of the mother belongs to the person doing the carrying. Not to the beast who impregnated her.
To think otherwise is to put the welfare of the molester before that of the victim. And if you can concede in this one case, then a total ban on abortion is illogical.
I wish you ONE pregnancy to enlarge your understanding of this most sacred responsibility. I love my children with all my being but were your sperm in my uterus making one more child I assure you I would jump down a flight of stairs rather than bring your offspring to term. You are an offense to your gender and your lack of understanding or compassion for the act of motherhood is revolting. May you be ever childless for you have no compassion.
Purge toxic leadership from the military.
Donald Trump is absolutely correct: The Election Was Rigged. However, he absolutely lied when he said that between 3 and 5 million "illegals" cast votes in the election. The election was "rigged" because of the many states which have passed laws designed to restrict voter access -- primarily aimed at the poor and people of color. The election was "rigged" by the use of "cross-check" which inappropriately removed properly registered voters from the roles [see Greg Palast's most recent book]. The election was possibly "rigged" by the use of voting machines whose software is proprietary and not available for review.
Overt lying by the President for the sole purpose of self-agrandizement, lying which places into question a major hallmark of a democratic society, should be sufficient to label this narcisistic psychopathic con artist as unfit for office.
Nominate an Educator for Secretary of Education
Not a billionaire contributor who has not attended, and whose children have not attended, public schools.
Shut down firing ranges and marksmanship programs affiliated with JROTC programs in the nation's high schools.
Not too sure this is a good idea to go ahead with this project at this time, considering the controversy over it, at the present time, in North Dakota. We have plenty of oil. In fact, we are awash in the stuff at the present time. In order to keep a modicum of peace, put it on the shelf, for now, and maybe consider it some time down the road, if oil is needed.
OMG! The Keystone and DAPL pipelines are the last things we need if the earth is to survive climate change. The fossils need to stay in the ground. Reverse this terrible act immediately!
GMO foods are developed to withstand high doses of toxic pesticides, some of which have been linked to cancer. In order to safeguard the health of Federal workers and to avoid exorbitant health care costs, the President should sign an executive order mandating that all food purchased by the US Government be GMO free.
How high is the atmosphere? I will give it to you, 60 miles, beyond that is considered outer space. You can't breath above 15,000 feet. That's only about 3 miles . There are how many people breathing and making use of available energy sources?
I'm sure you can do even better. Have at it: http://commentstotrump.org
Focus: NAFTA - Jan 24, 2017
Pressured by Trump, Mexico ready to discuss NAFTA rules of origins in U.S. talks - Reuters
VIDEO (Spanish): Las 10 claves de Peña Nieto para negociar con Trump - Univision
RADIO (Spanish): Todo listo para reunión con el equipo de Donald Trump: Guajardo interview - YouTube
Mexico’s potential weapons if Trump declares war on NAFTA - The New York Times
Trudeau braces for Trump NAFTA gambit with oil-patch huddle - Bloomberg
Trump aide reassures Canada on trade talks, isolating Mexico - Bloomberg
Canada not the focus of Trump's NAFTA talk, Canada ambassador says - CBC News
Canada to Mexico on NAFTA: you might be on your own - Reuters
NAFTA: GOP leaders fire warning shot to Trump - CNNPolitics.com
President Trump can levy tariffs without Congress - CNN
----------------------------------------------------
Trump meets labor unions leaders: 'We're going to stop the ridiculous trade deals' - LifeZette
AFL-CIO praises President Trump’s move to withdraw from TPP, renegotiate NAFTA - Breibart
With new NAFTA terms, Trump wants ‘yuge' min.-wage hike in Mexico - IBD
REPORT: NAFTA and the Gender Wage Gap - University of Michigan
How a Trump tariff could sideswipe US auto industry - AP
Reopening NAFTA could revive debate over what makes a car 'American' - Fox Business
Latest data on automobile manufacturing and trade with Mexico - FXS
Trump move on TPP and NAFTA dismays agricultural groups - agrinews-pubs.com
To contact Bartolo email peaceloverblog[at]yahoo[dot]com (replacing [at] with @, [dot] with .)
Talk Nation Radio: Sarah Van Gelder on The Revolution Where You Live
As co-founder and executive director of Yes! Magazine, Sarah van Gelder leads the framing and development of each issue of Yes! and writes a column introducing each issue. Sarah blogs at Yes! and Huffington Post, writes articles and does interviews for Yes! Magazine, and speaks on leading-edge innovations that show that another world is not only possible, it is being created. Her new book is called The Revolution Where You Live: Stories From a 12,000-Mile Journey Through a New America.
Total run time: 29:00
Host: David Swanson.
Producer: David Swanson.
Music by Duke Ellington.
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Tomgram: John Feffer, A Globalism of the 1%
This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To receive TomDispatch in your inbox three times a week, click here.
The War Horror Has Begun
Here we are on Day 5 of the Donald Trump presidency, and he's got "special" forces of the U.S. military in two-thirds of the world's nations. He's engaged in serious occupation and/or bombing campaigns in Iraq, Libya, Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, and Yemen. He just sent malicious robot airplanes armed with missiles to blow to pieces a bunch of vaguely-identified but never indicted "criminals" in Yemen. Their body parts were widely scattered and their loved ones devastated. The injured writhed in agony.
We made it through a presidential campaign in which a debate moderator asked if a candidate would be willing to kill thousands of innocent children, and in which Donald Trump promised to "kill their families" and "steal their oil." And here we are on Trump's very first Terror Tuesday, and he's already in possession of the most expensive and extensive military machine ever seen on earth. His speed is remarkable. Already he has troops in 175 nations (and announcers are thanking them for watching sporting events as if it were all just normal).
A "Terror Tuesday," for those who haven't yet heard, is a day on which a president goes through a list of men, women, and children and picks which ones to have murdered. Don't ask me where this tradition came from. The point is that it now belongs to President Trump, should he choose to make use of it. President Trump, need I remind you, is a Republican.
But various subordinates of the president have been authorized, or perhaps authorized themselves, to order drone murders. Those that occurred yesterday in Yemen were quite likely carried out without any involvement from Donald Trump, other than his responsibility under the Constitution for what his subordinates do.
Trump, in fact, was engaged in bombing the hell out of Mosul, Iraq, and parts of Libya as well, on the very day he was inaugurated, and even before he was inaugurated. He's got 8,000 troops plus mercenaries, contractors, and allied troops adding up to over 40,000 people occupying Afghanistan -- a war that his predecessor had ended. And he had this force in place even before inauguration. He's got a major war underway in Iraq, another war famously ended by the guy who came before him. And this war, too, he started even before showing up in Washington.
Trump even went in person to the CIA on Day 1 and announced that the United States should have somehow stolen all of Iraq's oil and might still do so. This created massive confusion among the journalists and approximately 8 members of the public who heard about it, because of course the U.S. military is in Iraq on the side of the Iraqi people (just don't ask them) and so it would be nonsensical for the U.S. to attack Iraq.
Trump and those around him have also threatened war with China over the South China Sea, although when a journalist tried to get Trump's press secretary to commit to it on Day 4, he declined.
Oddly, much of this new war horror show has passed without notice, as though it were somehow just a continuation of acceptable norms. What has horrified the press corps, however, is the danger that peace might break out in Syria, and further hostilities risking World War III with Russia might be delayed. Liberals are also quite upset that Trump might question claims coming out of the CIA.
So it's not as though the public is completely failing to react to the new horrors of war. One might even go so far as to say that wide swaths of the U.S. public are behaving on the model of a Nobel Peace laureate.
The So-Called Intelligence So-Called Community's Dumb Isolated View of the Future
Thank you to Tom Engelhardt for pointing out that the people who couldn't predict the end of the Soviet Union, the crimes of 9-11, the decency of numerous whistleblowers, the election of Donald Trump, the likelihood that utilities in Vermont would point out that they had not been hacked by Russians, or -- I'm willing to bet -- the timing of rush hour in Northern Virginia, have just predicted the shape of the future of everything. Of course they've gotten it all ridiculously wrong, but they have revealed things about themselves rather than about the world in the process.
Many of us would list climate chaos and nuclear war as the big dangers to avoid. The "community" of U.S. spies lists: "the Arab Spring, the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, and the global rise of populist, anti-establishment politics" as examples of dangers the future holds. These people may be paid billions of dollars by us primarily to keep secrets, but they don't keep their contempt for democracy secret very well.
They do admit to the obvious: "For better and worse, the emerging global landscape is drawing to a close an era of American dominance following the Cold War." But they don't actually mean that this might be for the better. They interpret it as a catastrophic victory for barbarians. Here's their very next sentence: "So, too, perhaps is the rules-based international order that emerged after World War II." Dethroning the United States does not, of course, guarantee anarchy. It could mean more respect for rules than before. But belief in the inevitability of anarchy might help make it more likely as it motivates U.S. behaviors. That's why these "intelligence" people are not just useless but dangerous.
Tomgram: Engelhardt, A Living Nightmare of Intelligence Groupthink
This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To receive TomDispatch in your inbox three times a week, click here.
The Future by Committee
The Collective "Wisdom" of the U.S. Intelligence Community
By Tom Engelhardt
Why Impeach Donald Trump
By David Swanson, FireDonaldTrump.org
What are the grounds for impeachment?
They will likely be piling up rapidly. President Trump did use Day 1 to advise the CIA that the United States should have stolen all of Iraq's oil. But here is a place to start. We already have a president who is violating two clauses in the U.S. Constitution, one forbidding any gifts or benefits from foreign governments, the other forbidding the same from the U.S. government or any U.S. state. This is the result of Donald Trump refusing to separate himself from major business interests as past presidents have done. Those interests will also inevitably involve Trump in violating the STOCK Act which forbids the use of non-public government information to make a private profit.
Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution states: "The President ... shall not receive ... any other emolument from the United States, or any of them." This means that the President cannot receive personal financial gains from the United States government or from the governments of any of the 50 states while he is president. This restriction is absolute and cannot be waived by Congress. Trump is already in violation of it and will be more so with every law, rule, regulation, enforcement, or lack thereof that his subordinates, Congress, or any agency of the federal government enacts to the benefit of Trump's businesses and possessions.
For example, Trump's lease of the Old Post Office Building violates an explicit clause in the General Services Administration lease contract which states: "No ... elected official of the Government of the United States ... shall be admitted to any share or part of this Lease, or to any benefit that may arise therefrom." The GSA's failure to enforce that contract is an unconstitutional benefit to Trump.
Focus: Donald Trump and Trade - Jan 21, 2017
Trump trade strategy starts with quitting Asia pact TPP, renegotiating NAFTA: White House - Reuters
White House website: Trade deals working for all Americans - whitehouse.gov
How Trump's trade advisers are planning to shake up China - forbes.com
Trump team: We don't want a trade war with China, just better deals - cnbc.com
Trump team backs call for crackdown on China over semiconductors - ft.com
China says can resolve trade disputes with new U.S. government - Reuters
U.S.-trained official may shape China’s response to Trump on trade - The New York Times
Asian media decry isolationist Trump, fear economic, diplomatic turmoil - Reuters
North Asia will be hit the hardest from Trump’s trade barriers: Goldman Sachs - cnbc.com
What's at stake for U.S. in a trade war with China - CNN
Apple, GM, Boeing are China's top hostages in a Trump trade war - IBD
Chinese paper says Boeing, US agriculture at risk in Trump trade war - VOA
Trump to receive Mexican president on January 31: White House - AFP
Mexico announces high-level meetings with Trump team - TheHill
Mexico says it is willing to negotiate with Trump, including border wall - BNN
How Trump could change U.S. auto manufacturing, by renegotiating or quitting NAFTA - CBS News
America's original NAFTA negotiator says Trump can improve deal - Chicago Tribune
Merkel vows compromise with U.S. on trade, military spending - Reuters
U.S. under Trump must abide by trade deals: German Finance Minister - Reuters
Boris Johnson warns Donald Trump deal must 'work for UK' - Daily Mail Online
--------------------------------------------------
Davos’ elite fear Trump presidency might usher in end of globalization and free trade - AP
Chinese leader warns against trade wars in dig at Trump at Davos - France 24
'Don't damage trade', emerging market leaders tell Trump from Davos - Reuters
Trump fear and loathing in Davos – POLITICO
Davos elites see an ‘abyss’: The populist surge upending the status quo - The New York Times
Davos elite seeks fixes to defend the system from populists - Bloomberg
Davos elite fret about inequality over vintage wine and canapés - The New York Times
Editorial: An odd moment for Davos - The New York Times
Davos man has no clothes - Foreign Policy
George Soros calls Donald Trump a 'would-be dictator' who 'is going to fail' - cnbc.com
VIDEO: Davos interview with Lawrence Summers on the risks of Trump - Bloomberg
Davos elites are increasingly stressed about robots taking your job - Fortune.com
Society is 'on a collision course' with driverless cars, Davos leaders warned - Daily Mail Online
The Global Risks Report 2017 - World Economic Forum, Davos
To contact Bartolo email peaceloverblog[at]yahoo[dot]com (replacing [at] with @, [dot] with .)
A Big Cahuna of a Lacuna
Obama Admits Gap in Russian ‘Hack’ Case
The hole in the U.S. intelligence community’s “high confidence” about Russia “hacking” Democratic emails has always been who gave the material to WikiLeaks, as President Obama recently admitted.
By Ray McGovern
Time’s running out: As his Last Act in Office, President Obama Should Right a Terrible Wrong and Free Leonard Peltier
By Dave Lindorff
Tomgram: William deBuys, How to Hijack an Election
This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To receive TomDispatch in your inbox three times a week, click here.
Focus: Islamic State - Jan 18, 2017
Note: The Islamic State has launched an offensive against the besieged Syrian government held areas in Deir Ezzor. The situation is very critical with looming mass killings and starvation. Could this be a test of a new U.S.-Russia military cooperation in the fight against terrorism? Deir Ezzor is strategically important: it is a major Islamic State supply route from Syria to Iraq and it is closed to key oilfields.
Fears of mass killings as IS advances in Syria's on government-held areas of Deir Ezzor - AFP
Syrian soldiers battle in last stand against ISIS at Deir Ezzor - Lima Charlie News
High-ranking Syrian general arrives in Deir Ezzor - almasdarnews.com
VIDEO: War reports from Deir ez-Zor - YouTube
PHOTOS: ISIS Attacks Syrian army at power plant near Deir ez-Zor - Heavy.com
U.S. officials say sizable Arab force identified for Raqqa campaign - WSJ
Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces repel aggressive ISIS attack west of Raqqa - Rudaw
Syrian Kurdish PYD to open representative office in Washington - Kurdpress News Aganecy
Syrian Kurds make precondition for talking with Assad government - kurdpress.com
U.S. carries out strikes near Syria's al-Bab after Turkish criticism - Reuters
Russia says teams up with Turkey for first time to bomb ISIS militants in al Bab - Reuters
Islamist Syrian rebel group says it won't attend peace talks in Kazakhstan - Reuters
Pentagon readies more aggressive ISIS proposals for Trump - CNNPolitics.com
Nation’s top general says he has ISIS war options ready for Trump - Foreign Policy
---------------------------------------------
Iraq has retaken east Mosul from Isis, says army general - The Guardian
Iraqi forces preparing to capture west Mosul, say it will be easier - UPI.com
Iraqi forces say IS destroyed historic Tomb of Jonah in Mosul - VOA
VIDEO: The ruined shrine of Prophet Jonah in Mosul - kurdistan24.net
How the U.S. military sees the anti-ISIS fight, A dispatch from Iraq - The Atlantic
Islamic State lost almost a quarter of its territory in 2016, IHS Markit says - Yahoo News
To contact Bartolo email peaceloverblog[at]yahoo[dot]com (replacing [at] with @, [dot] with .)
Focus: Libya - Jan 17, 2017
Russia turns to Libya with show of support for eastern commander Haftar - Reuters
Libyan army commander Haftar signs $2 billion arms deal with Russia despite UN sanctions, according to Libya Express - defenseworld.net
Moscow is preparing to send military experts to train forces loyal to Haftar, according to Radio France International - alaraby.co.uk
VIDEO: Libyan Commander Haftar visits Russian aircraft carrier for anti-terrorism briefing - YouTube
Russia, Egypt pushing for Haftar-Sarraj Libya meeting in Cairo - alaraby.co.uk
Beida (Tobruk) government accuses Italy of violating Libyan sovereignty, 'An Italian military vessel loaded with soldiers and ammunition has entered Libyan territorial waters' - libyaherald.com
LNA rejects Italian offer of humanitarian aid for east until it removes all the troops from Libya - libyaherald.com
British Ambassador to Libya arrives in Tobruk to meet HoR Speaker - Libyan Express
Algeria continues Libya peace efforts with visit of pro-LNA HoR group - libyaherald.com
In interview UN envoy Kobler highlights 2017 decisive for Lybian stability - China.org.cn
'Meeting with Kobler, a waste of time’: Haftar - The North Africa Post
Obama gives Trump renewed Libya emergency powers - libyaherald.com
TSG IntelBrief: The Trump administration and the prospects for Libya - The Soufan Group
Libya turns into an arena for conflict between Russia and the West - Middle East Monitor
---------------------------------------------------------
Libya forces loyal to Haftar retake Benghazi district from jihadists - AFP
Libyan National Army faces snipers and IEDs as its squeezes Ganfouda enclave - libyaherald.com
New LNA air strikes on Derna Islamists after Hafter appoints another new head of operations - libyaherald.com
PHOTOS: Images show the Libyan National Army's fight against jihadists - Daily Mail Online
Erik Prince’s mercenaries bomb Libya flying aircrafts of UAE who supports the Tobruk government - warisboring.com
Nephew of Muslim Brotherhood’s Ali Salabi killed in Benghazi fighting against the Libyan National Army - libyaherald.com
Areas of western Tripoli blocked for the third day as a local militia continues to try to force the release of their commander - libyaherald.com
Libya oil output rebounds to about 700,000 barrels a day with power returning at fields - Bloomberg
Libya ramps up oil production, threatening OPEC plans - WSJ
Amid tensions PC/GNA demands Central Bank of Libya to release agreed 2017 first quarter budget - libyaherald.com
To contact Bartolo email peaceloverblog[at]yahoo[dot]com (replacing [at] with @, [dot] with .)
The house with the built-in backdoor: The Whattsapp Scandal
By Alfredo Lopez
Talk Nation Radio: Antonia Juhasz on Tillerson, Trump, and Oil
https://soundcloud.com/davidcnswanson/talk-nation-radio-antonia-juhasz-on-tillerson-trump-and-oil
Antonia Juhasz is an energy analyst, author, and investigative reporter. She recently wrote a profile of Donald Trump's nominee for Secretary of State Rex Tillerson for In These Times magazine. We discuss Tillerson and the oil spill he floated in on. See also:
http://www.antoniajuhasz.net
Total run time: 29:00
Host: David Swanson.
Producer: David Swanson.
Music by Duke Ellington.
Download from LetsTryDemocracy or Archive.
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Syndicated by Pacifica Network.
Please encourage your local radio stations to carry this program every week!
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Tomgram: Michael Klare, Twenty-First-Century Armageddons
This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To receive TomDispatch in your inbox three times a week, click here.
Obama's Last Chance to Face Down Our Spies
A Demand for Russian ‘Hacking’ Proof
More than 20 U.S. intelligence, military and diplomatic veterans are calling on President Obama to release the evidence backing up allegations that Russia aided the Trump campaign – or admit that the proof is lacking.
MEMORANDUM FOR: President Barack Obama
FROM: Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS)
SUBJECT: A Key Issue That Still Needs to be Resolved
Focus: Russia - Jan 16, 2017
Note: Kudos to Trump for his farsighted peaceful proposal to lift anti-Russian sanctions in exchange for nuclear arms reductions. Another common ground for cooperation could be the Arctic region.
Kremlin says judgement on Trump’s remarks about sanctions only possible after inauguration - TASS
Hollande on Trump's NATO remarks: Europe needs no policy advice from abroad - Sputnik
Merkel to Trump: Europe's destiny is ‘in our own hands' - VOA
Inside Ike Eisenhower’s farewell warning: The military industrial complex - The Daily Beast
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Hundreds of U.S. Marines land in Norway, irking Russia - Reuters
US Marine force in Norway to eye Arctic and beyond - Stripes
Russia, Norway to sign final pact on disputed Arctic shelf exploration in April - Sputnik
Russia's nuclear-powered ice-breaker in the race to control the Arctic - Daily Mail Online
Russia deploys Arctic radar array on Wrangel Island - RT News
Russian Arctic ports have best year ever - The Independent Barents Observer
Siberian scientists to study Arctic 'anchor points' for development of Northern Sea Route - TASS
REPORT: Russia’s Arctic Obsession - Financial Times
US Navy Arctic drones: Ice melting too fast as competition with Russia intensifies - Scout
International cooperation robust in the Arctic - Global Trade Magazine
To contact Bartolo email peaceloverblog[at]yahoo[dot]com (replacing [at] with @, [dot] with .)
A Peace Agenda for the New Administration
The looming advent of the Trump administration in Washington threatens to worsen an already deeply troubling international situation. Bitter wars are raging, tens of millions of refugees have taken flight, relations among the great powers are deteriorating, and a new nuclear arms race is underway. Resources that could be used to fight unemployment, poverty, and climate change are being lavished on the military might of nations around the world―$1.7 trillion in 2015 alone. The United States accounts for 36 percent of that global total.
Given this grim reality, let us consider an alternative agenda for the new administration―an agenda for peace.
Focus: The Trump Dossier - Jan 13, 2017
Note: Why the intelligence community included a two page summary of the ‘Trump dossier’ in the presidential and congressional briefing? The Trump dossier is unsubstantiated, contains falsities, outlandish claims, inaccuracies and typos. Veteran intelligence officials call it a complete fraud which 'violated basic standards for intelligence reporting.’ A disinformation analyst at the US Navy’s call it a forgery. Media critics call it dodgy. In a statement intelligence chief James Clapper wrote that ‘the IC has not made any judgment that the information in this document is reliable, and we did not rely upon it in any way for our conclusions. However, part of our obligation is to ensure that policymakers are provided with the fullest possible picture of any matters that might affect national security.’ Does this pile of garbage really affect national security? The Telegraph reports that the alleged author of the Trump dossier Christopher Steele had contact with the FBI in July 2017 to discuss the content of it. The intelligence agencies had ample time to verify the veracity of the dossier, make an analysis and reach final conclusions. Why they did not make an investigation if they felt that the dossier was worth of it. By enclosing the summary of the dossier in the presidential briefing the intelligence community publicized it and validated it even if they had not reached any judgement about it. The New York Times states that 'putting the summary in a report that went to multiple people in Congress and the executive branch made it very likely that it would be leaked.’ Below are analyses of the Trump dossier published in the media.
Intel vets say Trump ‘dossier' is a ‘complete fraud' - The Daily Caller
‘Forgery!’ Donald Trump spy file is ‘bogus,’ security expert claims - radaronline.com
Spy fiction or malware? A closer look at a ‘dodgy’ Russia dossier on Trump – World Tribune
VIDEO: Former UK Security Minister raises doubts over Trump dossier - Daily Mail Online
UK spy ‘gathered' Trump intel without going to Russia - The Daily Caller
Theresa May says Trump dossier author has not worked for Britain for years - Reuters
Chris Steele’s friends describe a 007 figure but MI6 call him ‘an idiot’ - Support
Spy agencies around the world are digging into Trump’s Moscow ties - BuzzFeed News
REPORT: Full text of the Trump dossier - BuzzFeed News
To contact Bartolo email peaceloverblog[at]yahoo[dot]com (replacing [at] with @, [dot] with .)
Tomgram: Rajan Menon, The Iranian Connection in the Age of Trump
This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To receive TomDispatch in your inbox three times a week, click here.
[Note for TomDispatch Readers: There will be no post for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The next TD post will be Tuesday, January 17th. Tom]
Imagine the Confirmation Hearing for Secretary of Peace
The idea has been floated and endlessly reintroduced in legislation since the founding of the United States of creating a Department of Peace. These efforts even resulted in 1986 in the creation of the USI”P” — the U.S. Institute of “Peace” which this week held events with Lindsey Graham, Tom Cotton, Madeleine Albright, Chuck Hagel, William Perry, Stephen Hadley, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Susan Rice, John Kerry, and Michael Flynn, and which in 2015 rejected proposals from the peace movement to have anything to do with advocating for peace. So the push to create a Department of Peace rolls on, generally ignoring the existence of the USI”P.”
I try to imagine what a senate confirmation hearing would look like for a nominee for Secretary of Peace. I picture the nominee being rolled in by his attendants and the questioning beginning something like this:
