Monthly Archives: March 2019

US Blamed Venezuelan President for Burning AID Trucks. Wrong.

“They tried a false flag operation, that supposedly the people of Venezuela had burned a truck carrying rotten food — no, no, no — it was they themselves”

By Common Dreams. Published 3-10-2019

Aid trucks burn on Venezuelan-Colombia border, February 23, 2019. Media around the world got it wrong. The Panama Post headline: “Police forces loyal to Maduro burnt trucks with humanitarian aid; The dictatorship’s repressive authorities allowed three trucks of humanitarian aid to cross the border, only to set them on fire once they were over the bridge.” (Twitter)

On February 23, a caravan of large cargo trucks was crossing a bridge from Colombia into Venezuela delivering food and other aid when they dramatically went up in flames. US officials seized upon the event as evidence of a “sick tyrant” stopping food from getting to hungry people:

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted: Continue reading

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GOING BACKWARDS: Trump To Slash Renewables Funding in New Budget

Trump Escalates War On Renewable Energy, Slashes DOE Budget By 70%

By Common Dreams. Published 3-9-2019

Trump Escalates War On Renewables, Slashes DOE Budget By 70% (Photo: Energy Watch Group/Lappeenranta University of Technology)

A senior Trump administration official has told Bloomberg News that the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy would see its $2.3 billion budget slashed by about 70 percent, to $700 million, under President Donald Trump’s fiscal 2020 budget request, which will be released on Monday.

Trump, who rejects the overwhelming scientific consensus regarding the climate crisis, has repeatedly vowed to zero out federal spending on clean energy research and development (R&D). Trump proposed similarly dramatic cuts to EERE’s budget in both his fiscal year 2018 and fiscal year 2019 proposals. Continue reading

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Trump to Divert Up to $385 Million From Crucial Health Programs To Pay for ‘Government-Sanctioned Child Abuse’

Added to what was taken last year, say critics, that’s “almost $1 billion in HHS funds diverted from real public health emergencies to sink into manufactured ones.”

By Julia Conley, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 3-8-2019

The Health and Human Services Department is diverting funds from HIV and cancer prevention programs and other health programs to pay to detain thousands of unaccompanied minors who cross the U.S-Mexico border. Photo: Pride Immigration

Alzheimer’s patients, lower-income preschool children, and HIV and cancer patients are among the Americans whose needs may go unmet so that the Trump administration can afford to detain thousands of migrant children.

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar told Congress this week that he plans to divert $385 million from numerous healthcare programs to pay for detention centers across the country where more than 15,000 young undocumented immigrants are currently being held. Continue reading

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As Second Judge Rejects Census Citizenship Question, Trump’s Backup Plan to Count Non-Citizens Exposed

“The administration’s determination to weaponize the Census Bureau is really something.”

By Julia Conley, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 3-7-2019

U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross violated the law when he attempted to add a citizenship question to the U.S. Census, a federal judge found Wednesday. (Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr/cc)

In the wake of the second legal defeat of President Donald Trump’s plan to count all non-citizens in the 2020 census, new reporting reveals the Census Bureau has been secretly working with Homeland Security officials to develop a new method of sharing immigration status data in order to identify individuals and target communities nationwide.

As the Associated Press reported Thursday, the Census Bureau has been working with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for weeks to obtain information about the legal status of millions of immigrants. Continue reading

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Mitch ‘Nuclear Option’ McConnell Poised to Turn Steady Stream of Trump’s Right-Wing Judges Into a Flood

Critics warn that even if Democrats regain control of White House and Senate, the flood of judges could mean there will be no more vacancies to fill post-2020

By Jessica Corbett, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 3-6-2019

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is reportedly planning to change the chamber’s rules to make it easier to confirm right-wing judicial nominees to lifetime appointments. (Photo: Gage Skidmore/cc/flickr)

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is reportedly pursuing a “nuclear option” rule change to make it easier to push through a flood of President Donald Trump’s right-wing judges.

Under the new rules, nominees for lifetime appointments on lower courts would only require a simple majority of votes rather than the current 67. Critics condemned the move as “hijacking” the federal judiciary and pointed out that even if Democrats regain control of the Senate and White House in the next election, they may not have any more spots to fill post-2020. Continue reading

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Report Exposes ‘Devastating’ Economic, Public Health, and Environmental Impacts of Trump’s Industry Giveaways

Analysis backs up lawsuits filed by state attorneys general against the administration’s repeals of regulations that target polluting industries

By Jessica Corbett, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 3-5-2019

 

The Camp and Woolsey fires in California cost at least $9-13 billion in damage, according to a Christian Aid report . (Photo: U.S. Forest Service)

A new study out Tuesday backs up a series of legal challenges launched by Democratic state attorneys general alarmed by President Donald Trump’s deregulatory rollbacks designed to benefit polluting industries at the expense of public health, the environment, and the economy.

Climate & Health Showdown in the Courts: State Attorneys General Prepare to Fight (pdf) was published by the State Energy & Environmental Impact Center at the NYU School of Law, which provides support to state attorneys general working to defend and promote clean energy, climate, and environmental policies. Continue reading

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In Latest Assault on Palestinian Rights, US Shutters Jerusalem Consulate

Critics say so-called merger “is nothing more than a smokescreen trying to camouflage what is essentially an opening of American embassy in Jerusalem”

By Andrea Germanos, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 3-4-2019

U.S. Ambassador David Friedman spoke on July 25, 2017 at a special meeting in the Knesset, organized by the Knesset Caucus for U.S. (Photo: Matty Stern/U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv/flickr/cc)

The U.S. officially closed its consulate general in Jerusalem, which had served as the de facto diplomatic mission for Palestinians.

While the State Department framed the move as a “merger” with its embassy in the city, critics say it’s another setback for peace that puts Israeli interests over Palestinian rights. Continue reading

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In Step Toward Ending Dark-Money Elections, Court to Review Case That Created Super PACs

“We need to put ‘We the People’ back in charge, and that starts by closing the gaping super PAC loophole that has allowed dark money to overwhelm our elections.”

By Jake Johnson, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 3-1-2019

“Super PACs weren’t created by Congress, or the U.S. Supreme Court—they were created by a lower court decision, based on faulty assumptions, that has never been reviewed or revisited,” said Ron Fein, legal director of Free Speech For People. Photo: Massachusetts Cop Block/flickr

In what could be a pivotal ruling, a district court decision on Thursday has set the stage for a review of the case that spawned the recent era of lavish and secretive spending by big-money super PACs in local and national campaigns.

In response, proponents of campaign finance reform expressed confidence that they are one step closer to getting a major source of corporate dark money out of U.S. elections. Continue reading

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Hodeida Residents Brace for the Worst as UN Truce Falters Amid Saudi Military Buildup

Local residents and analysts alike fear the Saudi-led Coalition is using the relative calm derived from the new agreement as cover to fulfill its military objectives and not as a stepping stone towards peace.

By hmed Abdulkareem Published 3-1-2019 by MintPress News

Air strike in Sana’a – 2015. Photo: Ibrahem Qasim [CC BY-SA 4.0]

HODEIDA, YEMEN — Hundreds of residents from across Yemen’s Red Sea port city of Hodeida took to the streets for the third straight day, calling on the United Nations to take action to implement a troop withdrawal deal between the Houthis and the Saudi-led Coalition that was reached on February 19th. Residents waved Yemeni flags, Kalashnikovs, and banners emblazoned with slogans accusing Saudi Arabia and its coalition allies of undermining the agreement and prolonging the suffering of Yemeni children.

Last week, representatives from Yemen’s Houthis and the Coalition agreed to redeploy their militaries to areas outside of Hodeida under a UN-sponsored deal. However, “Phase 1” of the withdrawal plan has yet to progress, as the implementation of the troop withdrawal has yet to take effect. The Houthis accuse the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of obstructing the implementation of the agreement, as indications arise that a return to violence in the flashpoint port city is imminent. Continue reading

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If family separation bothers you at the border, look what’s happening in MN.

By Valley Allies. Published 2-27-2019

 

When people look at racial disparities in MN, they often hear about systemic racism – the systems, structures and policies that have lead us to where we are now – one of the worst places to live for African Americans.

To understand the systems in place that created and create such powerful momentum to grind down African American life in MN, you can look at the criminal justice system, you can look at the covenant system (which basically enacted Jim Crowism in the North, including in MN), you can look at lending practices, medical practices, education and much more. Continue reading

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