Above Photo: A person wears a face mask as they walk past the University Bookstore at the California State University Long Beach (CSULB) campus on August 11, 2021, in Long Beach, California. Patrick T. Fallon/ AFP Via Getty Images. The current crisis in higher education leadership is on full display at California State University (CSU) — the nation’s largest four-year public university system. Take the case of former CSU Chancellor Joseph Castro. Castro’s problems began with an underling — Fresno State’s Vice President of Student Affairs Frank Lamas — who was the subject of ongoing sexual harassment complaints and investigations. In […]
Democracy
48 posts
Building A More Powerful People’s Movement For Economic Democracy Will Require The Spread Of A More Expansive View Of Democracy. One That Moves Past Individual Rights And Into The Realm Of Shared Responsibilities. As economists and policymakers are seeking to explain the “Great Resignation” sweeping the labor market, the traditional wage and hour issues became less important to employees than in the recent past, according to a recent report. A big takeaway from the data is that organizing people as workers is not enough. Economic democracy in the twenty-first century cannot be achieved solely within a framework focused exclusively on worksites. Rather we must explore a more […]
The use of the word democracy in this country is farcical. It is meant to hide that an oligarchy is in power. A poll taken in December 2021 reflecting that a majority of “Americans” now “believe that democracy in the United State is in danger of disappearing” accommodates the bipartisan erasure of those colonized by US settler colonialism. Several US news outlets have reported that the Schoen Cooperman Research poll on “U.S. Perceptions of Government” reflects the opinions and concerns of “Americans” at large. The poll reflects that 51-percent of respondents agree with the statement that democracy in the US is at risk […]
Above Photo: Hand flips a dice and changes the word “Socialism” to “Capitalism”, or vice versa. (Fokusiert / Getty Images). Staying True To The Theme Of Democracy, This Article Is An Amended Speech That Analyzes The Differences Between Capitalist Vs. Socialist Democracies And Advocates A Defense Of The Latter. The United States hosted a “Summit for Democracy” on December 9th and 10th in an obvious attempt to legitimize its unipolar and hegemonic claim of leadership over the so-called “rules-based international order.” While on the surface this appeared to be an unproductive move on the part of the world hegemon, it aligned […]
Above Photo: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Dec. 8 during Summit for Democracy. (State Department, Freddie Everett) U.S. tensions with China enter truly dangerous territory when they move into the arena of values, writes Branko Milanovic. Washington is trying to divide the world. More than 100 nations’ presidents, prime ministers, and kings met virtually at the Summit for Democracy on Dec. 9 and 10. It was the first meeting in history on this scale where the application — or ostensible application — of the democratic principle in the governance of national affairs was used as a criterion to invite participants to an international meeting. There […]
Above photo: Auto worker activists for direct democracy leafleted at plants across the country to promote a yes vote on the referendum. UAWD. This article was originally published on December 1, but is being updated as results come in. The members of the United Auto Workers have voted overwhelmingly to move to a direct voting system for choosing their union leadership—“one member, one vote.” With all votes counted as of December 2, direct elections had the support of 63.6 percent of voters. It’s a historic win for reformers in one of the nation’s most important unions, where members have pushed for […]
Above Photo: U.S. President Joe Biden speaks to representatives of more than 100 countries during a virtual democracy summit at the White House in Washington DC on December 9, 2021. Nicholas Kamm / AFP. A Litmus Test For Democracy? The so-called “Summit for Democracy” should first agree on a definition of what democracy means. Whereas etymologically we know that the definition of democracy means rule by the people, instinctively we feel that people power must be more than a slogan, that it must be concretized by genuine public participation in the conduct of public affairs. There are, of course, many manifestations […]
Above Photo: President Joe Biden listens as he meets virtually with Chinese President Xi Jinping from the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Nov. 15, 2021. (Susan Walsh / AP) In Every One Of The Countries The United States Has Intervened In Over The Past Decades, Anti-Democratic Means Are Almost Always Used Towards Anti-Democratic Ends, All In The Name Of Promoting Democracy. This week, the United States is convening a virtual “Summit for Democracy,” the first of its kind in what the State Department hopes to make an annual event. “The summit will focus on challenges and opportunities facing […]
Following Xiomara Castro’s victory in the Honduran elections, Bertha Zúniga Cáceres, Coordinator, COPINH, spoke to Peoples Dispatch about what this means for people’s movements in the country. She talks about the government’s plans in its first 100 days, what movements like COPINH think are the next steps for rebuilding democracy, and more. Source link
Above Photo: President Daniel Ortega shown dancing with musicians and supporters at the first public event after his and Vice President, Rosario Murillo’s reelection on November 8. Lauren Smith. Domestically and Abroad. Despite Washington’s best effort to derail Nicaragua’s electoral process through hybrid warfare, strong voter turnout resulted in a decisive victory by the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), and the reelection of President Daniel Ortega with 75.92% of the votes cast. Nicaragua’s non-partisan, independent Supreme Electoral Council (CSE) reported on Monday, November 8th that 65.23% of 4.4 million eligible voters (16 years and older) participated in Sunday’s election. Supporters attribute the FSLN’s […]
The exclusion of certain countries from the U.S. “democracy summit” is not a side issue. It is the very purpose of the summit. And excluded countries have not been excluded for failing to meet the standards of behavior of those that were invited or the one doing the inviting. Invitees didn’t even have to be countries, as even a U.S. backed failed coup leader from Venezuela has been invited. So have representatives of Israel, Iraq, Pakistan, DRC, Zambia, Angola, Malaysia, Kenya, and — critically — pawns in the game: Taiwan and Ukraine. What game? The weapons sales game. Which is the […]
Above photo: From Twitter, Evo Morales. Bolivia – On Monday, November 29, the massive “March for the Country” led by social movements and indigenous peoples will culminate in the capital, La Paz, for a large rally in defense of democracy. Just over a year ago, the Bolivian people overthrew a violent US-backed coup regime at the ballot box with the election of President Luis Arce. The Bolivian people have continued to fight off attempts by the US government to undermine their restored government. To raise awareness of the attack on democracy and to show the great support for the current government […]
Above Photo: Nicaraguans leave the election polling station with inked thumbs, showing they have voted. Roger D. Harris. On the fight down to Nicaragua a few days ago to be one of 225 international official election accompaniers from 27 countries, the expat Nicaraguan woman sitting next to me was hostile to the current Sandinista government. She said there will be an election but no vote, because only one person is on the ballot. At the polling station in the colonial city of Leon this election morning, November 7, candidates from six political parties standing for president were in fact on the ballot: […]
Above Photo: Juan Guaidó stands with former President Donald Trump at the White House. (Evan Vucci via Creative Commons) As Venezuelans head to the polls this November, it’s clear that the United States’ strategy of supporting the unpopular, far-right leader Juan Guaidó has backfired tremendously. Last year, then Special Representative Elliott Abrams declared that the Trump Administration was “working hard” to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Now Abrams (currently a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations), together with the Biden Administration, is urging the Venezuelan opposition to participate in the upcoming state and local elections this November. Washington’s recent backpedaling, however, does not mean […]
From grassroots to lawmaker. The notion of Chinese democracy is not the same as that in the West. The political system in China is more about consensus building within a greater voice rather than the protracted bargaining to arrive at decisions common in the West. The country’s application of democratic principles follows an approach Chinese President Xi Jinping has termed “whole-process people’s democracy.” The concept was put forward about two years ago, during Xi’s visit to a civic center in Shanghai. Based on people’s congress system, the “whole-process people’s democracy” enables the Chinese people to broadly and continuously participate in the […]
Students at Howard University have historically been in the forefront of movement struggles. Now they are protesting tuition hikes, student loan debt, a lack of accountability, and all the hallmarks of the neo-liberal university. On late Tuesday, Oct. 12, Howard University students began staging a sit-in demonstration at the Blackburn building in front of the historic Yard. Students brought sleeping bags and food and began demonstrating and making demands that the university protect their health on campus. In the past month, as students returned to the school after more than a year under COVID conditions, a Twitter video went viral showing a puddle […]
Above Photo: Nathaniel St. Clair Democracy exists if and when a community organizes its self-governance around the full participation, on an equal basis, of all the members of the community. Its other, autocracy, exists when a community organizes (or allows) its governance by an individual or subgroup of that community, a ruler. Universal suffrage is clearly a step toward at least formal democracy because voters elect leaders. How real this formal democracy is depends on the inclusivity of the population voting and the concrete reality of voters’ equal influence on the election’s outcome. Residential communities in many parts of the modern […]
‘We Will Defend Democracy In Ecuador’ By Progressive International. November 30, 2020 ‘We Will Defend Democracy In Ecuador’2020-11-302020-11-30https://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2017/12/popres-shorter.pngPopularResistance.Orghttps://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/11/ecuador.png200px200px Above photo: Pedro Szekely. The Progressive International expresses grave concern for free and fair elections in Ecuador. We, members of the Progressive International, witness with great concern the deterioration of democracy in Latin America. In countries like Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia, and Chile, popular movements have risen to express their discontent and demand a new economic model — only to be met with street violence, government repression, and coup d’etats. In Ecuador, the rise of authoritarianism can be seen in the actions against the […]
‘The Envy of the World’: Still No Functioning Democracy Here By Paul Street, Counterpunch. November 12, 2020 ‘The Envy of the World’: Still No Functioning Democracy Here2020-11-122020-11-12https://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2017/12/popres-shorter.pngPopularResistance.Orghttps://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/11/street-e1605218867866.jpg200px200px Above photo: Derek Simeone – CC BY 2.0. Those who own the country ought to govern it. – John Jay You have owners. – George Carlin Nobody Said Biden’s Name I walked up to Chicago’s Trump Tower down the middle of Michigan Avenue last Saturday night. Within four blocks of the hated structure, both sides of the street were jammed with cars full of young LatinX, Black, and white folks honking their horns, hanging out […]
The Supreme Court retains a strong but largely undeserved reputation as a protector of the liberties guaranteed by the Constitution. In fact, there is a long history of right-wing Supreme Court majorities serving as dead hands to enforce reactionary policies favored by political minorities who have lost electoral power, or even wars. Most notoriously, a right-wing court favored the South’s radical, pro-slavery positions before the Civil War and, after that war, played a critical role in nullifying Reconstruction and instituting Jim Crow; the so-called Lochner court devoted years to voiding federal and state health and safety regulations and other progressive laws, […]
How Ecuador’s Democracy Is Being Suffocated By Vijay Prashad and Pilar Troya, Counterpunch. October 1, 2020 How Ecuador’s Democracy Is Being Suffocated2020-10-012020-10-01https://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2017/12/popres-shorter.pngPopularResistance.Orghttps://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/10/ecuador1.png200px200px Above image: Coat of arms of Ecuador. A recent poll showed that if Andrés Arauz Galarza were allowed to run in Ecuador’s presidential election of 2021, he would win in the first round with 45.9 percent of the vote. The pollsters found that Arauz—who was the minister of knowledge and human talent from 2015 to 2017—wins across “all the social strata and regions of the country, with a slight weakness among the richest voters in the country.” Andrés Arauz entered policymaking and […]
The Battle For Democracy In Ecuador By Guillaume Long, Open Democracy. September 30, 2020 The Battle For Democracy In Ecuador2020-09-302020-09-30https://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2017/12/popres-shorter.pngPopularResistance.Orghttps://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/09/ecuador-1-e1601491477671.jpg200px200px Above photo: The outgoing President, Rafael Correa, right, received in the the Palace of Carondelet the president-elect Lenin Moreno for the official act of transition between the two governments in April 2017. Quito, Ecuador. Gabriela Mena / ACG/SIPA USA/PA Images. Political trials and electoral bans. Amidst political trials and electoral bans, Moreno’s assault on democracy is past the point of no return. Ecuadorian President Lenín Moreno and his allies have gone to great lengths to prevent former president Rafael Correa and his […]
Venezuela: Democracy Versus Blockade By Ángel Guerra Cabrera, Resumen English. September 29, 2020 Venezuela: Democracy Versus Blockade2020-09-292020-09-29https://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2017/12/popres-shorter.pngPopularResistance.Orghttps://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/09/vzelection-e1601392593267.jpg200px200px Above photo: Bill Hackwell. On December 6 there will be elections in Venezuela to elect all the deputies to the National Assembly (NA), an event of extraordinary political transcendence. But before going into that subject I will mention the elections that will be held in several Latin American countries in the coming months, all of them are very important in the dispute for our America between the right-wing and the popular forces. On October 18, general elections in Bolivia, where Evo Morales’ MAS is the favorite […]
President Donald Trump isn’t a threat to American democracy on a metaphorical level. He’s a threat to the country’s entire political structure, literally, according to two academics who have studied American democracy throughout history and wrote a whole book on the topic. Dr. Robert C. Lieberman, Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University and co-author of Four Threats: The Recurring Crises of American Democracy, joined Rick Wilson and Molly Jong-Fast on this episode of The New Abnormal to share which of the “four pillars” that help sustain democracy Trump has completely bulldozed over (hint: all of them.) According to Dr. […]
Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast On the one hand, Donald Trump isn’t saying anything he didn’t say in 2016—I’ll respect the results if I win, and so on. On the other, though, there is one thing that’s very different: He’s president now. He wasn’t then. And when a sitting president refuses to commit to the peaceful transfer of power, that’s a flag that’s as red as red gets (and he gets a kick out of it, as the Beast reported). But this column isn’t aimed at Trump. It’s aimed at everyone else, especially this country’s elites, from politics to the […]
The poisoning incidents in Salisbury, England in 2018 with an unusual organophosphate compound designated A-234 gave rise to wide coverage of the story that a novel class of nerve agents named “Novichoks” had been discovered in the Soviet Union in the 1980s and that development of these agents as weapons had continued in Russia in violation of bilateral agreements with the US signed in 1989 and 1990. This story, originating with the dissident Russian chemist Vil Mirzayanov, has been accepted by many scientists and officials involved with chemical arms control. Russian officials however have denied that any studies under the name […]
Joe Biden didn’t mince words as Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump abuse and corrupt the Constitution in their rush to fill Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat on the Supreme Court. “The infection this president has unleashed on our democracy can be fatal. Enough. Enough. Enough.” He has since added that expanding the Court is a legitimate question. Biden sees McConnell’s desire for total unitary executive, judiciary and legislative control for what it is: A tyranny of extremism. Source link
Remembering Kevin Zeese, Tireless Fighter For Our Democracy By Chip Gibbons, Rightsanddissent.org. September 9, 2020 Remembering Kevin Zeese, Tireless Fighter For Our Democracy2020-09-092020-09-09https://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2017/12/popres-shorter.pngPopularResistance.Orghttps://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/09/kzbbp-e1599685148211.jpg200px200px Above photo: Kevin Zeese speaks at an event at Busboys and Poets in Washington, DC. By Ellen Davidson. Defending Rights & Dissent was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Kevin Zeese over the weekend. Over his life, he was on the frontlines of many causes–whistleblower protections, election integrity, single payer healthcare, net neutrality, reforming our criminal justice system, environmental justice, and peace. He was the press secretary for Ralph Nader’s 2004 presidential campaign and in 2006 ran for […]
The Wall Street Journal had reported in August that a senior executive of Facebook in India had intervened in the platform’s internal content review process to stop a ban on a legislator from the national ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who had made religiously intolerant posts. Facebook, however, has denied the allegation. Reiterating that the international media had uncovered a brazen attack on India’s democracy and social harmony by Facebook and WhatsApp, Rahul Gandhi of India’s main opposition party Congress has sought a probe into these attempts. Gandhi, a parliamentarian and former head of the Congress party, who has been taking […]
Top German politicians have been venting their fury after Saturday’s massive anti-lockdown rally in Berlin ended with the surreal scenes of protesters trying to storm the Reichstag building – the seat of the national parliament. Many were baffled after footage showed one of the groups of protesters rallying against anti-coronavirus restrictions in the German capital breaking through police cordons with flags and banners and literally trying to take Reichstag by storm. Politicians all across the political spectrum have been left furious at the security lapse, but most of all at the Covid-sceptic protesters. President Frank-Walter Steinmeier slammed the incident as an “intolerable attack on […]
Donald Trump’s acceptance speech Thursday night, a deranged Fidel Castro parody of maniacal gaslighting proportions, could not be mistaken for an American president’s. In his bizarro unreality, 180,000 dead and rising is public health. Divisive hate mongering is law and order. Historic unemployment and inequity is strength. Police brutality is a race war. Protests for civil rights are anarchy. Still he attempted to inject himself into the American tapestry of Lincoln, Jackson, and even Roosevelt, of course making zero correlation between their actions and his own in office. That’s because Trump has employed the only strategy he knows: Fake it til […]
For Democracy And Transparency In The Plurinational State Of Bolivia By Progressive International. August 27, 2020 For Democracy And Transparency In The Plurinational State Of Bolivia2020-08-272020-08-27https://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2017/12/popres-shorter.pngPopularResistance.Orghttps://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/08/bolivia-protest.png200px200px Above photo: Protest in Bolivia. Corrado Scropetta. Members of the Progressive International call on the UN and the Supreme Electoral Tribunal to guarantee fair elections in Bolivia. We are witnessing the systematic destruction of democracy at the hands of the de facto government of Jeanine Añez and its allied forces of repression in the streets, on the highways, and the communities across Bolivia. Through this letter, the members of the Progressive International demand that you take […]
Barack Obama likes to talk about the bending arc of history. His own story is a testament to it. Not just the well-known biographical portions, but the political parts as well. In 2004, as an unknown state Senator from Illinois, he delivered the keynote address at the Democratic convention that is remembered for its lofty oratory and themes of unappreciated national unity. As president for eight years, he re-committed to that ethos by vowing repeatedly that the “fever” of Republican opposition would eventually “break.” On Wednesday night, he addressed the Democrats’ convention once again, this time as a party luminary and […]
Former US president Barack Obama said the Trump administration had turned the presidency into a “reality show” in his speech to the Democratic convention, holding up Joe Biden as a panacea for all of the country’s troubles. Addressing the third night of his party’s national convention on Wednesday, the ex-POTUS took an uncharacteristically harsh tone on President Donald Trump, saying he hadn’t “grown into the job because he can’t” while laying blame for the Covid-19 crisis squarely on his administration. “I did hope, for the sake of our country, that Donald Trump might show some interest in taking the job seriously, […]
…from Glenn Kirschner VT: Kirschner is a 30 year prosecutor and JAG who cuts through the political crap of the Senate’s highly redacted findings and applies real criminal law. [ Editor’s Note: This is a huge blow to Trump, as the report is from the Republican controlled Senate Intel Committee. Trump cannot puff this away with a Tweet. He can try to distract attention from it with his usual diversion tactics, but the countdown has begun to November 3rd, where voters are going to remember what has been reported. We already had the Postal Service back off its ‘reform’ agenda, so […]
…from southfront.org The protests in Belarus are continuing, now for over a week, following the elections won (the opposition says ‘no’) by President Alexander Lukashenko. The protesters are exploiting the general dissatisfaction with the government, and the direction the country has been going for a while, and then Lukashenko government has its obvious faults that have led to discontent brewing. At the same time, the Lukashenko government still remains the only constructive political power in Belarus. What’s noteworthy, however, is the high level of organization behind the protests that makes it exquisitely dubious for them to be “accidental”. One of the […]
HONG KONG—July has been a month of constant struggle for this city in recent years, but especially since the protests last summer, which raised the stakes in the quest for universal suffrage. This year is even more chaotic: A third wave of COVID-19 infections has revived worries that Hong Kong, one of the densest cities in the world, may soon see an overwhelmed hospital system. Meanwhile, some of the pro-democracy movement’s organizers, still in their teens, have been targeted by the newly formed secret police, taken away in the night. And now, in truly Trumpian fashion, September’s election for legislators’ seats […]
– It was pure Barr: a proud, combative, unflappable and unapologetic partisan warrior in the loyal service of the White House. During the five-hour session on Capitol Hill in Washington this week, Barr made clear why he has been dubbed Donald Trump’s faithful protector and personal henchman. He defended using federal forces in US cities, denied giving Trump’s allies favorable treatment and demurred on issues such as foreign election interference or whether November’s poll can be postponed. For critics, it was proof positive that Barr’s unswerving loyalty to the president has torn down the wall that separates the White House and justice department […]
Bolivia’s Struggle To Restore Democracy After OAS Instigated Coup By Frederick B. Mills, Rita Jill Clark-Gollub and Alina Duarte, COHA. July 12, 2020 Bolivia’s Struggle To Restore Democracy After OAS Instigated Coup2020-07-122020-07-12https://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2017/12/popres-shorter.pngPopularResistance.Orghttps://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/07/bolivia-presidential-candidate-luis-arce-with-vice-presidential-candidate.jpg200px200px Above photo: Luis Arce, presidential candidate, and David Choquehuanca, running for the vice presidency. They lead all surveys so far MAS-IPSP, http://www.masipsp.bo/. On October 21, 2019, the Organization of American States (OAS) issued a fateful communique on the presidential elections in Bolivia: “The OAS Mission expresses its deep concern and surprise at the drastic and hard-to-explain change in the trend of the preliminary results revealed after the closing of the polls.”[1] The […]
‘In a speech last October, Mr Zuckerberg had controversially signalled that Facebook’s interests aligned with Donald Trump’s.’ Photograph: Erin Scott/Reuters Guardian: In every political debate since Facebook began to dominate democracy, the company has placed itself on the wrong side of history. The social media firm cannot be reformed from within because its business model profits from hosting bomb-throwing circuses of hate, humbug and hogwash. The platform harvests users’ personal data to algorithmically recommend content but can’t seem to help steering people towards vilifying one another while keeping their attention. It is not good for society, but it is good for Facebook. That apparently is fine […]
Miriam Amancay Colque, spokeswoman for the Bartolina Sisa Resistance movement, discussed the role of women and indigenous people in fighting the ongoing coup government as well as further updates on the crisis in Bolivia. Sputnik: How are grassroots movements like the Bartolina Sisa Resistance responding to the Campaign for Seven? Which actions will they take and how do they plan to confront the coup Bolivian government in this crisis? Miriam Amancay Colque: We are having a very positive response. The rights of those seeking asylum and refuge should be respected as these are enshrined in the United Nations Universal Declaration of […]
It could lead to a severe prison overcrowding crisis the likes of which has never been experienced in UK history but the time for the introduction of a specific criminal offence of lying to the public is now long overdue. It would clip the wings of politicians who use telling lies as a campaign tool to win votes or defend the indefensible and who now think nothing of spouting regular porkies in Parliament, safe in the knowledge there is no punishment for their deceit. The prevalence of dishonesty in politics is a corrosive cancer which undermines public trust and endangers the […]
A shorter work week would not only make for a better work/life balance it would also increase overall productivity and the ability of citizens to more meaningfully participate in democracy, says economics professor Richard D. Wolff. World leaders, labour representatives and even some high profile business figures, such as Google co-founder Larry Page and Virgin’s Richard Branson, have been calling for the adoption of a shorter work week. Richard D. Wolff, Professor of Economics Emeritus, University of Massachusetts, Amherst agrees that, if done correctly, a shorter work week is both realistic and desirable. Professor Wolff, whose weekly show, Economic Update, is syndicated […]
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is using self-described human rights legislation to put pressure on the Hong Kong government and threaten China’s sovereignty, Beijing has claimed. Pompeo is “blackmailing” the semi-autonomous city with the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s Office of the Commissioner to Hong Kong said on Thursday. He added that China was not intimidated by Washington’s political maneuvering and that Beijing would protect its national interests from all foreign threats. Signed into law in November 2019, the act requires the State Department to audit Hong Kong’s level of “autonomy” […]
Anti-Trump Republican Senator Mitt Romney of Utah ripped into President Trump Saturday for his firing of several inspectors general over the past few months, calling the moves “a threat to accountable democracy and a fissure in the constitutional balance of power.” File screen image. Romney’s attack comes a day after Trump fired Obama holdover State Department Inspector General Steve Linick. Since his acquittal in early February in the Senate impeachment trial over Ukraine allegations–in which Romney was the only GOP senator to vote to convict Trump–Trump has fired four IGs or acting IGs. “The firings of multiple Inspectors General is unprecedented; […]
A Democratic group has accused the Department of Homeland Security of violating federal regulations by revealing private information about immigrants to reporters at conservative news outlets. On Monday, Democracy Forward, a left-leaning anti-corruption advocacy group, sent a letter to the DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties requesting that the agency open an investigation into the department’s press office. The organization said that according to emails obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests, DHS communications staff had on at least ten occasions provided or confirmed to reporters details about the citizenship and immigration status of people accused of crimes in […]
With US President Donald Trump preparing to square off with presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden in the 2020 race, Americans might as well be choosing between Orwell and Huxley, Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters told RT. Though the current US president is a “failed landlord” who somehow managed to become “the most powerful man in the western world,” Biden, his likely rival, does not present a better option, Waters said in an interview with Rafael Correa, the former president of Ecuador who now hosts a show on RT Spanish. “There’s no choice to be made by the American people, this is […]
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán speaking last month in Parliament, when lawmakers granted him the power to rule indefinitely by decree. One aspect of the law ostensibly passed to cope with the coronavirus calls for prison terms of up to five years for those convicted of spreading falsehoods or distorted facts during the emergency. Tamas Kovacs/AP hide caption toggle caption Tamas Kovacs/AP Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán speaking last month in Parliament, when lawmakers granted him the power to rule indefinitely by decree. One aspect of the law ostensibly passed to cope with the coronavirus calls for prison terms of up […]