Tag Archive for: Steve Bannon

Second set of classified docs found in Biden’s Delaware home; Garland names special counsel – National & International News – THU 12Jan2023

 

 

Second set of classified docs found in Biden’s Delaware home.

December inflation was 6.5%, first time under 7% in a year.

Brazil orders arrest of former top Bolsonaro official after riot.

NATIONAL NEWS

Second set of classified docs found in Biden’s Delaware home

Three days ago, we learned that a cache of about 10 classified documents had been found in a private Washington office used by President Biden when he was Vice President. Last night, news broke that a second set of classified documents had been found elsewhere. The White House revealed today that this second location was Biden’s home in Wilmington, DE. Biden says the documents were found in a locked garage at the home by his aides.

After the news of the discovery earlier this week, former President Trump took to TruthSocial, demanding to know if all of Biden’s other homes were going to be searched. Biden’s team has apparently been doing just that. A search at another home of Biden’s at Rehoboth Beach turned up no further documents.

The Washington cache was found just days before the midterms. Biden’s team immediately notified the National Archives, who collected them the next day. The documents from both Washington and Wilmington date from his time as Vice President.

There’s not yet been any clarification on when the Wilmington batch was found, whether it was around the time the Washington documents were discovered or more recently. Biden’s White House special counsel Richard Sauber says Biden’s attorneys completed their search of his properties on Wednesday night. Sauber also said that Biden is cooperating fully with an investigation by the Justice Department.

Probes, special counsels, and unanswered questions

There hasn’t yet been much explanation of how the documents found their way to Biden’s properties in the first place. It has been suggested by Sauber and others that after Biden’s time as Vice President, the boxes may have been carelessly packed up and shipped off to his various offices for storage. Whatever the circumstances, the matter is of grave concern to the intelligence community. According to anonymous reports, at least some of the documents from Washington bore TS/SCI classification. These documents are never meant to be removed from a secure room, known as a SCIF. There hasn’t yet been any reporting as to the classification levels of the Wilmington documents.

 Two different Congressional committees charged with intelligence matters have sought briefings on the discoveries. Attorney General Merrick Garland has assigned the case of the Washington documents to a DOJ attorney in Chicago, one of the few Trump appointees still leading regional offices in the US. In light of the newly announced discovery, Garland has appointed a special counsel, Robert Hur, to investigate Biden’s handling of classified documents. Last year, Garland appointed Jack Smith as special counsel to oversee the various investigations into Trump, including his mishandling and concealing of classified documents.

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December inflation was 6.5%, first time under 7% in a year

There was some encouraging economic news today. December’s year-on-year inflation rate dropped to 6.5%, down from 7.1% in November. This is the first time since Nov. 2021 that inflation has been below 7%. Inflation appears to have peaked over the summer at about 9%.

This would seem to indicate that the Federal Reserve’s program of interest rate hikes over 2022 have had the desired effect. Even better, unemployment numbers haven’t risen drastically, as many feared. If this trend continues, the Fed may be able to ease off on its rate hikes for now. For the first time in months, there’s a general feeling of optimism among economists that the US may be able to get inflation under control without sliding into a recession.

While this is very good news, prices on consumer goods including groceries remain too high for many. However, there’s reason to hope that price trends are at least heading in the right direction, which should mean fewer steep price hikes like those we saw in 2022.

With certain commodities, supply chain issues remain a problem. For example, the price of eggs has risen sharply in many parts of the country due to avian flu, which has necessitated the culling of millions of birds.

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Brazil probes involvement of top officials Bolsonaro riot

Videos of thousands of rioters ransacking Brazil’s capital complex in Brasilia on Sunday evoked memories for many of Jan. 6, 2021. There are many points of comparison. The rioters were supporters of outside right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro who had bought into messaging from Bolsonaro’s camp implying that the elections were stolen. The rioters were organized openly on social media, answering calls for a “party” in Brasilia. Group messages have surfaced promising “all expenses paid” trips to Brasilia for anyone willing to attend.

They arrived on more than 100 buses from all over the country. No one is sure yet who paid for the buses. Coincidentally, Trump cronies Steve Bannon and Jason Miller met with Jair Bolsonaro’s son shortly after Bolsonaro lost, apparently to advise them on the next steps. As the riot was in progress, Bannon was on social media cheering them on.

The Jan. 8 riot, as it’s becoming known, did differ from Jan. 6 in some ways though. There were few images showing any clashes with police; quite the opposite in fact. The police in the capital not only allowed the mob to enter the capitol complex unchallenged, the police were also actively encouraging the rioters.

When the military arrived to take charge of the situation, the mob cheered, apparently believing the soldiers had arrived to join their cause. Instead, the soldiers quickly rounded up and arrested everyone they could, over 1,500 in all.

Bolsonaro and his former justice minister were both in Orlando

Because of the security failings, Brazil’s top court has ordered the arrest of Anderson Torres. Torres was formerly Bolsonaro’s justice minister. Since Bolsonaro’s election loss, Torres took a new post as Brasilia’s public security chief. Torres was head of the police in the capitol district in Brasilia, the ones who allowed the rioters in. Conveniently, Torres was in Orlando, FL, at the time of the riots. US at the time of the riots and has yet to return to Brazil to face the charges.

By an incredible coincidence, former President Bolsonaro is also in Orlando. He left Brazil shortly before the Jan. 1 inauguration of his leftist-rival Lula’s and hasn’t returned. No warrant has yet been issued for Bolsonaro’s arrest in connection with Jan. 8. However, there are accusations of corruption and embezzlement against Bolsonaro, for which he couldn’t be prosecuted while he was still President. His son has already been charged (not the same one who met with Bannon).

 

Please share any thoughts, comments or questions in the Comments section below!

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“Will be wild” – Re-cap of yesterday’s Jan. 6 hearing – National & International News – WED 13Jul2022

“Will be wild” Recap of 7.12 Jan. 6 Hearing –

This hearing focused on the mobilization and participation of extremist militant groups like the OathKeepers and ProudBoys in the events of Jan. 6.

Team Rudy and Team Normal

The first part of the hearing centered on a clash between what has become known as “Team Rudy” (or “Team Crazy”) and “Team Normal”.  On this occasion, “Team Rudy” included Trump’s outside counsel Rudy Giuliani, Sydney Powell as well as Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn (Trump’s former National Security Advisor). “Team Normal” seemed to comprise of White House counsel Pat Cipollone and Eric Hirschman.

The clash took place during what was described as an “unhinged” meeting at the White House on December 18, 2020. Flynn, Giuliani, Powell and (for some reason) Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne showed up to the White House unannounced. They were able to speak to Trump alone for several minutes before Team Normal arrived. At that point, things became heated.

“Will be wild”

Powell, Giuliani, Cipollone and Hirschmann all provided vivid accounts in recorded testimony. Powell (who famously suggested that Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez had somehow rigged the 2020 election, despite having been dead since 2013) was demanding to be appointed “special counsel” to oversee the investigation into the “election fraud”. As Cipollone put it, “I didn’t think [Powell] should be appointed to anything”.

During or possibly before that meaning, “Team Rudy” had drafted an executive order, which the committee produced. The order would have directed the Department of Defense to “seize, collect, retain and analyze” all voting machines in the states Trump was contesting. “Team Normal” pushed back on this, and the order was not issued.

The meeting went on for several hours. Then at 1:41 a.m., apparently frustrated at Team Normal’s refusal to do his bidding, Trump sent out a tweet summoning his supporters to D.C. on Jan. 6. It concluded “Be there, will be wild”.

“The Ministry of Self-Defense”

Following this tweet, the OathKeepers and ProudBoys formed an alliance, under the apparent coordination of Gen. Flynn and Roger Stone, a longtime Republican operative and Trump confidante. They set up an encrypted chat dubbed “the Ministry of Self-Defense” where members strategized and shared tactical maps of the Capitol and D.C. which pinpointed police positions. Another encrypted chat called “Friends of Stone” allowed Stone to communicate regularly with these irregulars.

In the days before Jan. 6, both Stone and Flynn were photographed in D.C. with leading members of the ProudBoys and OathKeepers. The two men even had private security escorts provided by the militant groups.

An anonymous former employee of Twitter also gave pre-recorded testimony about the violent extremist chatter on the platform leading up to Jan. 6. The witness said that Twitter seemed to “revel” at playing such a central role in the unfolding drama, and was thus reluctant to intervene. If Trump had been any other Twitter user, the witness said, he would have been banned from the platform long before he was. After pleading for months for someone to intervene to prevent bloodshed, the witness said, “On Jan. 5, I realized that no intervention was coming”.

“All hell is going to break loose”

On Jan. 5, Trump’s former campaign manager Steve Bannon had an 11-minute phone call with Trump shortly before 10 a.m. Shortly thereafter, Bannon went on a radio show, telling the audience that “All hell is going to break loose tomorrow”.

That same day, Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-AZ) said on a phone call with other GOP Reps. that leadership should form “a safety plan for members” for Jan. 6. Lesko was one of the GOP members of Congress who raised objections to the certification of electors on Jan. 6. But the day before, she told her colleagues she was “really worried”. She said there were Trump supporters converging on D.C. “who actually believe that we are going to overturn the election, and when that doesn’t happen- most likely will not happen – they’re going to go nuts”.

Texts between members of Trump’s staff and others connected to Stone’s “Stop the Steal” campaign also revealed something interesting. Apparently, Trump’s plan all along was to tell his supporters to march towards the Capitol following his rally at the Ellipse on Jan. 6. However, his team were conspiring to keep this quiet until after the speech was over. Perhaps an attempt to avoid the appearance of pre-meditation?

Live witness testimony

The two witnesses who testified live were Jason van Tatenhove, a former spokesperson for the OathKeepers and associate of founder Stewart Rhodes, and Stephen Ayres, a former Trump supporter who pleaded guilty to entering the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Jason van Tatenhove

Van Tatenhove testified to the violent aspirations of OathKeeper’s founder Stewart Rhodes. Rhodes had loudly called for Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act following the election but before Jan. 6. Van Tatenhove speculated that Rhodes saw Trump as an “opportunity” to legitimize his own vision for a violent overthrow of the government. He also said that we had been extremely “lucky” that the violence of Jan. 6 did not lead to a wider conflict, and finally expressed concerns about what could happen in the next election cycle.

Stephen Ayres

Ayres was not a member of any extremist group, but rather just a run-of-the-mill Trump supporter. He spoke of how Trump’s rhetoric and belief that the election had been stolen influenced his decision to go to D.C. that day, and what the consequences had been for his own life. Ayres described himself as a “family man and a working man”. He formerly worked in an Ohio cabinet factory for nearly 20 years. When his involvement in the Jan. 6 attack became known, he lost his job. He also faced numerous charges, eventually pleading guilty to disorderly conduct and others.

Ayres said that once Trump finally issued a tweet telling the protesters to leave the Capitol, many did, including Ayres. “If he’d put out that tweet earlier in the day,” Ayres said, “maybe we wouldn’t be in that bad of a situation”. Ayres said that after the attack, he did his own research and realized the election fraud claims were unfounded. When Rep. Cheney asked if it would have affected his decision to go to D.C. had he known that Trump knew himself that the claims were “nonsense” (as former Atty. Gen. Barr and many others told him), Ayres said he certainly would not have gone to D.C. that day. Like van Tatenhove, Ayres expressed concerns about what might happen in the next election.

Preview of next week’s hearing- and more witness tampering?

In her closing remarks, Rep. Liz Cheney previewed the contents of next week’s hearing. The next hearing was supposed to take place on Thursday this week, but has been postponed. That hearing is now scheduled to take place next Thursday, July 21, during prime time, but these things are always subject to change.

The subject of the next hearing will be a minute-by-minute retelling of the events of Jan. 6. This will include both the events at the Capitol, and the scene at the White House, during which Trump refused for hours to call a halt to the carnage unfolding. Testimony from White House counsel Pat Cipollone will figure prominently.

Cheney also revealed that Trump had attempted to call one of the committee’s witnesses (one who has not yet appeared). That witness did not respond to Trump’s phone call. Instead, they informed their attorney, who informed the committee, who informed the Justice Department. Cheney warned against further attempts at witness tampering.

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LA strippers campaign for nation’s first unionized strip club – National & International News – MON 11Jul2022

Strippers campaign for nation’s first unionized strip club. Jan. 6: 2 more hearings this week; Bannon agrees to testify. Sri Lankans occupy president’s palace demanding his resignation.

 

NATIONAL NEWS

LA strippers campaign for nation’s first unionized strip club

Strippers who formerly worked at LA’s Star Garden strip club have been picketing their former workplace since March. When many strip clubs shut down during the pandemic, many exotic entertainers opened their own online subscription businesses and enjoyed a high degree of autonomy and control. Once clubs reopened, dancers had to once again contend with lax security, stolen wages, and exploitative labor contracts. Two of the dancers at Star Garden were immediately fired when they called for establishing a union. Since then, other Star Garden dancers have walked out and joined in demonstrations outside the club. 

Click here to listen to the full story (opens in new tab).

Click here for a video about the strippers’ union effort (about 7 minutes).

 

Jan. 6: 2 more hearings this week; Bannon agrees to testify

Over the weekend, the news broke that Donald Trump’s former campaign manager, conservative firebrand Steve Bannon, had agreed to testify before the Jan. 6 committee. The committee had previously subpoenaed Bannon, who refused to testify claiming executive privilege. The Justice Department subsequently charged Bannon with contempt. However, according to former Trump attorney Jason Clark, expectations should not be high for Bannon’s intent to cooperate. In an interview with the DOJ, Clark testified that Trump had never invoked executive privilege in Bannon’s case. The DOJ believes that Bannon’s change of heart with regard to testifying may be a ploy to gain sympathy he will soon face in connection with his criminal contempt charges.

2 more Jan. 6 hearings this week

The Jan. 6 select committee plans to hold two more public televised hearings this week. The first will be tomorrow, Tuesday 1 p.m. ET/ noon CT, and will focus on the role of extremist groups like the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys in the violence at the Capitol. The hearing will also address inflammatory Trump tweets that the committee maintains were directed at the rioters.

The second hearing will take place Thursday, possible during primetime, though these schedules are subject to change. The committee has not yet announced the subject of Thursday’s hearing.

 

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Sri Lankans occupy president’s palace to demand his resignation

Sri Lanka’s tumultuous recent history includes a bloody 26-year civil war (1983-2009), followed by an authoritarian military dictatorship that has held power up to this day. In 2019, the country began experiencing a sharp economic downturn which has only deepened in the time since. Recently, Sri Lanka has been unable to purchase imported food and fuel, leading to critical shortages. 

Months of protests recently culminated on attacks at the homes of the President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Saturday. The protesters have since occupied Rajapaksa’s palatial home and say they won’t leave until he formally resigns. 

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Please share any thoughts, comments or questions in the Comments section below!

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Biden under pressure to ban unvaxxed from domestic flights – National & International News – MON 15Nov2021

 

 

Dems: ban unvaxxed from domestic flights. Trump ally Bannon arrested. National Guard called in ahead of Rittenhouse verdict. Pentagon covered-up 2019 Syria airstrike that killed 50 civilians.

 

 

NATIONAL NEWS

Biden under pressure to ban unvaxxed from domestic flights

A group of 36 Democratic lawmakers are advocating that President Biden ban unvaccinated travelers from domestic flights ahead of the holiday season. A letter from the group argues that with COVID-19 cases surging anew in parts of the country, a ban on unvaccinated travelers would minimize a holiday-related spike in cases. The letter also says the move would support the travel and hospitality industries whose profits remain down compared to 2019.

From the airline industry’s perspective, requiring proof of vaccination from passengers could potentially remove the need for on-board masking rules. Mask rules have led to a record number of violent incidents on flights this year. The FAA has reported 5,114 unruly passenger incidents this year, 73% of which began with mask disputes. Over 100 of these incidents have led to physical assaults.

A Southwest Airlines employee was recently hospitalized after being punched in the head by an angry passenger. Flight crew had already ejected the passenger from a Dallas-to-New York flight for as yet undisclosed reasons. The passenger was arrested and charged with aggravated assault.

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Trump ally Steve Bannon arrested on contempt charges

Last Friday, the Department of Justice indicted Trump ally Steve Bannon on contempt of Congress charges. Members of Congress had previously recommended contempt charges after Bannon defied a subpoena from the Jan. 6 committee and refused to submit relevant documents. Today, Bannon turned himself in to the FBI and will likely appear in court this afternoon.

Other Trump allies, including former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, may soon face similar charges. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), who chairs the Jan. committee, has previously given his opinion that there was “no question” that the violence of the Capitol riot was premeditated and that Trump’s allies, possibly to include Bannon and Meadows, were behind it in some way. In an interview on Jan. 5, Bannon memorably predicted that “all hell” would break loose as Congress convened to ratify the election results the next day.

Over the weekend, former White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham, stated in an interview that Trump frequently held “off-the-books” meetings to avoid them being logged in official documents. Grisham said that Trump held these impromptu meetings in his White House residence, in part because he was “paranoid” about leaks. Grisham also said that Meadows helped plan these meetings and said the Jan. 6 committee had good reason to want to speak to him.

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National Guard called in ahead of Rittenhouse verdict

The city of Kenosha, WI, has called in 500 National Guard troops to maintain order in the city ahead of the verdict in Kyle Rittenhouse’s murder trial. Last year, Rittenhouse fatally shot two protesters and wounded a third during police brutality protests. Closing arguments are currently underway. Once the defense and prosecution have concluded their remarks, it will pass to the jury to reach a verdict. If convicted of the most serious charge of first degree murder, Rittenhouse, 18, faces a mandatory life sentence.

Earlier today, the presiding judge dismissed a lesser count against Rittenhouse of possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18. This misdemeanor charge was the surest to get a conviction, carrying a 9-month sentence, as Rittenhouse was 17 at the time of the shootings.

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Pentagon: 2019 strike that killed 50 Syrian civilians “legitimate”

The Pentagon has defended a 2019 air strike that potentially killed dozens of innocent civilians in Syria as “legitimate”. The statement comes after news outlets, including The New York Times, ran stories over the weekend alleging an official cover-up over the deaths resulting from the attack. The strike targeting ISIS fighters killed about 80 people. An investigation concluded that only about 16 of those killed were actually militants.

The Pentagon has also recently declared a drone strike that killed 10 civilians, including 7 children in Afghanistan in August this year to be an “honest mistake” that did not break any laws.

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Jan. 6 panel moves to bring criminal contempt charges against Steve Bannon – National & International News – FRI 15Oct2021

 

Jan. 6 panel wants to hold Steve Bannon in contempt. ‘Striketober’: 100,000 workers threaten to strike. Afghanistan: 32 dead in mosque suicide bombing.

 

NATIONAL NEWS

Jan. 6 panel moves for criminal contempt charges against Steve Bannon

The Congressional Jan. 6 Commission is set to pursue criminal contempt charges against Steve Bannon, a political ally of former President Trump. Bannon was not in Trump’s government for years prior to the Jan. 6 attack. Nevertheless, he says he is asserting ‘executive privilege’ in his refusal to appear before the committee. Numerous legal experts have said that Trump’s ability to invoke executive privilege for himself and his cronies expired the day he left the White House.

The commission will meet on Tuesday to discuss turning Bannon’s case over to the Justice Department. Historically, the Justice Department has only rarely invoked criminal charges when subpoenaed witnesses refused to appear before Congress.

A “grand design”?

The more compelling aspects of this standoff lie in the committee’s reasons for calling Bannon to testify in the first place. In an NPR interview (which you can hear via the link below), committee member Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), outlines the case. Raskin says the committee is interested in comments Bannon made in ahead of Jan. 6. Speaking on a right-wing radio show on Jan. 5, Bannon predicted that “all hell is going to break loose tomorrow”.

Raskin explains the committee’s suspicion that the Jan. 6 invasion of the Capitol was part of an overall “grand design” being orchestrated by Trump allies both inside and outside of government. This includes installation of a number of Trump loyalists in key Defense Department and Justice Department positions following his defeat at the polls in November. Raskin speculates that the ultimate goal was to overturn the results of the election through a combination of coordinated violence and behind-the-scenes political maneuvering.

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‘Striketober’: 100,000 workers threaten to strike for better pay, conditions

From healthcare to manufacturing, thousands of workers across the country are striking or threatening to strike for better pay and conditions this month. Workers at Kellogg’s and John Deere have announced walk-out this week over contract disputes. Employees of Kaiser Permanente, one of the nation’s largest healthcare systems, are also threatening to strike. The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, which represents about 60,000 crewmembers in film and television production, are also staging their first strike in their 100+ years of existence.

Earlier this year, workers at Nabisco staged a strike over grueling working hours, with many not having had a day off in over a year. Workers also said they had not a pay rise in years.

Despite the nationwide worker shortage, some larger corporations like Kaiser and Kellogg’s are attempting to control costs by introducing two-tier systems. This would mean that new workers would have lower wages and fewer benefits than those who had been with the company longer. In Kaiser’s case, the plan was to cut starting wages by as much as 30%.

Click here for the full story (opens in new tab).

Read more here about the causes of the nationwide worker shortage. 

 

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Afghanistan: At least 32 dead in mosque suicide bombing

In Kandahar, at least three suicide bombers detonated devices inside a Shia mosque during prayers. The mosque was crowded since Friday prayers are the busiest of the week. At least 32 people were killed and many were seriously injured. Taliban forces have secured the site and are asking locals to donate blood to help the wounded.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attacks, but it seems likely that ISIS-K was behind it. ISIS is broadly a Sunni organization and is known for targeting members of other Islamic sects, especially Shias.

The Taliban and ISIS-K are sworn enemies. During the American airlifts in August, and ISIS-K suicide bombing killed 13 American military personnel, numerous Taliban fighters, and about 100 civilians. Kandahar is a founding city for the Taliban, and an attack there by ISIS-K has considerable symbolic significance.

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Tense inauguration day in DC – National & International News – WED 20Jan2021

NEMiss.News Inauguration Day 2021

 

Tense inauguration day in DC. Trump pardons Bannon, defends slavery in final hours. Pompeo officially declares Uighur “genocide” in China. 

NATIONAL NEWS

Tense day in Washington as Biden to be inaugurated

Downtown Washington DC remains on security lockdown ahead of today’s inauguration. Much of the city remains barricaded with high security fences surrounding key buildings.

Federal agents remain on high alert after monitoring some concerning online chatter about the inauguration. These included a number of threats against specific officials as well as discussions of how right-wing extremist groups could possibly circumvent the tight security.

12 guard troops dismissed after probe

Following an FBI probe of the 25,000 National Guard troops in Washington for the inauguration to ferret out any with extremist sympathies, 12 troops have been sent home for “questionable behavior”. Two of the guards made extremist statements or threats regarding the inauguration in posts or texts. The reason for the dismissal of the other 10 is unclear.

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Stay classy- Trump pardons Bannon, defends slavery in final hours

As the sun is about to set on his presidency, Trump and his White House have not been idle. Trump issued over 140 pardons and commutations on his final day, including one for former advisor Steve Bannon. Bannon featured prominently in Trump’s first election campaign and in the early days of his administration and is credited with winning the right-wing fringe for Trump.

Bannon had been facing fraud charges over his “We Build the Wall” fundraiser. In total, the campaign bilked thousands of Trump supporters for a total of $25 million dollars. About $1 million of that found its way to Bannon and went towards paying his personal expenses. The campaign falsely claimed that the money was going to supplement the building of Trump’s Mexican border wall.

“Patriotic education”

The White House also issued a “patriotic education” report from the 1776 commission on Martin Luther King Day. Among other things, the report made excuses for the institution of slavery and its role in the founding of America. The report argued that slavery should be viewed from “a much broader perspective” and that “the unfortunate fact is that the institution of slavery has been more the rule than the exception throughout human history”. It also downplays the repercussions of slavery that remain evident to this day. The report also distorted Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy by falsely claiming that affirmative action policies were against everything King stood for.

Historians have drubbed numerous factual inaccuracies in the report, with one describing it as “historical whack-a-mole”. Civil rights groups such as the ACLU have also weighed in saying, “Donald Trump has always attempted to use a fictional version of the past to justify racist policies” and accusing the White House of pushing “a white supremacist version of our nation’s history”.

To quote Trump upon being shown a pair of child’s slave shackles by King’s niece Alveda on MLK day 2017: “That is really bad. That is really bad.”

 

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Pompeo declares Uighur “genocide” in China

On his last day in office, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a parting shot to Beijing, officially declaring China’s treatment of its Muslim Uighur minority a genocide.

Under international law, a formal declaration of genocide should compel action by the international community. A Congressional report last week stopped just short of declaring China’s oppression of Uighurs a genocide, instead saying it was “possibly genocide”.

The Trump administration has unleashed increasingly punishing measures on China in its final months. However, it has, up until now, stopped short of an official genocide declaration.

In his statement, Pompeo justified the designation, saying China’s Uighurs had suffered, “the arbitrary imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty of more than one million civilians, forced sterilization, torture of a large number of those arbitrarily detained, forced labor and the imposition of draconian restrictions on freedom of religion or belief, freedom of expression and freedom of movement”.

Significantly, Anthony Blinken, Joe Biden’s nomination to succeed Pompeo, says he agrees with the genocide designation.

Click here for the full story (opens in new tab).

 

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