US Policy

FOIA fail: ‘Most transparent ever’ Obama administration spent $36mn to hide records in 2016
The Obama administration granted less than a quarter of public requests for government files in its last year in office and spent $36.2 million on legal battles to keep its files secret, according to a new transparency report compiled for “Sunshine Week.” [...]
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Michael Hayden Admits US is Dictatorship
Speaking at Washington & Lee University, Michael Hayden admitted he didn't care about the Constitution, the Patriot Act or any other law... ------------------------------------------ ...he had a "direct order from the President". FLASHBACK from Feb 2015 Michael Hayden Admits US is Dictatorship /* */ [...]
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The Democrats’ Dangerous Diversion
The Democrats won’t admit that they lost to Donald Trump because they ran a deeply flawed, corporate-oriented candidate, so they blame Russia instead, a very dangerous diversion, says Nicolas J S Davies. The current debate over “fake news” has reminded me of a conversation I had several years ago with a former citizen of East Germany, now living in the United States. He explained that, [...]
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Trump’s War on Dangerous Memory and Critical Thought
People living in the United States have entered into one of the most dangerous periods of the 21st century. Donald Trump, the president, is not only a twisted caricature of every variation of economic, political, educational, and social fundamentalism, he is the apogee of an increasingly intolerant and authoritarian culture committed to destroying free speech, civil rights, women’s reproductive [...]
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US’ ‘New Role’ in Syria ‘Reflects the Limits of Its Capacity’
On Monday, a Pentagon spokesman, Navy Capt. Jeff Davis announced that the US military has "carved out a new role in Syria" with small numbers of troops positioned not with an offensive or defensive role, but to "reassure and deter." Commenting on the announcement, Russian media suggested that it just "reflects the limits of the US capacity." [...]
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☻Texas Lawmaker Wants Men Fined $100 for Masturbating ☻
A Democratic Texas State Representative filed a bill on Friday seeking to fine men $100 for masturbating, in a protest of current state abortion laws. Democratic Representative Jessica Farrar, the author of House Bill 4260, or the “Man’s Right To Know Act,” includes "proposed satirical regulations" on men masturbating, seeking a prescription for Viagra, and for vasectomies. [...]
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Trump Gives CIA Power to Use Drones to Bomb Suspected Terrorists
On Monday, US President Donald Trump gave the CIA the green light to conduct drone strikes against suspected militants, according to the Wall Street Journal. This new authority is a shift from a policy under former President Barack Obama that limited the CIA’s ability to engage in paramilitary activity, and may very well strain relations between the agency and the Pentagon.   [...]
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Sanders blasts GOP healthcare act’s ‘disgraceful’ tax breaks for the wealthy
The Republican plan to overhaul the US healthcare system is “far worse” than Obamacare, according to Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders, and represents a disgraceful effort to “give massive tax breaks” to the wealthy. Last week, the Republican Party released new healthcare legislation aimed at dismantling the “skyrocketing costs” of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), signed into law by B [...]
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Washington ‘Risks Getting Drawn Into Yet Another Ground War in Middle East’
Washington has boosted its military presence in Syria to ostensibly help local forces fight against Daesh, but former US diplomat and Senate adviser James Jatras told Radio Sputnik that the Pentagon's latest deployment could see the United States get bogged down in Syria. "Frankly, I don't like it. I don't think it's a good idea. As much as anybody else I would like to see Daesh and other te [...]
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‘US Republicans & Democrats both addicted to war and militarism’
When the global military empire takes money from programs that poor people depend on and gives it to rich military contractors - it is a theft and looting of the national budget, says Brian Becker, the National Coordinator of the ANSWER Coalition. [...]
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China urges US to stop hacking other countries following Vault 7 release
Beijing has called on the US to stop its hacking practices against China and other countries, following a WikiLeaks release which reportedly exposes the CIA’s extensive hacking capabilities and lists Chinese routers as targets. [...]
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Germany tells Iran it will push US to ‘dismantle sanctions’
German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel has promised to press Washington loosen its economic restrictions on Iran, as it promised to do as part of last year’s nuclear deal. During a public speech during a landmark two-day economic cooperation visit to Tehran, Gabriel said Germany intends to "remind the United States of the commitment to get to an effective dismantling of sanctions." [...]
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Challenging Klobuchar on Ukraine War
As Democrats compete to become the new War Party – pushing for a dangerous confrontation with nuclear-armed Russia – some constituents are objecting, as Mike Madden did in a letter to Sen. Amy Klobuchar. Dear Senator Klobuchar, I write with concern over statements you have made recently regarding Russia. These statements have been made both at home and abroad, and they involve two issues; t [...]
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Trump’s ISIS Plan: Another US Invasion? » Alex Jones’ Infowars: There’s a war on for your mind!
Solving the ISIS problem must involve a whole lot less US activity in the Middle East, not a whole lot more. Just over a week into the Trump Administration, the President issued an Executive Order giving Defense Secretary James Mattis 30 days to come up with a plan to defeat ISIS. [...]
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Trump’s Truth Bomb: “You Think We’re So Innocent?”
“Putin’s a killer.” This was the claim made by Fox News ‘journalist’ Bill O’Reilly during his recent interview with Donald Trump. Trump’s reply came in the form of a simple question. “What, you think our country’s so innocent?” It was a reply that succeeded in puncturing the bubble of exceptionalism in which Mr O’Reilly and those like him have long chosen to cocoon themselves [...]
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Trump’s ‘Mixed Signals’ on Crimea Have EU Stumped and Intrigued
US President Trump has yet to articulate his foreign strategy, Russian political analyst Alexei Martynov said, commenting on the White House's "mixed signals" on Crimea. Apparently therefore new UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's statement on the peninsula's status was rather ambiguous. [...]
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Russia won’t be talked to ‘from position of strength’ – Moscow on US statement
Russia will not be talked to from a position of strength, only as an equal partner, the Russian defense minister said, commenting on the latest remark by his US counterpart. It comes as senior military commanders of the two nations are about to meet. [...]
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Ex-Pentagon Chief Says Alleged Trump’s Comments on New START With Russia ‘Wrong’
The White House will make 'a tragic mistake' if it rejects Russia's reported offer to extend the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), former US Secretary of Defense William Perry said in an interview on Friday.   [...]
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Trump’s Foreign Policy at a Crossroads
Recent U.S. foreign policy – driven by neocons and liberal hawks – has spread chaos and death around the globe. But can “crazy” Donald Trump bring sanity to how the U.S. approaches the world, asks Robert Parry. If you wanted to bring sanity to a U.S. foreign policy that has spun crazily out of control, there would be some immediate steps that you – or, say, Secretary of State Rex Till [...]
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