orangecrush
orangecrush's JournalState Dept. Dissent Cable on Trumps Ban Draws 1,000 Signatures
NAIROBI, Kenya — It started out in Washington.
Then it went to Jakarta. Then across Africa.
One version even showed up on Facebook.
Within hours, a State Department dissent cable, asserting that President Trump’s executive order to temporarily bar citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries would not make the nation safer, traveled like a chain letter — or a viral video.
The cable wended its way through dozens of American embassies around the world, quickly emerging as one of the broadest protests by American officials against their president’s policies. And it is not over yet.
By 4 p.m. on Tuesday, the letter had attracted around 1,000 signatures, State Department officials said, far more than any dissent cable in recent years. It was being delivered to management, and department officials said more diplomats wanted to add their names to it.
The State Department has 7,600 Foreign Service officers and 11,000 civil servants.
The letter had been evolving since this weekend, when the first draft emerged. It was edited as it moved along, with some diplomats adding words and others striking out passages.
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/01/31/world/americas/state-dept-dissent-cable-trump-immigration-order.html?referer=https://www.google.com/
Want to understand what Trump and Bannon are up to? Look to the Russian Revolution of 1917
Trump has to go!
I want to hear every elected democrat take up this cry, loudly and publicly, every day until this lunatic is removed from office.
Bannon has stated that he sees Lenin as a role model.
This article gives an idea of how real and dangerous this threat is.
Time to stop pretending, it will only get worse until the point is reached where nothing can be done.
<snip>
"Lenin viewed the world as a space in which he could build the dictatorship of the proletariat with himself at the helm. To Trump, the world is a collection of structures upon which he can stamp his own name. Both gave little credence to the expertise or knowledge of others; both had no problem pandering to the basest instincts of the human race.
We should remember, however, that revolutions are only able to take hold when the majority remains complacent. Right now, Trump’s voting base is likely maxed out at the roughly 63 million people who voted for him. (Given the intensity of feelings he ignites in both supporters and opponents, let’s assume that most people who wanted to vote for him did so.) Roughly 66 million people voted for Hillary Clinton. And about 42% of eligible voters—that is, an estimated 95 million—stayed home, choosing to vote for no one at all.
This “silent majority” is not necessarily in the Trump camp. They did not vote to end Affordable Care, Medicaid, and Social Security. They do not necessarily believe that the best government is one that’s designed by billionaires, for billionaires, or that climate change is a hoax. It is these voters who need to be mobilized to protect our democracy.
If there is any lesson from the Russian Revolution, it is that active engagement with the base is critical. That doesn’t mean that Democrats should focus on fundraising emails and better slogans: It means they need to work to understand why a substantial chunk of eligible voters did not view November 2016 as a referendum on the American way of life. They then need to mold the progressive coalition to accommodate voters’ concerns and struggles, so that the fight against conservative takeover becomes their fight."
"The Democrats cannot afford to mull this over. The effort needs to happen quickly. What’s at stake—democracy in the US and around the world—is too important to “wait and see.” We all know who came after Lenin."
<snip>
https://qz.com/898053/want-to-understand-what-trump-and-bannon-are-up-to-look-to-the-russian-revolution-of-1917/
Trump Small Business Executive Order - Goodbye Employer Mandated Healthcare
"An Entrepreneurial Buzz Kill
Adam Robinson, founder of Hireology, says the company was formed and built "100 percent under the Obama administration," and that though it was able to grow over the course of just two years from 30 to 120 employees, navigating regulations has been a challenge. If he were starting his business last year, he doubts he'd have been able to flourish, due to certain regulations.
"I testified in front of the House Small Business Committee on the issue of Department of Labor changing the threshold at which non-exempt employees are eligible for overtime," said Robinson. "I told them that if this overtime regulation had been in place, I literally could not have hired my first employee."
Once a small business brings on a 50th employee, it faces another set of regulations, including the Affordable Care Act's employer mandate, which requires that all businesses with 50 or more full-time equivalent employees provide health insurance to at least 95 percent of their full-time employees and dependents up to age 26, or face a fee.
To avoid having to deal with that mandate, small businesses may be disinclined to expand.
"If I am a growing service business and I have 49 employees, there is an incentive to me to stop growing because as soon as I get to 50 I am mandated [under the Affordable Care Act] to provide healthcare to all my employees," said Robinson. "There's no incentive to grow if it places an administrative burden on my business." "
https://www.google.com/amp/www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/amp/small-businesses-optimistic-anxious-about-deregulations-under-trump-n712636?client=ms-android-boost-us
;https://www.google.com/amp/www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/amp/small-businesses-optimistic-anxious-about-deregulations-under-trump-n712636?client=ms-android-boost-us
WFW. 
Translation - "Soon there will be no shortage of people desperate enough to work for a greedy bastard like me".
EDIT - GEE, THE NBC ARTICLE DIDN'T MENTION WHO ADAM ROBINSON IS!!!
I'M SURE IT WAS JUST AN OVERSIGHT....
"Adam Robinson was elected Chairman of the Chicago Republican Party on April 18, 2012 to a four-year term.[11] Robinson served as Republican Committeeman in Chicago's 48th Ward for the Cook County Republican Party. Robinson was appointed on July 25, 2011 to replace Committeeman Paul Bonilla, who stepped down,[12] and was re-elected to that position on March 20, 2012.[13] Robinson was elected as an Republican alternate presidential delegate for Illinois' 9th Congressional District in the 2012 Illinois Primary. In 2010, Robinson was the Republican nominee and challenger for the Illinois Senate, representing the 7th district in the Chicago area.[14]"
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Robinson_(politician)
How Russia sold its oil jewel: without saying who bought it
How Russia sold its oil jewel: without saying who bought it

By Katya Golubkova, Dmitry Zhdannikov and Stephen Jewkes | MOSCOW/LONDON/MILAN
More than a month after Russia announced one of its biggest privatizations since the 1990s, selling a 19.5 percent stake in its giant oil company Rosneft, it still isn't possible to determine from public records the full identities of those who bought it.
The stake was sold for 10.2 billion euros to a Singapore investment vehicle that Rosneft said was a 50/50 joint venture between Qatar and the Swiss oil trading firm Glencore.
Unveiling the deal at a televised meeting with Rosneft's boss Igor Sechin on Dec. 7, President Vladimir Putin called it a sign of international faith in Russia, despite U.S. and EU financial sanctions on Russian firms including Rosneft.
"It is the largest privatization deal, the largest sale and acquisition in the global oil and gas sector in 2016," Putin said.
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN1582OH
I Wonder Wonder Who?
Putin casts an adoring glance at our new Secretary of State. 
ENOUGH of this SHIT!!!
Is there anyone here who can tell me how much further Bannon can go before triggering the process that will lead to his trial for treason and imprisonment?
As Families Reunite At Dulles, Lawyers Say Customs And Border Protection Is Violating Court Order BY
Lawyers at Dulles say that Customs and Border Protection is violating a court order issued Saturday night by a federal judge in Virginia.
The temporary restraining order from U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema permits lawyers access to all legal permanent residents detained at Dulles International Airport, but attorneys still haven't been let back by Customs and Border Protection as of 11:50 p.m., despite presenting them with the court order.
"We are actually trying to bring a court marshall to see if they can comply with the court order," says Shahin Fallah, one of the many lawyers at the international terminal to help after President Donald Trump's executive order barring people, including legal residents and visa holders, from seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the U.S. for the next 90 days and suspends the refugee admissions program for 120 days
http://dcist.com/2017/01/photos_as_some_families_reunite_at.php
I hope I live to see Bannon thrown in prison.
BANNON TAKES CONTROL
JEFFERSON MORLEY, ALTERNET
28 JAN 2017 AT 00:02 ET
 



One key question of the Trump presidency in its first week is: who is actually going to perform the tasks associated with the job?
While the liberal comedians and right-wing pundits agitate themselves about crowd sizes, odd tweets and imaginary voter fraud, Politico and the Hill supply some data points about the all-important paper flow in Washington. Steve Bannon, the former Goldman Sachs executive-turned-Breitbart news chief, is running the government, while the president argues with actresses.
Politico reports that the executive orders Trump has been signing were prepared and coordinated by Bannon. Various Cabinet secretaries and congressional leaders were not consulted, according to the story. Such procedural corner-cutting is not inconsequential when it comes to spending $25 billion of taxpayer funds or running the CIA.
But whatever the eventual costs, the current reality seems to be that Bannon—not his White House rivals, chief of staff Reince Priebus or Vice President Mike Pence—decides what piece of paper gets put in front of Donald Trump’s pen.
The Breitbartization of the White House comes as no surprise to people at the conservative news site.
https://www.rawstory.com/2017/01/bannon-takes-control/
_256
Dangerous Liaisons: A CIA vets thoughts on Trump, loyalty, and the agency
By “Denise Matthews”
Best Defense guest columnist
"A much-missed friend and colleague from my time at the CIA, let’s call her “Cathy,” would probably have been delighted with President Donald Trump’s election. I can imagine Cathy rushing to get her name on the list to welcome Trump to headquarters last Saturday. Another friend and regular lunch date, “Michelle,” would likely have spent last Saturday downtown, marching in a “pussy hat” for the liberal issues she held dear.
I’ll never know for sure, of course, since Cathy and Michelle shared more than just agency employment. Each has a star on the CIA’s Wall of Honor. Each died in the line of duty supporting the policy of a president she had voted against.
I shudder at the idea of a president — any president, from either party — expecting ideological and personal loyalty. Last Saturday, Trump walked into a room of CIA officers — career civil servants subject to Hatch Act laws against partisan activity — and speculated they all had voted for him. He missed the point. However we voted, our oath was to the Constitution. I served under every president from Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama; my husband dates to Jimmy Carter. That matters. Our country needs the expertise that transcends a single presidency. More importantly, we need the protections that come from an intelligence service obedient to the law, and not a man.
What would a politicized intelligence service give us? Could a president trust assessments from an intelligence service that sought only his approval? Politicized intelligence gave us the “slam dunk” assessment that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction under Saddam Hussein. Ideologically driven leadership gave us Fidel Castro’s exploding cigars and the Bay of Pigs. Intelligence needs skeptics, not yes-men.
What, too, would come of American citizens’ protections from misuse of Intelligence Community capabilities? Today, I have faith in our systems for protecting against invasion of Americans’ privacy. I know how long I was trained to avoid unnecessary snooping, how carefully I was supervised, and the penalties I faced for breaking the rules. This system rests on a personal and organizational commitment to following the rules. When Trump states that we “have not used the real abilities that we have,” I wonder whether these abilities also include expanded domestic surveillance."
..........
"I can make one prediction with utter certainty: Trump will soon be confronted by an international crisis that will threaten U.S. lives and interests. This crisis may indeed come from the Islamic State, but it is equally likely to arise somewhere else on the planet. When that crisis comes, I can only pray that the CIA I remember still has the resources and access it needs to fulfill its mission: speaking truth to power, conducting covert actions abroad, and protecting our nation’s secrets.
“Denise Matthews” is the pseudonym of a recently retired CIA officer."
https://www.google.com/amp/foreignpolicy.com/2017/01/27/dangerous-liaisons-a-cia-vets-thoughts-on-trump-loyalty-and-the-agency/amp/
These are the people Trump insulted.
I am still reeling in shock and disbelief that this excuse for a man is in the White House.
Can We Trust the Russian Bear? Here's Your Answer...
Legendary spy novelist and retired MI6 officer John LeCarre ..
Trump Signs Muslim Ban
WASHINGTON — President Trump on Friday closed the nation’s borders to refugees from around the world, ordering that families fleeing the slaughter in Syria be indefinitely blocked from entering the United States, and temporarily suspending immigration from several predominantly Muslim countries.
Declaring the measure part of an extreme vetting plan to keep out “radical Islamic terrorists,” Mr. Trump also established a religious test for refugees from Muslim nations: He ordered that Christians and others from minority religions be granted priority over Muslims.
“We don’t want them here,” Mr. Trump said of Islamist terrorists during a signing ceremony at the Pentagon. “We want to ensure that we are not admitting into our country the very threats our soldiers are fighting overseas. We only want to admit those into our country who will support our country, and love deeply our people.”
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/01/27/us/politics/trump-syrian-refugees.html?_r=0&referer=http://www.google.com/
So begins the government of, by, and for Putin.
Profile Information
Member since: Tue Dec 27, 2016, 06:47 PMNumber of posts: 19,522
