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Tuesday, February 14, 2017

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World

Will Trump's National Security Adviser Flynn Survive Russia Controversy?

By Steve Holland
Taking Care Of Refugees Is A Moral Duty

By Mary Sanchez
Why Deutsche Bank Remains Trump’s Biggest Conflict Of Interest

By Jesse Eisinger
Religious Groups Appalled By Refugee Ban Cast Trump As An Adversary

By Teresa Welsh
In Call With Putin, Trump Denounced Obama-Era Nuclear Arms Treaty

By Jonathan Landay and David Rohde

World

Will Trump's National Security Adviser Flynn Survive Russia Controversy?
Top White House officials have been reviewing over the weekend Flynn's contacts with the Russians and whether he discussed the possibility of lifting U.S. sanctions on Russia once Trump took office, which could potentially be in violation of a law banning private citizens from engaging in foreign policy.
By Steve Holland
Taking Care Of Refugees Is A Moral Duty
It’s heartening, amid the wasteland of cynicism that our politics has become, to see church leaders going out on a limb, challenging not only Trump but all Christians in our body politic to attend to a central call of their faith — to serve the suffering — even though it involves sacrifice and risk.
By Mary Sanchez
Why Deutsche Bank Remains Trump’s Biggest Conflict Of Interest
If you measure President Donald Trump’s conflicts of interest by the amount of money at stake, or the variety of dicey interactions with government regulators, one dwarfs any other: his relationship with Deutsche Bank. The bank hoped to eliminate the president’s personal guarantee on loans. But such a move would not eliminate the conflict of interest, since the president’s company, which Trump still owns, would remain on the hook to pay back the loans.
By Jesse Eisinger
Religious Groups Appalled By Refugee Ban Cast Trump As An Adversary
People of faith have been on the front lines of refugee resettlement for decades, and they are both furious and disheartened that President Trump has halted the U.S. program. Instead of collecting housewares and making welcome signs, they are now bracing for a fight against a former ally: the U.S. government.
By Teresa Welsh
In Call With Putin, Trump Denounced Obama-Era Nuclear Arms Treaty
When Putin raised the possibility of extending the 2010 treaty, known as New START, Trump paused to ask his aides in an aside what the treaty was, sources said. Trump then told Putin the treaty was one of several bad deals negotiated by the Obama administration, saying that New START favored Russia.
By Jonathan Landay and David Rohde
Obama Handed Trump's Gang Of White Nationalists A Lethal Deportation Machine
During his presidency, Obama greatly expanded the U.S. deportation machine, overseeing a higher number of border patrols than any previous administration. That deportation machine is now being handed to Trump, whose administration is aggressively delivering on his fascist and white supremacist campaign pledges to slam the door on refugees and migrants.
By Sarah Lazare
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Muslim Ban Faces New Trouble In Federal Appeals Court
President Trump’s sweeping executive order banning travelers from seven Muslim countries appears to be in trouble and unlikely to fully survive federal court review. That was the sense after a three-judge federal appeals court panel gave Trump's lawyers a hard time in the most high-stakes lawsuit challenging the travel ban.
By Steven Rosenfeld
Trump's Embarrassingly Bogus Claims About 'Underreported' Terror Attacks
In its relentless effort to delegitimize the press, the Trump administration issued long list of lies about terrorism attacks that supposedly went underreported. The list is a horror show, one so embarrassingly rife with misspellings and falsehoods that it reads like a term paper thrown together at the last second by a 10th grader recovering from a nightlong binge of Minecraft.
By Kurt Eichenwald
Amnesty Report: Syrian Government Secretly Executing Thousands Of Prisoners
The Syrian government has secretly executed up to 13,000 prisoners in mass hangings and carried out systematic torture, according to Amnesty International. The prisoners, who included former military personnel suspected of disloyalty and people involved in unrest, underwent sham trials before military courts and were sometimes forced to make confessions under torture, Amnesty said.
By John Davison and Stephanie Nebehay
Why ISIS, Al Qaeda, And Iran's Mullahs All Love Donald Trump
This entire exercise in folly has nothing to do with resisting ISIS, a stateless band of murdering psychopaths that nevertheless poses no existential threat to Americans. Instead, it’s about atavistic fears, racial contempt and misplaced zeal for our preposterous comic-opera president.
By Gene Lyons
While We Are Distracted By Tweets, Trump Is Building A Corporate State
The destructive toll of Donald Trump’s presidency is beginning to emerge, foreshadowing what’s likely to come as the White House and congressional Republicans begin to reverse, repeal, and replace federal laws and regulations. While Trump’s red-state supporters may be cheering now, they’ll soon feel the consequences.
By Steven Rosenfeld
What It Feels Like To Be Targeted By Trump's Muslim Ban
You went through the legal channels, faced all the vetting and then—because of time—fell into a trench. You were reduced to your passport, and since it is hated, you were hated. One U.S. agency confounds another. This is chaos. Trump is not draining the swamp, he is muddying the waters.
By Vijay Prashad
The U.S. Has Banned Foreigners Before, But This Time It's Different
While six of the past seven presidents, Republicans and Democrats, have relied on the same federal law to keep certain groups of foreigners out of the United States, Trump's ban clearly discriminates against people based on their religion and is much broader, banning all people from multiple countries, including those whose status had already been determined.
By Anita Kumar
Rick Scott Figures Some Dictators Aren't So Bad -- If They've Got Money
Governor Rick Scott recently warned Florida's seaports that they could lose critical state funding if they make any shipping deals with Cuba. He later told reporters: "I don't believe any port in our state, none of them, should be doing business with a brutal dictator." These would be stirring words if they didn't reek with hypocrisy.
By Carl Hiaasen
Trump Steps Up Attack On Judge, Court System Over Controversial Travel Ban
In a series of tweets that broadened his attack on the country's judiciary, Trump said Americans should blame U.S. District Judge James Robart and the court system if anything happened. He added that he had told the Department of Homeland Security to "check people coming into our country VERY CAREFULLY. The courts are making the job very difficult!"
By Dustin Volz
The Right Way To Oppose The Muslim Ban
Americans concerned with national security can't help but see dangers in the amateurish nature of this policy rollout, now frozen by the courts. Some may have found comic relief in Trump counselor Kellyanne Conway's reference to the nonexistent "Bowling Green massacre." But such dumb statements from top administration officials have turned America into an international laughingstock.
By Froma Harrop
Kremlin Wants Apology From Fox News Over Putin 'Killer' Comments
Fox News host Bill O'Reilly described Putin as "a killer" in the interview with Trump as he tried to press the U.S. president to explain more fully why he respected his Russian counterpart. Vladimir Putin, in his 17th year of dominating the Russian political landscape, is accused by many Kremlin critics of ordering the killing of opponents.
By Reuters
6 Countries Trump Has Already Insulted And Provoked
Here’s a list of six countries and major international institutions that Trump and his team have threatened—injecting anything but stability into international affairs. Certainly this behavior is silly, unnecessary, and stupid. The question is, will these provocations and others to likely follow lead to serious new international conflict.
By Steven Rosenfeld
U.S. To Resume Admitting Refugees As Trump Fights Judge's Order
The U.S. State Department on Saturday moved to begin admitting refugees, including Syrians, as soon as Monday after a federal judge on Friday blocked a Trump administration temporary ban on refugee admissions. For refugee families, they are trying to keep expectations in check and hope they do not end up back where they started.
By Julia Edwards Ainsley
Travelers Rush To Board U.S. Flights While Trump Ban Blocked
The judge's order and the appeal ruling have created what may be a short-lived opportunity for travelers from the seven affected countries to get into the United States while the legal uncertainty continues. The U.S. State Department and Department of Homeland Security said they were complying with Robart's order and many visitors are expected to start arriving on Sunday.
By Yeganeh Torbati and Tom Perry
Trump's Torture Policy Is Already Operating In Washington
The problem with torture is that people will say anything to make it stop. There is abundant evidence of this behavior in Washington, where the fear of political death also makes people say anything. Only electoral torture — the threat of losing power — can account for the readiness of the White House and the Republican Congress to say anything.
By Marty Kaplan
Over 60,000 Visas Revoked Since Trump's Travel Ban Took Effect
The revocation means the government voided travel visas for people trying to enter the United States, but the visas could be restored later without a new application, said William Cocks, a spokesman for consular affairs at the State Department. "We will communicate updates to affected travelers following the 90-day review," he said.
By Mica Rosenberg and Lesley Wroughton
White House Will Appeal Seattle Judge's Order Blocking Immigration Ban
Judge James Robart, a Bush appointee, said no attacks had been carried out on U.S. soil by individuals from the seven countries affected by the travel ban since that assault. For Trump’s order to be constitutional, he said, it had to be “based in fact, as opposed to fiction.”
By Dan Levine and Scott Malone
The 'Coastal Elites' Are Reclaiming The Mantle Of God And Country
Democrats, liberals, and other “coastal elites” have begun taking back the mantle of God and country that has been denied them since 1980. With Ronald Reagan’s ascent, no one could be more patriotic than a Republican, according to Republicans. But with an authoritarian’s ascent, the Republicans are forfeiting, eagerly, the exclusive claim they once had to “restoring” the Constitution.
By John Stoehr
A New State Department Order To Revoke Visas Could Have Far-Reaching Effects
The Trump travel ban could have far wider effects than previously understood for foreigners who waited years as State Department officials reviewed their immigrant visa applications. The new policy, disclosed yesterday, means that immigrants hoping to join their families in the U.S. from the affected countries may have to start the lengthy process all over again.
By Justin Elliott
Vatican Worried About Trump Immigration Order
"Certainly there is worry because we are messengers of another culture, that of openness," the Vatican's deputy secretary of state, Archbishop Angelo Becciu, told an Italian Catholic television station in answer to a question about Trump's order. "Pope Francis, in fact, insists on the ability to integrate those who arrive in our societies and cultures," he added.
By Philip Pullella
U.S. Watchdog Agency To Review Implementation Of Trump Travel Ban
A watchdog agency at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said it is planning to review how Trump's immigration executive order to temporarily suspend travel from seven majority-Muslim nations was implemented. The review of the order was being planned "in response to congressional request and whistleblower and hotline complaints," the DHS's Office of Inspector General said in a statement.
By Reuters
Trump Is On The Brink As U.S. Warns Iran Over Missile Tests
The White House put Iran "on notice" Wednesday over what it said were a series of provocations, giving Americans — and the world — a chance to see how President Donald Trump handles a foreign crisis. Top aides would not rule out military action.
By Tim Johnson and Anita Kumar
Trump's Muslim Ban Is An Embarrassment To This Country
Trump’s ban created predictable chaos around the world. Watching the stranded travelers and bewildered families, I kept wishing I could apologize to those whose lives, careers, and plans were thrown into needless turmoil because a minority of American voters chose to invest a fear-mongering man-baby with the awesome powers of the presidency.
By Leonard Pitts Jr.
The Art Of The Deal: Why Putin Needs One More Than Trump
For Putin, in his 17th year of dominating the Russian political landscape, a deal with President Trump, or even an early symbolic concession such as easing minor sanctions, matters. Expected to contest a presidential election next year that could extend his time in the Kremlin to 2024, he needs sanctions relief to help lift the economy out of recession.
By Andrew Osborn
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