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Fri, 21/07/2023 - 09:30
I hope they counted the silverware in the White House: Former President Donald Trump agreed to return ancient artifacts after Israel’s antiquities authority launched a public campaign to get them back. The story of how the ceramic oil lamps, which are part of Israel’s national treasures collection, ended up at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort is complicated. It is a saga in which the artifacts made a near-visit to the White House, sat in a California closet for months and were then taken through an X-ray machine in Florida before being delivered to Trump. “These historic items were presented by a representative of the Israeli antiquities authority with the full support of the organization,” a Trump spokesman said Wednesday, adding that the items were on loan for permanent exhibition. “As the items were displayed as originally intended, the office will be expediting their return to the organization’s representative,” he said.
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Fri, 21/07/2023 - 08:14

In a massive show of support for limitless executive power, Congress rejected legislation that would have terminated national emergency powers allowing Washington to wage war across the Middle East.  These same emergency powers give the president the power to lift bans on testing biological weapons on US citizens. Led by Representative Paul Gosar, a handful of Republican members of Congress launched a protest against 41 nominal “national emergency” declarations, many of which are decades old.  Rep. Gosar has argued the […]

The post DC Uniparty kills House resolutions to end US emergency powers in Iraq, Syria, Libya and Yemen first appeared on The Grayzone.

The post DC Uniparty kills House resolutions to end US emergency powers in Iraq, Syria, Libya and Yemen appeared first on The Grayzone.

Created
Fri, 21/07/2023 - 06:30
Did you know about this trial? I guess I did but I forgot all about it: After Trump’s and his children’s civil business-fraud trial in October and his second federal civil trial in January for defaming the woman he raped and defamed—but probably before his federal criminal espionage/justice obstruction trial in Florida, and definitely before his state hush-money criminal trial in March and his probable federal and state criminal election fraud trials in Washington D.C. and Georgia—he and the kids have another trial in late January: federal, civil, for defrauding people with the Trump Network to sell vitamins and with Trump Institute seminars teaching Trump’s sales “secrets.” Here’s an explainer from 2020: The lawsuit goes back to October 2018, when plaintiffs filed a federal class action suit against Trump, his three eldest children (Don Jr., Eric, and Ivanka), and the family business for their role in an alleged pyramid scheme that caused them to suffer significant financial losses.
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Fri, 21/07/2023 - 05:30
And then there’s this. Weaponization? You be the judge: Not too long ago, Donald Trump said both Joe Biden and Barack Obama should “be in jail for 50 years.” He also wondered why Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine and Republican Sen. Marco Rubio hadn’t faced criminal charges yet. They are among at least 27 of Trump’s apparent political foes that, since launching his 2016 campaign for president, Trump has explicitly stated or otherwise suggested should be indicted or jailed, according to an ABC News count. Not one of them has been charged with any crimes. “It’s ironic that he often called for the prosecution of political opponents and now finds himself the defendant,” said Tom Dupree, a former senior Justice Department official in the George W. Bush administration. As Trump seeks another term in the White House, he is under indictment by the Justice Department for his recent handling of classified documents, and by state prosecutors in New York over his alleged role in a years-old hush-money scheme.
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Fri, 21/07/2023 - 04:57
While most discussion of the AUKUS Agreement has focussed on the geopolitical implications for Australia’s standing in the world, the escalation of the risk of war and the crippling cost of the nuclear submarine purchases when less expensive and more sensible non-nuclear options are available, little has been said of the risk to the civilian Continue reading »
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Fri, 21/07/2023 - 04:54
There may be some Coalition politicians and Murdoch employers who are motivated by genuine racism to oppose the Voice to Parliament. Some might believe First Nations Australians are unworthy. Some probably believe in “reverse racism.” That, of course, is the belief that there is a correct direction for racism to travel. Some undoubtedly believe in Continue reading »
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Fri, 21/07/2023 - 04:53
Elite sport is something of a sacred cow. To criticise it is to risk being considered unAustralian. So while Premier Andrews’ announcement that Victoria would not host the 2026 Commonwealth Games was not a wholesale critique of elite sport, I am happy to take up the baton. While Premier Andrews’ announcement that Victoria would not Continue reading »
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Fri, 21/07/2023 - 04:52
It isn’t something we expect from an august body that forms part of the United Nations but, according to CO-WEST-PRO Consultancy’s recently released fourth paper, the report issued by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on alleged atrocities in Xinjiang is “of substandard quality and is not a reliable source for Continue reading »
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Fri, 21/07/2023 - 04:51
President Biden hosted Israeli President Isaac Herzog at the White House on Tuesday. Herzog is addressing a joint session of Congress, which a handful of progressive Democrats are boycotting. The same members of Congress also boycotted the address of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a far right Hindu nationalist who is implicated in an anti-Muslim pogrom. Continue reading »