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Education is the foundation of political change. In this section we provide news and analyses of current events that you won’t likely read or hear in the corporate media. Our sources are from organizations and independent media outlets free of corporate and government propaganda. We strongly encourage you to share these articles by email and social media so that together we create an echo chamber that overcomes the influence of the oligarchy. You will find large social media sharing buttons on the left side of each article when you open the article to read.
In response to a US State Department statement claiming new US Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussing Beijing’s “dangerous and destabilizing actions in the South China Sea” with his Philippines counterpart Enrique Manalo over phone and underscoring the “ironclad” US defense commitment to Manila, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Thursday that the US is not a party to the South China Sea issue and has no right to interfere in the maritime issues between China and the Philippines.
Mao said “the military cooperation between the US and the Philippines should not undermine China’s sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea, still less should such cooperation support or advance the Philippines’ illegal claims.”
Trump’s Day One: Sanctions Lifted, Settler Violence Explodes
January 24, 2025
Robert Inlakesh, MintPress News.
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Donald Trump, Israel, Palestine, Sanctions, Settler Violence
On his first day in office, Donald Trump lifted all sanctions previously placed on Israeli settlers in the West Bank, a political move that coincided with a series of violent attacks by Israeli settlers targeting Palestinians that same night. While the President has publicly committed to combating violent extremism, extremist settler groups continue to finance their activities through American charities.
On Monday night, with the backing of the Israeli military, settler groups launched a series of violent assaults on residents in the West Bank.
Biden’s Pernicious Presidential Legacies
January 24, 2025
Dr. Jack Rasmus, World Financial Review.
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Finance and the Economy, Inflation, Joe Biden, US Foreign Policy
Trump’s proposals to radically transform much of US economic and social policy are being rapidly rolled out during the first week of his administration. How much he succeeds or fails in that transformation will depend on a number of factors. High on the list of such factors is the residue of conditions and policies leftover by the Biden administration—i.e. the legacies of the Biden years. Those legacies will play an important role influencing, and perhaps even determining, how Trump may fare in implementing his plans. So what are the legacy policies and conditions?
Maersk Exports Cargo From Illegal Israeli Settlements To The US
January 24, 2025
Michael Arria, Mondoweiss.
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Illegal Settlements, Israel, Maersk, Mask Off Maersk, Palestine, Report, Shipping, Syria
A new report details a shipping and logistics giant’s role in sustaining illegal Israeli settlements in occupied Palestine and Syrian territories.
A.P. Moller Maersk is a publicly traded Danish company that netted a revenue of $51.1 billion in 2023. According to research compiled by the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) and its Mask off Maersk campaign, the company has repeatedly facilitated shipments to the United States from illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank and the Syrian Golan Heights.
“The global structures of financialized capitalism, logistics and supply chains play an outsize role in the maintenance of extraction and accumulation.
Trump’s Blitz On Immigration Aimed To Overwhelm
January 24, 2025
Marjorie Cohn, Truthout.
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Birthright Citizenship, Constitution, Donald Trump, Immigration
Pandering to his nativist base, Donald Trump made the central pledge of his 2024 presidential campaign a threat to “carry out the largest domestic deportation operation in American history.” On January 20, 2025, he began to fulfill that promise.
On Inauguration Day, repeating the words spoken by Chief Justice John Roberts, Trump swore to uphold the U.S. Constitution. Setting aside the issue of whether he purposely refrained from placing his hand on the Bible his wife was holding, the oath Trump swore triggered the “Take Care Clause” of the Constitution. Article II imposes on the president the duty to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.”
Pardon Me For Being Angry
January 23, 2025
John Kiriakou, Consortium News.
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CIA, Pardons, Presidential Pardon, Torture
I’m angry right now, and I’ve decided to write anyway.
It’s no secret that I asked President Joe Biden to pardon me for my 2008 violation of the obscure Intelligence Identities Act of 1981.
My case for a pardon was strong. But I was ignored. Again. And this is despite the fact that Biden pardoned his entire immediate family, a crooked Pennsylvania judge who literally sold children into bondage, and a Chinese spy, in addition to giving “preemptive pardons” to General Mark Milley, Dr. Anthony Fauci, and the members and staff of the Jan. 6 Committee.
Israel Isn’t Leaving Syria: Settlement Plans Signal A Permanent Land Grab
January 23, 2025
Jessica Buxbaum, Mintpress News.
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Greater Israel, Israel, Occupation, Syria, Wars and Militarism
Israel wasted no time following the abrupt collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria. Within hours of Assad’s fall on December 8, 2024, Israeli forces seized the buffer zone separating the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from the rest of Syria. They raised Israel’s flag atop Mount Hermon.
More than a month later, Israeli troops remain stationed in the United Nations-patrolled area — raiding government buildings and summoning residents for questioning — all the while alleging its presence is necessary to secure Israel’s border as the balance of power shifts in Syria.
American Troops As Migrants
January 23, 2025
Andrea Mazzarino, Tom Dispatch.
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Deportations, Donald Trump, Immigration, US military
This country, once a haven for immigrants, is now on the verge of turning into a first-class nightmare for them. President Donald Trump often speaks of his plan to deport some 11.7 million undocumented immigrants from the United States as “the largest domestic deportation operation in American history.” Depending on how closely he follows the Project 2025 policy blueprint of his allies, his administration may also begin deporting the family members of migrants and asylum seekers in vast numbers.
Among the possible ways such planning may not work out, here’s one thing Donald Trump and the rest of the MAGA crowd don’t recognize: the troops they plan to rely on to carry out the deportations of potentially millions of people are, in their own way, also migrants.
Development Banker Says US Knew Of Plot To Oust Him Over Nicaragua Loans
January 23, 2025
John Perry, The Grayzone.
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Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), CSIS, Daniel Ortega, Global Americans, National Endowment for Democracy, Nicaragua, Ryan Berg, Sandinistas, World Bank
After Nicaragua suppressed a violent US-backed 2018 coup d’etat which saw hundreds of deaths, Washington enacted the “Nica Act” sanctions bill in 2018, which largely succeeded in cutting off the country’s funding from international institutions such as the World Bank. According to Nicaragua’s former finance minister, the sanctions had two immediate effects: First, the World Bank stopped financing anti-poverty projects in Nicaragua, meaning that the poorest communities lost funding of around US$500 million annually.
Trump Reinstates Cuba As A ‘State Sponsor Of Terrorism’
January 23, 2025
People's Dispatch.
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Cuba, Donald Trump, Economic Blockade, Joe Biden, Sanctions, State Sponsors of Terrorism list
On his first day in office, US President Donald Trump reinstated Cuba as a “State Sponsor of Terrorism.” Outgoing President Joe Biden had removed Cuba from the US State Department’s list of “State Sponsors of Terrorism” less than a week prior, a long-awaited move that he committed to in his final days in office. Prior to this, Cuba had been on the list since 2021, as Trump had added Cuba in the final days of his first administration.
This designation has piled on unilateral sanctions to the already blockaded island and led to multiple humanitarian crises, as it has the unofficial effects of ostracizing Cuba from global trade—resulting in shortages of key goods such as fuel.
The Imperial Presidency Marches On
January 22, 2025
Joe Lauria, Consortium News.
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American Exceptionalism, Donald Trump, US Empire, US Hegemony
Donald J. Trump in his second inaugural address left little doubt that he will seek to expand America’s global empire and reverse what he sees as its recent decline, boldly declaring that a “golden age” of U.S. supremacy had begun.
Trump has been seen before ripping the mask from America’s true global intentions and on Monday made clear the U.S. has been an empire for centuries, which he aims to enforce in a super-charged, imperial presidency.
“America will reclaim its rightful place as the greatest, most powerful, most respected nation on Earth, inspiring the awe and admiration of the entire world,” he proclaimed.
President Trump’s First 24 Hours
January 22, 2025
People's Dispatch.
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climate crisis, Donald Trump, federal workforce, Immigration, Joe Biden, Public sector, Transgender Rights, United States, Worker Rights and Jobs
On Monday, January 20, as thousands were taking to the streets to protest Donald Trump’s inauguration, Trump himself signed a barrage of executive orders with broad implications. These orders were largely an attempt to reverse many of the moves of the Biden administration, in particular Biden’s most progressive policies on immigration, racial justice, LGBTQ rights, and efforts to combat climate change.
The US government is the largest employer in the country. Some of Trump’s executive orders followed through on the right-wing promise to attack the federal work force, as mentioned in both the 2024 Republican Party platform, which pledges to “fire corrupt employees” and the infamous Project 2025.
Ukraine Attempting To Prolong Cruel, Destructive Proxy War In 2025
January 22, 2025
Dmitri Kovalevich, Orinoco Tribune.
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Donald Trump, Kursk, NATO, Peace Negotiations, Russia, Russian Military Operation, Ukraine, US Imperialism
Many Ukrainians are expecting the new year 2025 to bring the beginning of peace negotiations and an end to the war by Kiev and NATO against Russia. Hopes have been stirred by the pre-election, populist pronouncements of the new US president. Months ago, Donald Trump made statements promising to ‘end the war in one day’ upon assuming office. But it remains entirely speculative as to whether he would act on that and how. Meanwhile, in the here and now, the outgoing administration of President Joseph Biden is flooding Ukraine with money and weapons so that the unelected regime in Kiev headed by Volodymyr Zelensky may continue a war that it is obviously losing.
Trump Promises To End Birthright Citizenship And Shut Down The Border
January 22, 2025
Jean Lantz Reisz, The Conversation.
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Birthright Citizenship, Border Patrol, Donald Trump, Immigrant Rights
During his first day in office on Jan. 20, 2025, President Donald Trump signed a slew of executive orders on immigration that would make it harder for refugees, asylum seekers and others to try to enter the U.S. – and for some immigrants to stay in the country.
On Monday night, Trump signed executive orders that included declaring a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border and pausing refugee admissions for at least four months. Migrants trying to enter the U.S. at the border also found that CBP One, an app they used to schedule asylum application appointments, was shut down.
Mapped: Donald Trump’s Transatlantic Anti-Green Network
January 22, 2025
Adam Barnett, DeSmog.
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climate crisis, Donald Trump, Energy, Fossil Fuels, Politics and Policy, Science Denial
As Donald Trump takes his oath of office to become the 47th president of the United States, his second term comes at an ever-more critical time for climate change.
Climate scientists have warned that 2024 was the hottest year on record, and without dramatic action to cut greenhouse gas emissions, global pledges to limit warming to 1.5C and curb the worst effects of climate change are doomed.
At the start of 2025, Trump’s “government efficiency” chief Elon Musk (who donated $250 million to Trump’s campaign), pushed grooming gangs to the top of the UK political agenda – with the help of Conservative and Reform UK politicians, and their allies in the media.