Category: donald trump

  • Democratic U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut on Tuesday urged a federal judge to consider holding U.S. officials in contempt of court following the Trump administration’s alleged deportation of multiple immigrants from Southeast Asia to South Sudan, possibly in violation of an order handed down by that same judge earlier this spring. On Tuesday, lawyers for the immigrants accused…

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    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • Republicans’ marquee reconciliation bill would redistribute wealth from the poorest to the richest Americans over the next decade, new estimates from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) show. An analysis of the bill, dubbed by President Donald Trump as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” finds that the poorest 10 percent of Americans would experience a 4 percent decrease in their household…

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    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • As a Republican-sponsored budget bill advances through Congress, we hear from Bishop William Barber about how the bill hurts low-income people. “It is about death-dealing and destruction to the poor and the elderly and the youth of our country,” says Barber, citing the bill’s cuts to essential social services like Medicaid and paralleling those cuts to the government’s funding of defense and…

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    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • The recent actions of Donald Trump’s administration have raised significant concerns, particularly regarding economic policy and public health. Not least in this is proposed tax legislation – which could end up adding a staggering $3 trillion to the US national debt just to give tax breaks to Trump’s rich mates.

    Trump: not exactly a shrewd businessman, is he?

    A non-partisan report from the Congressional Budget Office has revealed that the Republican-backed tax and spending bill, which has garnered enthusiastic support from president Trump, is poised to wreak havoc on the nation’s financial stability.

    The proposed legislation, if passed, could add over $3 trillion to the national debt according to nonpartisan analysis, a staggering amount that highlights the ongoing prioritisation of wealth accumulation for the richest over the welfare of the most vulnerable.

    It’s an alarming proposition that, while touted as a pathway to growth, would disproportionately harm low-income Americans who are already struggling under existing economic pressures. This rushed effort by Congressional Republicans to push through the bill before Memorial Day reflects a desperate attempt to solidify economic policies that benefit the elite few, at the expense of the many.

    The Golden Dome

    In another significant development, Trump has introduced an ambitious $175 billion initiative known as the “Golden Dome” missile defence system.

    This project aims to deploy hundreds of satellites for tracking and intercepting potential missile threats—largely framed as necessary against perceived aggressors like China and Russia. However, behind the rhetoric lies a troubling reality: the pursuit of such high-stakes military endeavours diverts essential resources away from pressing domestic issues.

    Critics argue that this is a glaring example of misplaced priorities, where massive amounts of taxpayer money are funneled into military projects while essential services such as healthcare and education remain underfunded. Trump’s decision to lead this project through the U.S. Space Force reflects an alarming militarisation of space, further entrenching an adversarial posture that could lead to greater global tensions.

    In a startling juxtaposition, recent news also highlights a health crisis brewing in the nation.

    Chaos under Trump

    A salmonella outbreak linked to cucumbers from Florida’s Bedner Growers has affected at least 26 people across 15 states, with nine requiring hospitalisation. This incident follows a similar outbreak last year involving the same grower, underscoring significant lapses in food safety regulations.

    The government’s response in addressing such public health threats is crucial; yet, resources and attention seem disproportionately allocated to expansive military projects. For the everyday American, especially those already on the brink due to constant economic strain, such outbreaks should signal the urgent need for better health protections rather than an increase in military expenditure.

    With all these developments unfolding, you cannot help but wonder about the future trajectory of the US under Trump’s policies.

    The clash between military spending, inadequate healthcare response, and the widening gap between the wealthy and the poor paints a bleak picture. It invites a critical examination of what truly matters in the nation today. Are the lives and health of regular citizens being sacrificed for extravagant defence projects, and will we continue to allow this cycle of neglect to persist?

    The pressing need for a shift towards prioritising the needs of the people over the ambitions of the powerful cannot be overstated. Yet under Trump, that seems unlikely to happen.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Steve Topple

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • President Donald Trump has chosen a concept plan for his “Golden Dome” missile defense system that he says would cost $175 billion — but that other government officials say could cost over $800 billion in the next 20 years. The president said in remarks in the Oval Office that the system, inspired by Israel’s Iron Dome, would be “fully operational before the end of my term” in 2029.

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    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • A $5 million gold card. A reality show for migrants. A birthright under assault.

    Let us be very clear: the Trump Administration does not want citizenship to be a right. They want it to be a reward for the loyal, the rich, or the compliant.

    To this end, President Trump’s bid to unilaterally end birthright citizenship for children born in the United States to undocumented immigrants is a modern-day Trojan horse masquerading as a concern for national security.

    This is not about protecting America, but redefining America from the top down.

    That redefinition is already underway.

    The Trump Administration’s plans to sell $5 million “gold cards” to wealthy investors as a path to citizenship and consideration of a pitch for a reality show that would “pit immigrants against each other for a chance at a fast-tracked path to citizenship” are not just absurd—they’re obscene.

    They reveal a government willing to reduce constitutional rights to commodities, auctioned off to the highest bidder or trivialized for ratings.

    This governing by performance turns a constitutional guarantee into a privilege for sale or spectacle. It’s part of a calculated effort to recast citizenship as conditional, transactional, and exclusionary. Whether by wealth, loyalty, or ideology, this emerging framework decides who is “deserving” of rights—and who is not.

    It is fear-based nationalism that disguises a deeper threat: the normalization of government power to decide who is entitled to rights and who is not.

    We see this in action with the Trump Administration’s stance on childbirth and citizenship.

    It’s a contradiction: while the Trump Administration decries falling birthrates and offers financial incentives for childbirth, it demonizes birthright citizenship for the very communities that are actually having children and contributing significantly to the economy without any guarantee of anything in return.

    Yet this brazenly hypocritical double standard is just a distraction, part of the political theater designed to pit Americans against each other while the power brokers rewrite the rules behind closed doors.

    The real power play rests in the Trump Administration’s efforts to gut the Fourteenth Amendment, sidestep the courts, and redefine who qualifies as American—all by executive fiat.

    Redefining citizenship by executive order is not governance. It is a bloodless coup—one that overthrows a constitutional republic founded on the rule of law—to reconfigure the face of the nation in the image of the unelected Deep State and its machinery of control.

    Enacted in the wake of the Civil War, the Fourteenth Amendment was designed to ensure that all persons born on U.S. soil would be recognized as full citizens—a direct rebuke to the Supreme Court’s infamous Dred Scott decision, which held that Black Americans could not be citizens. Its language is unambiguous: all persons born or naturalized in the U.S., and subject to its jurisdiction, are citizens.

    This principle was upheld by the Supreme Court in United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898), which affirmed that children born in the U.S. to foreign nationals are entitled to citizenship under the Fourteenth Amendment.

    That precedent still stands.

    Yet that legacy—of constitutional protections prevailing over prejudice—is now at risk.

    Some have recently argued—including the Trump Administration in legal filings—that the Fourteenth Amendment was intended solely to grant citizenship to the children of former slaves after the Civil War, and thus no longer applies to children born to undocumented immigrants. But if that logic is taken seriously, it undermines the citizenship of everyone born in America.

    After all, if the government—not the Constitution—gets to decide who qualifies as a citizen, then no one’s status is secure.

    If your citizenship depends on government approval, your rights aren’t inalienable—they’re transitory privileges.

    That’s not just bad law. It’s tyranny in the making.

    Despite Trump’s attempts to rule by fiat and executive order, presidents cannot pick and choose which parts of the Constitution they will honor.

    Yet perhaps even more concerning than Trump’s war on birthright citizenship itself is the administration’s underlying legal strategy to test the limits of judicial authority—specifically, to restrict the power of federal district courts to issue nationwide injunctions against unconstitutional actions.

    You see, this is not just an immigration battle, nor is it only a challenge to the Fourteenth Amendment.

    It is a calculated attempt to strip the judiciary of its ability to check executive abuse and a full-frontal assault on the judiciary’s role as a co-equal branch of government entrusted with interpreting the law and defending individual rights against majoritarian overreach.

    If successful, it would mark a seismic shift in the balance of powers, subordinating the courts to the whims of the executive branch.

    As James Madison wrote, the accumulation of all powers in the same hands may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.

    The same unchecked power used to deny citizenship to the children of immigrants today could just as easily be turned against you to strip you of your citizenship, based on your political beliefs, religious views, or failure to toe the party line.

    This is the danger the Founders warned against: a government that grants rights only to the loyal, the favored, or the compliant.

    And make no mistake: what we’re witnessing is another point along the slippery slope of the effort to recast birthright citizenship—not as a right—but as a privilege, subject to political approval and ideological purity tests.

    In this emerging framework, being born in America is no longer enough—you must also prove your worth, allegiance, and compliance.

    Worse still, this would set a precedent that constitutional rights can be rewritten by executive whim, paving the way for even greater erosions of liberty.

    If we do not hold the line here, this erosion of liberty will only accelerate.

    Birthright citizenship is more than a legal technicality. It is a cornerstone of American democracy and equality. The attempt to destroy it through executive power is a direct threat to the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary, and the future of liberty in America.

    As I make clear in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People and in its fictional counterpart The Erik Blair Diaries, if the government can erase one constitutional right today, it can erase another tomorrow.

    This is exactly why the Founders drafted a Constitution that limits power and protects individuals, not just the popular or the powerful.

    Once we allow the government to decide who is “deserving” of rights, we’ve already surrendered the rule of law. What remains is not a constitutional republic, but an empire of arbitrary rule.

    The post They’re Coming for Your Birthright: Citizenship as Spectacle, Transaction, or Privilege first appeared on Dissident Voice.

    This post was originally published on Dissident Voice.

  • After a two-hour telephone call between the presidents of Russia and the United States on Monday, President Vladimir Putin said:

    I would like to emphasize once again that the conversation was very constructive, and I rate it highly. The question, of course, is for the Russian and Ukrainian sides to show maximum desire for peace and find compromises that would suit all parties. At the same time,I would like to note that Russia’s position is generally clear. The main thing for us is to eliminate the root causes of this crisis.

    It should be no mystery to Western leaders, media and the public what those root causes are, as Moscow has been repeating them ad nauseam beginning 30 years ago and especially in the run up to Russia’s 2022 intervention in Ukraine’s then eight-year old civil war.

    The post Rooting Out The Root Causes In Ukraine appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • Dozens of Texans packed into a Methodist church in San Antonio, Texas for the “Women’s Socialism Conference,” organized by the Party for Socialism and Liberation. The gathering was the first of its kind in Texas. Attendees traveled to San Antonio from across the state and the country to talk about the issues that women face in Texas and how socialist ideas and policies could be a solution.

    According to Destiney Peña, an organizer with the PSL in San Antonio, the conference challenges the narrative that Texas is a “lost cause” politically, or a “state full of Trump supporters,” rather than a state with a diverse range of political opinions.

    The post Socialist Women In Texas Vow To Take On Abortion Bans appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • Today marks four months since would-be dictator Trump took office. How is the progressive resistance doing in its urgent battle to prevent what Trump and the MAGA want to impose?

    In early February, a few weeks into this time of testing, I identified our objectives over the next two years as “making as many advances as we can on local and state levels while preventing as much damage as possible to the primary MAGA targets: US democracy, human and civil rights, including internationally, organized labor and programs that benefit low- and moderate-income working people, and the natural environment on which all life depends.” I put forward five areas of focus, five tactics, that I thought were critical for successful resistance: street heat, local/state/federal government, courts, media and publicity, and outreach.

    I think the most important development over these months has been the emergence of massive, repeated, and geographically widespread street heat, millions of us demonstrating in state capitols, in DC, at Tesla dealerships, in thousands of towns in every single state. The high point so far was three and a half million of us in the streets for the April 5 “Hands Off” actions, but the many other national days of action, beginning with 50501’s February 5 mobilization, have all been critical to building a widespread spirit of resistance.

    June 14, No Kings Day, is the next major nationwide action, and with 880  actions already on the calendar, there is reason to believe this will be bigger than April 5. We should all do whatever we can to make it so!

    These actions have undoubtedly strengthened those of us taking part in them and others: law firms, Harvard and other major universities, judges, media figures, faith leaders, and more. Indeed, courage is contagious, and on that front, we should feel good about what we have accomplished so far.

    As far as the courts, according to the Associated Press, as of today, 158 Trump executive orders, or 76% of them, have either been blocked or are pending, with 49, or 24%, taking effect. These are not good numbers for the Trumpfascists and a sign that they are going to have a hard time doing all that they want to do.

    It’s also significant that the Supreme Court has, in several cases, refused to do Trump’s bidding. There are clear signs that not just the three liberal judges but also some conservatives, especially Roberts and Barrett, have substantial concerns about Trump’s efforts to dominate both Congress and the courts.

    What about Congress? As I write, the Republicans who run the House of Representatives with a tiny majority struggle to pass the reconciliation bill, ridiculously named the “Big Beautiful Bill,” they have been working on for months. If eventually passed, and that’s a definite “if,” the Republican-run Senate is by no means ready to approve what the House comes up with. There are many internal differences, some strongly felt, both within the overall House and on the part of more than a few Senators in relation to how and what the House is doing.

    That is why many groups, right now, are organizing to mobilize massive pressure on members of the House. All of us should be flooding House members demanding, if Democrats, that they speak out and do whatever they can to frustrate MAGA plans. Even more important, pressure is needed on Republicans, especially those who are in Congressional districts that are expected to be competitive in 2026.

    As far as media and publicity, our actions in the streets and the growing willingness of people and organized groups from a broad mix of backgrounds to speak up and resist have had an impact on more than the usual progressive media sources. The Wall Street Journal (!), as one big example, has been very critical of Trump, mainly for his poor leadership when it comes to the economy, especially the tariff debacle. Every once in a while, Fox News people have had specific criticisms of what the Trump Administration is doing. Overall, in no way has the mass media, and certainly not progressive media, including social media, been cowed into silence and submission.

    There are other indicators that the progressive resistance should take heart and keep on with our absolutely essential work:

    -Where have the MAGAs been when we have demonstrated repeatedly in the streets, including the streets in deep red states? I’ve heard of very, very few instances of any substantive, MAGA, in-person street opposition. This has to be in part because, as polls have shown, there is a lot of discontent among a significant percentage of Trump voters about his handling of the economy, particularly the tariff debacle.

    -Bernie Sanders and AOC deserve a loud shout-out for the leadership they gave with their Fight Oligarchy tour of mainly red states, drawing thousands and sometimes tens of thousands of people to their rallies. That’s a huge example of the kind of outreach much needed over the coming months and years.

    There is something special about this demonstration of the power of age and youth joining together, which has also been reflected in many of the street actions. Bernie and AOC are showing in action how to take on the MAGAs in a way that also builds a strong, independent people’s movement not controlled by the corporate-friendly wing of the Democratic Party.

    -And what about Pope Leo 14? The Catholic Church, as male-dominated and hierarchical as it still is, has decided to continue the more progressive direction that the late Pope Francis worked to advance. We now have a new Pope from Chicago, an American who has already made clear he will speak out for those whom the Trumpists are demonizing and deporting, criminalizing, and hurting. For those who believe in a higher power, it could be seen as a sign that, despite Trump, despite Gaza, despite so many reasons not to have hope, there is hope.

    It really is true that there ain’t no power like the power of the people, organized, and the power of the people doesn’t stop.

    The post Trump’s First Four Months first appeared on Dissident Voice.

    This post was originally published on Dissident Voice.

  • Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem gave an outrageously incorrect definition of the basic and key legal term habeas corpus on Tuesday, as the Trump administration is exploring suspending the fundamental right in what would represent a massive step toward authoritarianism. Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-New Hampshire) asked Noem to simply define habeas corpus — which allows people to challenge…

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    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • The police watched us. The march leaders chanted, “Tell me what democracy looks like!” We answered, “This is what democracy looks like!” Ducking under signs and umbrellas, I saw us, the left, grim-faced and determined. The gray sky and rain added a heaviness. I pivoted and noted the absence of Black New Yorkers. Where were we? I left the march, carried my sign on the A-train…

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    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • NYC Women’s March Jan 21, 2017 (Image by David Andersson)

    The mainstream media seems to be waiting for a clash between Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and U.S. President Donald Trump. Both figures embody starkly different visions of the present moment. Sheinbaum, Mexico’s first woman president and a self-described humanist, enjoys an approval rating around 70% and stands in constant tension with her northern neighbor. Trump, by contrast, has taken a right-wing, macho, discriminatory posture—an attempt to impose dominance on the world through fear and bullying.

    Sheinbaum’s election marks a significant step forward for women, especially in a country historically defined by machismo. Who would have imagined, even a few decades ago, that Mexico—a deeply patriarchal society—would elect a woman to its highest office?
    Her presidency is not just symbolic; it is a declaration of new values. During a press conference in Mexico City on January 31, 2025, a reporter asked President Sheinbaum about the historical significance of designating 2025 as the Year of Indigenous Women.
    Her response was breathtaking in its clarity and force. She calmly broke with conventional political rhetoric, beginning with, “Why not?” Then she continued:

    “Indigenous women represent a vindication; they are the origin of Mexico, and we have never recognized them in the way we are recognizing them now. The question is: why does this seem strange?”

    When the reporter asked whether there was another reason behind the designation, she replied:

    “Of course—there is a historical reason, a reason of social justice. Indigenous women have been historically the most discriminated against and the least recognized. And now we are claiming justice for all women, and from the beginning, who do we have to recognize first? Indigenous women, who for years have been forgotten in our history. That is the reason. So perhaps the real question is: why does it seem strange that we celebrate 2025 as the Year of Indigenous Women? There is no other reason—this is enough.”

    Sheinbaum’s answer encapsulates the essence of the ongoing revolution in women’s roles—breaking glass ceilings and honoring those whose voices have been silenced for generations. It’s not just about power; it’s about recognition, healing, and justice.

    Just a hundred years ago, women around the world were largely confined to the domestic sphere, often spending decades of their lives giving birth, raising children, and, in many cases, dying shortly after menopause. In the early 1900s, life expectancy for women in the U.S. was about 48.3 years (compared to 46.3 years for men). By 1950, it had increased to around 71 years, and by 2000, to nearly 80. These numbers reflect advances in healthcare and a radical shift in the quality and autonomy of women’s lives.

    The real revolution, however, took place not in statistics but in everyday life. Women began stepping out of the home and into public life—not as a coordinated movement, but through millions of individual acts of courage and determination. Day by day, they did things they hadn’t done the day before. They pushed boundaries—seeking education, financial independence, and visibility in all sectors: sports, entertainment, academia, science, and politics. They opened doors that had long been closed and refused to turn back.

    This transformation manifests differently across cultures but follows similar patterns. In the economic sphere, for instance, China’s tech industry now boasts that 41% of companies have at least one female founder, surpassing the representation in many Western countries. In family structures, about 21% of mothers in the United States were single mothers in 2023, reflecting women’s increased ability to form families on their own terms. In governance, the European Union now mandates gender parity in its governing bodies, institutionalizing what began as individual women’s political aspirations.

    Perhaps most telling are the migration patterns that reveal women voting with their feet. How many women, for example, have migrated alone from South America to cities like New York, fleeing machismo and seeking a better life for themselves and their children? These personal journeys represent millions of individual revolutions in consciousness—women deciding they deserve more than traditional structures offered them.

    While this quiet revolution has transformed many institutions, others remain resistant to change. Religious organizations, in particular, have often been among the last bastions of male dominance. One of the major challenges awaiting the new pope is the Catholic Church’s exclusion of women from the priesthood and senior leadership roles. How can it still be justified, in 2025, that half of humanity is denied full participation in one of the world’s most influential spiritual institutions?

    So, how did this transformation unfold—this unstoppable movement toward equality? Importantly, it didn’t emerge from political parties. Both the left and right lagged behind when it came to women’s rights; for a long time, even so-called progressive movements failed to treat women with the respect they deserved. And today, political and religious forces in many countries are actively working to reverse this progress, as seen in the erosion of abortion rights in parts of the United States.

    What makes this revolution so extraordinary is how it differs from violent political revolutions of the past. There were no firing squads, gulags, or mass exile of opponents. Women changed society by transforming themselves and their immediate environments—step by step, generation by generation—creating new possibilities for life, work, and community. And they did so without tanks, nuclear threats, concentration camps, or revenge.

    This is a revolution of consciousness—a profound shift in how half of humanity perceives itself and its possibilities. It has unfolded through presence, creativity, and persistence rather than through domination. In leaders like Sheinbaum, we see not just the fruits of this revolution but its continuation—a vision of power based not on fear but on recognition, not on domination but on justice. It is shaping a future not just for women, but for all humanity.

    The post The Quiet Revolution: Women, Power, and the Transformation of Our Time first appeared on Dissident Voice.


    This content originally appeared on Dissident Voice and was authored by David Andersson.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • US President Donald Trump claimed he would “un-unite” Russia and China. However, this divide-and-conquer strategy — which prominent US officials like Henry Kissinger have advocated since the 1970s — is clearly failing.

    In a meeting in Moscow celebrating the 80th anniversary of their nations’ shared victory in World War Two, Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin reaffirmed that “China-Russia relations have reached the highest level in history”.

    In a lengthy statement, Beijing and Moscow vowed to “jointly resist any attempts to interfere with and disrupt the traditional friendship and deep mutual trust between China and Russia”.

    The post Trump’s Far-Fetched Attempt To Divide Russia And China Is Clearly Failing appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • On March 1, President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled “Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production.” The order claimed “onerous Federal policies” have hindered domestic timber production and that expanding logging was a matter of protecting “national and economic security.” It ordered the secretary of the Interior and head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), who oversee the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) respectively, to develop a plan to expand timber targets and streamline permitting “to suspend, revise, or rescind all existing regulations, orders, guidance documents, policies, settlements, consent orders, and other agency actions that impose an undue burden on timber production.”

    The post Order To Expand Logging Threatens To Increase Climate-Fueled Wildfires appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • President Donald Trump is hardly an avatar for underconsumption. With a net worth of roughly $5 billion, the business mogul, crypto salesman and former reality TV star boasts a sprawling portfolio of lavish properties, private jets and luxury cars. But amid the tumultuous rollout of his sweeping tariff policy, Trump has had an unexpected message for U.S. consumers: buy less.

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    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • The US financial landscape stands on the brink of a major transformation – and potential collapse – as Donald Trump prepares to roll back some of the most significant banking regulations enacted in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. Of course, Trump being Trump it goes against any sense of justice for most ordinary citizens – and will merely serve to line the pockets of the rich.

    Trump: slashing financial regulation

    As the Guardian reported:

    US watchdogs are reportedly planning to slash capital rules for banks designed to prevent another 2008-style crash, as Donald Trump’s deregulation drive opens the door to the biggest rollback of post-crisis protections in more than a decade.

    The move follows heavy lobbying by the banking industry, with lenders such as JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs having long complained that competition and lending have been hindered by burdensome rules governing the assets they must hold versus their liabilities.

    Regulators are expected to put forward the proposals this summer, aimed at cutting the supplementary leverage ratio that requires big banks to hold high-quality capital against risky assets including loans and derivatives

    Central to Trump’s proposed changes is a proposed reduction in capital requirements, particularly focusing on the supplementary leverage ratio—a key measure designed to ensure banks maintain adequate buffers against losses.

    The administration’s drive to ease these restrictions aims primarily to boost liquidity within the banking sector. Proponents argue that reducing the regulatory burden on banks will enable increased lending and economic growth.

    However, this approach has been met with significant criticism from experts and observers.

    What the hell just happened?

    People are warning that Trump’s drive for deregulation could amplify systemic risks within an already volatile financial system.

    Detractors of the policy highlight the dangers of encouraging potentially reckless practices reminiscent of those that contributed to the financial meltdown more than a decade ago.

    Critics contend that looser regulations could embolden banks to take on excessive risk, ultimately leaving ordinary people vulnerable to the fallout of another crisis. These concerns are particularly poignant given the historical precedent where such deregulation had devastating impacts on the broader economy and the lives of countless individuals.

    Adding complexity to the unfolding financial landscape is the use of Synthetic Risk Transfers (SRTs), practices employed by banks to shift credit risks onto external investors.

    By leveraging SRTs, financial institutions can reduce their apparent risk exposure, enabling them to present a healthier balance sheet while effectively transferring the underlying risk elsewhere. Analysts warn that this tactic may mask the true stability of banks, potentially obscuring vulnerabilities that could have far-reaching economic consequences.

    This financial recalibration in the US contrasts markedly with developments elsewhere.

    Trump could be laying the groundwork for another global shock

    The international reverberations of the Trump administration’s policies are significant. European actors have been actively engaging to influence US decisions, aware that shifts in American financial regulation can have profound impacts across transatlantic economic ties. These dynamics underscore the interconnected nature of global finance and the risks posed when key players adopt divergent strategies in overseeing their banking systems.

    Overall, as US congresswoman Pramila Jayapal said on X:

    After the Great Recession — which cost millions of jobs and destroyed countless lives — our government put regulations in place to make sure it never happened again.

    Now, Trump is getting rid of those rules. What could possibly go wrong?

    Ultimately, the rollback of regulatory measures by the Trump administration signals a fundamental shift in America’s approach to financial oversight—one that prioritises deregulation in the name of economic stimulus but which raises pressing questions about the resilience and integrity of the banking sector moving forward.

    We’ve been here before in the US, when the Clinton administration rolled back the Glass-Steagall Act in 1999 – a move which directly led to the 2008 financial crash. Trump now looks set to do similar, but of course it won’t be him and his ilk who are affected when it all goes wrong.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Steve Topple

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • The bad news on climate change is plentiful. For one, there is no sign of a decline in global carbon dioxide emissions and the Earth is getting hotter faster than ever before, despite constant pledges of government action. And now, of course, the second Trump administration is implementing policies that represent the biggest attack on nature, climate and people ever. Yet…

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    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • bruce-springsteen-en-concert-en-allemagne-en-juillet-photo-sipa-ap-georg-wendt-1694060256.jpg
    Speaking at a concert in Manchester, the American singer-songwriter said his country was “in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration.”

    Musicians protesting against political leaders and government policies have a long and distinguished history in the United States. Bruce Springsteen, 75, one of the country’s most beloved singer-songwriters, lambasted President Donald Trump this week at a concert in Manchester, England, during the first leg of his “Land of Hope and Dreams” tour.

    Here is a transcript of Springsteen’s remarks:

    Introduction to Land of Hope and Dreams

    Good Evening!

    It’s great to be in Manchester and back in the U.K. Welcome to the Land of Hope & Dreams Tour! The mighty E Street Band is here tonight to call upon the righteous power of art, of music, of rock ‘n’ roll in dangerous times.

    In my home, the America I love, the America I’ve written about, that has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years, is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration.

    Tonight, we ask all who believe in democracy and the best of our American experiment to rise with us, raise your voices against authoritarianism and let freedom ring!

    Introduction to House of a Thousand Guitars

    The last check, the last check on power after the checks and balances of government have failed are the people, you and me. It’s in the union of people around a common set of values now that’s all that stands between a democracy and authoritarianism. At the end of the day, all we’ve got is each other.

    Introduction to My City of Ruins

    There’s some very weird, strange and dangerous shit going on out there right now. In America, they are persecuting people for using their right to free speech and voicing their dissent. This is happening now.

    In America, the richest men are taking satisfaction in abandoning the world’s poorest children to sickness and death. This is happening now.

    In my country, they’re taking sadistic pleasure in the pain they inflict on loyal American workers.

    They’re rolling back historic civil rights legislation that has led to a more just and plural society.

    They are abandoning our great allies and siding with dictators against those struggling for their freedom. They are defunding American universities that won’t bow down to their ideological demands.

    They are removing residents off American streets and, without due process of law, are deporting them to foreign detention centers and prisons. This is all happening now.

    A majority of our elected representatives have failed to protect the American people from the abuses of an unfit president and a rogue government. They have no concern or idea for what it means to be deeply American.

    The America l’ve sung to you about for 50 years is real and regardless of its faults is a great country with a great people. So we’ll survive this moment. Now, I have hope, because I believe in the truth of what the great American writer James Baldwin said. He said, ‘In this world, there isn’t as much humanity as one would like, but there’s enough.’ Let’s pray.

    In a statement, the White House lashed out at Springsteen saying that “the 77 million Americans that elected President Trump disagree with elitist and out-of-touch celebrities like Bruce Springsteen. Bruce is welcome to stay overseas while hardworking Americans enjoy a secure border and cooling inflation thanks to President Trump.”

    On Friday, Mr. Trump responded on his social media platform, saying that the rocker is “just a pushy, obnoxious JERK, who fervently supported Crooked Joe Biden, a mentally incompetent FOOL, and our WORST EVER President, who came close to destroying our Country.”

    He added: “Springsteen is ‘dumb as a rock,’ and couldn’t see what was going on, or could he (which is even worse!)? This dried out ‘prune’ of a rocker (his skin is all atrophied!) ought to KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT until he gets back into the Country, that’s just ‘standard fare.’ Then we’ll all see how it goes for him!”

    Dating back to pre-Revolutionary War times, protest music has always had its day. “Yankee Doodle” was ordered played by the Marquis de Lafayette after the British surrender at Yorktown. The music of the abolition movement celebrated African musical traditions.

    During the Great Depression Woody Guthrie sang about refugees forced of their land and migrating across the country. Billie Holiday singing Abel Meeropol’s 1939 anti-lynching song “Strange Fruit” was a catalyst for the civil rights movement. Paul Robeson sang about mistreated workers. Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Marvin Gaye and others crafted songs protesting, racism, social injustice, and the foolhardiness of the Viet Nam War.

    In 2003, at a concert in London, The Chicks (then known as The Dixie Chicks) spoke out against George W. Bush and the Iraq War, triggering a backlash that had an enormous effect on its career. At the time, The Dixie Chicks were one of the most popular American country acts. After the statement was reported it triggered a backlash from American country listeners. The group was blacklisted by many country radio stations, received death threats and was criticized by other country musicians.

    In addition to his tour, later this summer, Springsteen will release a new album collection that will include dozens of “never-before-heard” songs from previously unreleased records.

    The post Bruce Springsteen Lambastes “Treasonous” Trump During Start of European Tour first appeared on Dissident Voice.

    This post was originally published on Dissident Voice.

  • On May 17, MSNBC, a Democratic Party propaganda-site, issued an “opinion” article that was loaded with links to its sources, including Republicans, and the article honestly represented what it reported, and its sources were entirely credible, so that that article actually constituted news, and not only this, but it is very important news for every American: Donald Trump’s proposed tax-legislation would, if passed into law, include front-end-loaded (short-term) tax-cuts for the poor, and back-end-loaded — indeed PERMANENT — tax-cuts for multimillionaires and billionaires, so as to pay for the increased spending that Trump wants for just two federal Departments — the Defense Department and the Homeland Security Department (both of which Departments most other nations’ Governments classify as being for national security or the military and so are called “defense spending”) — and decreased spending on every other federal Department (including all services to the poor).

    So: on the taxes side, Trump wants increases on the poor and decreases on the rich; and, on the spending side, he wants spending increases on the military, and spending decreases on everything else.

    If you want to see the MSNBC News report, click here; and, if you want to see the analysis that I did on Trump’s proposed federal budget, click here.

    A further indication of Trump’s priorities as to how he intends to spend U.S. taxpayers’ dollars was provided also on May 17, at The Arab Weekly, headlining “US said to be developing ‘a plan’ to move one million Palestinians to Libya: In exchange for resettling the Palestinians, the administration would release to Libya billions of dollars of funds.” Some important background on why Palestinians refuse to relocate out of Palestine, is that any who do, will thereby lose their legal right of return because that territory will then be taken by Israel and resettled by Zionist Jews, so that the result would then be a total defeat of the Palestinians by Israel — all of their legal rights will have been lost. And whatever they might ‘gain’ would be at gunpoint — NOT as part of any authentic deal that they had participated in. (And, indeed, the recipients of those American taxpayers’ billions of dollars will have been NOT any Palestinians, but, instead, whatever Libyan ‘government’ would be agreeing to accept the Gazans.) And then, that would be a million Gazans whom Netanyahu won’t need to slaughter in order for Trump and his friends to be able to build their hotels and resorts on the Mediterranean Sea, at the sandy beaches which had formerly been the Gaza beachfront of Palestine.

    According to the U.S. Constitution (Article II, Section 2, Clause 2), all proposed international agreements, or “treaties,” that the U.S. Government joins, have first been passed by a two-thirds majority of the U.S. Senate. However, ever since 1974, that provision of the U.S. Constitution has routinely been violated. (It’s done on the theory that if the Executive and the Legislative branches both want to violate it, then the treaty will be simply relabeled a “congressional-executive agreement” — CEA) — which is negotiated between those two Branches and approved not by any two-thirds vote, but only by a 50% majority in both Houses, just like any regular law does that gets to a President’s desk for his/her signature. This verbal trick against the Founders’ intention when they wrote the Constitution, makes far easier for America’s billionaires to get the treaties that they want. The U.S. has had a traitorous Government like this ever since 1945, when the Declaration-of-War clause became no longer functional — and thus the military-industrial complex started to rule the U.S. Government — which also was achieved by means of a form of CEA.)

    The post Trump Proposes Tax-Increases on Poor to Fund Tax-Cuts on Rich first appeared on Dissident Voice.

    This post was originally published on Dissident Voice.

  • Massive explosions shook the Gaza Strip in the first hours of Saturday morning as Israeli warplanes launched intensive airstrikes on north, south, and central Gaza, in what the Israeli army called “preparations to expand operations” in the Strip.

    Israeli airstrikes hit Khan Younis, Deir al-Balah, several parts of Gaza City, and Jabalia. A resident of the Shati’ refugee camp in Gaza City told Mondoweiss that “the occupation army had issued orders to evacuate Shati’ camp, but they called off the orders — and then they called for an evacuation again, keeping residents in constant anxiety.”

    “Then, yesterday night, they began bombing all over Gaza, including Shati’ camp,” the Shati’ resident added. “It lasted all night.”

    The post Israel Just Launched Its Offensive To Permanently ‘Conquer’ Gaza appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • In 2020, this columnist and many other people observed that Joe Biden was not a healthy man. His confusion and his strange and angry outbursts, such as telling a voter who questioned his position on the second amendment that he was, “Full of shit,” are now legendary. Robert Hur, appointed special counsel investigating whether Biden had improperly held classified materials, not only described Biden as “an elderly man with a poor memory” but gave examples of troubling lapses for a man who was president and expected to run for office again.

    “In his interview with our office, Mr. Biden’s memory was worse.

    The post Corruption, Lies, Biden’s Health And Trump’s Victory appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • Contrary to the propaganda of moral upstarts, terrorism pays. It proves rewarding. It establishes states and reconstitutes others. It encourages change, for ill or otherwise. The stance taken, righteously pitiful, on not negotiating with those who practise it, is as faulty as battling gravity. The case of Syria’s interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, is a brilliant example of this. While seen as a new broom that did away with the government of President Bashar al-Assad in such stunning fashion, al-Sharaa’s bristles remain blood speckled.

    The scene says it all: a meeting lasting 37 minutes in Riyadh with a US President holding hands in communal machismo with a bearded Jihadi warrior who once had a $10 million bounty on his head. Present was the delighted Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammad bin Salman, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan joining by telephone.

    It proved most rewarding for al-Sharaa, who has become a salesman for the new Syria, scrubbing up for appearances. His main message: remove crushing sanctions barring access to investment and finance. It also proved rewarding for the efforts made by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in convincing the Trump administration that a new approach towards Damascus was warranted. “The sanctions,” reflected Trump, “were brutal and crippling and served as an important, really, an important function nevertheless at the time, but now it’s their time to shine.” But lifting sanctions would offer Syria “a chance at greatness”. This signalled a striking volte face from the stance taken in December 2024, when Trump expressed the view that Syria was “a mess”, not a friend of the United States and not deserving of any intervention from Washington.

    In remarks made by Trump to journalists keeping him company, the US President expressed admiration for the strongman, the brute, the resilient survivor. “Tough guy, very strong past.” And what a past, one marked by links to al-Qaeda via the affiliate Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group that were only severed in 2017. HTS’s predecessor, Jabhat al-Nusra, was commanded by al-Sharaa, then known by his nom de guerre, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani. In January 2017, HTS was born as a collective of Salafi jihadists comprising Harakat Nour al-Din al-Zinki, Liwa al-Haq, Jaysh al-Sunna and Jabhat Ansar al-Din.

    Even at present, a shadow lingers over al-Sharaa’s interim government. In March, over 100 people were butchered in the coastal city of Banias. These atrocities were directed against the Alawite minority and instigated by militias affiliated with the new regime, ostensibly as part of a response to attacks in Latakia and Tartous from armed groups affiliated with the deposed Assad regime. According to Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard, “the authorities failed to intervene to stop the killings. Once again, Syrian civilians have found themselves bearing the heaviest cost as parties to the conflict seek to settle scores.”

    The announcement by Trump on lifting US sanctions sent officials scurrying. While the plan to bring Syria out of the cold had been on the books for some months, the timing, as with all things with the US president, was fickle. Presidential waivers on sanctions do, after all, only go so far and the more technically minded will have to pour over the details of repeal.

    The Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered a dose of clarification some 24 hours after the announcement. “If we make enough progress, we’d like to see the law repealed, because you’re going to struggle to find people to [invest] in a country when [at any point] in six months, sanctions could come back. We’re not there yet. That’s premature.”

    Progress is in the works, with Rubio meeting his Syrian counterpart, Foreign Minister Asad Hassan al-Shaibani in Antalya on May 15. In comments from State Department spokesman, Tammy Bruce, the Secretary “welcomed the Syrian government’s calls for peace with Israel, efforts to end Iran’s influence in Syria, commitment to ascertaining the fate of US citizens missing or killed in Syria, and elimination of all chemical weapons.”

    In answers to a press gathering, Rubio revealed how much of a success al-Sharaa has been in wooing Washington. “We have governing authorities there now who have expressed, not openly and repeatedly, that they do – that this is a nationalistic movement designed to building their country in a pluralistic society in which all the different elements of Syrian society are able to live together.” There had also been an interest in normalising ties with Israel and “driving out foreign fighters and terrorists and others that would destabilize the country and are enemies of this transitional authority.”

    While no mention is made of al-Sharaa’s own colourful, bloodied past, the previous ruler, Assad, comes in for scathing mention. His rule was “brutal”, one characterised by gassing and murdering “his own people”. It was Assad who sowed the seeds that would allow foreign fighters to take root in Syria’s soil. How curious that HTS would have attracted those very same fighters.

    Things have come full circle. The Assad dynasts, who kept a watchful eye on fundamentalist Islamists, are gone. The Islamists, with their various backers, Turkey and Saudi Arabia being most prominent, are now nominally in charge. The rest is a confidence trick that might, given al-Sharaa’s recent performance, just work.

    The post Al-Sharaa, Trump, and Sanctions first appeared on Dissident Voice.

    This post was originally published on Dissident Voice.

  • After devastating fires tore through Los Angeles in January, a crew of more than 300 young people showed up to help, many of them members of the national service program AmeriCorps. Among them was Julian Nava-Cortez, who traveled from northern California to assist survivors at a disaster recovery center near Altadena, where the Eaton Fire had nearly destroyed the entire neighborhood.

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • May 15 marked 77 years since the Nakba, which refers to the expulsion, destruction, and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians associated with the creation of Israel in 1948. While we advocate for the colonization of Palestine to be recognized by our leaders and institutions in Canada as an injustice, we are also witnessing the Nakba continue — and even accelerate — in Israel’s genocide in the occupied Gaza Strip and West Bank.

    In Canada, even acknowledging the existence of the 1948 Nakba continues to be rejected. Nakba denial is a form of genocide denial and a mechanism for denying the Palestinian right of return. It is also a key element of anti-Palestinian racism, something that is consistently perpetuated by the Canadian media. In 2023, the Canadian government even boycotted the first ever event held by the United Nations to commemorate the Nakba, sending a message to Palestinians that their ongoing suffering is uniquely undeserving of recognition.

    What makes Nakba denial especially absurd in 2025 is that Israel is currently causing a greater scale of dispossession in Gaza than in 1948, with at least 1.9 million Palestinians forcibly displaced from their homes. This cruelty is not an accident, but by design, as one step in a deliberate plan by Israel to permanently expel Palestinians from Gaza.

    When Donald Trump announced his plan for the United States to take over Gaza and permanently expel the population, Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu praised it — and told lawmakers that forcing Palestinians out of Gaza was the “inevitable outcome” of his military strategy. They are blocking aid from entering Gaza, deliberately using starvation as a weapon of war — a practice strictly prohibited under international law and codified as a war crime — with the genocidal intent of ensuring that Palestinians die, if not by bomb, then by hunger. This is a way of coercing those who survive to leave Palestine.

    In a chilling message to world leaders, UN experts recently warned that we are at a “moral crossroads” in Gaza, and that states “must act now to end the violence or bear witness to the annihilation of the Palestinian population in Gaza.” Similarly, this week the UN Relief Chief challenged states: “what more evidence do you need? Will you act now – decisively – to prevent genocide in Gaza and to ensure respect for international humanitarian law?”

    How will Canada respond to this call? Prime Minister Carney has said that “President Trump’s proposed forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza is deeply disturbing,” but he has taken no concrete steps to address it. No sanctions, no pressure, nothing that could ever hope to stop the genocide that is being openly plotted by US and Israeli leaders.

    Last year, CJPME submitted policy recommendations outlining how Canada can acknowledge and rectify the historical tragedy of the Nakba. Some of our recommendations included:

    1. Canada must officially recognize the Nakba and our role in the partition of the Mandate of Palestine.
    2. Canada must recognize Nakba denial as a form of anti-Palestinian racism and as having a direct impact on Canadians’ right to free speech and academic freedom.
    3. The Nakba is ongoing and Canada must play a role in halting it and reversing its consequences. To halt it, Canada must pressure Israel to change course by implementing boycotts, divestments, and sanctions.
    4. Canada must insist upon the right to return, restitution, and compensation for Palestine refugees, consistent with UNGA Resolution 194 and general principles of international human rights law and refugee law, and acknowledge that these rights are distinct, they are not mutually exclusive and must not be pitted against one another.
    5. Canada must play a role in demanding accountability and reparations for the Nakba (past and ongoing) by calling on the international community to set up an International Criminal Tribunal for Palestine, and by providing support to the International Criminal Court’s open investigation into war crimes committed in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

    Acknowledging the Nakba is not just about the past, it is about the present and the future — and addressing Canada’s complicity in an ongoing genocide. As Israel advances the Nakba in Gaza while annexing the West Bank, what will Canada’s legacy be?

    The post The Nakba Never Ended first appeared on Dissident Voice.


    This content originally appeared on Dissident Voice and was authored by Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • The U.S. is headed into what forecasters expect to be one of the hottest summers on record, and millions of people across the country will struggle to pay their power bills as temperatures and energy costs rise. A 2023 national survey found that nearly 1 in 4 Americans were unable to pay their full energy bill for at least one month, and nearly 1 in 4 reported that they kept their homes at…

    Source

  • Massive explosions shook the Gaza Strip in the first hours of Saturday morning as Israeli warplanes launched intensive airstrikes on north, south, and central Gaza, in what the Israeli army called “preparations to expand operations” in the Strip. Israeli airstrikes hit Khan Younis, Deir al-Balah, several parts of Gaza City, and Jabalia. A resident of the Shati’ refugee camp in Gaza City told…

    Source

  • Not one, not two, but three of my books have been removed and banned from the United States Naval Academy’s Nimitz Library by the order of President Donald Trump’s appointed defense secretary and former Fox News host Pete Hegseth. The New York Times reports that 378 others were also removed. Naval students and sailors must feel insulted by Hegseth’s lack of confidence in their intellectual…

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • For the six years Marina, 35, had no valid driver’s license, she felt constant fear when behind the wheel. She would limit her travels to what was strictly necessary, forgoing professional, educational and leisure opportunities. “I felt persecuted and had too much fear,” she told Truthout in Spanish. “It was something that impacted all of the days of my life.” In the rural part of…

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • History shows that if western governments mount a defense, the human rights movement will survive this rough patch

    As Donald Trump abandons any pretense of promoting human rights abroad, he has sparked concern about the future of the human rights movement. The US government has never been a consistent promoter of human rights, but when it applied itself, it was certainly the most powerful. Yet this is not the first time that the human rights movement has faced a hostile administration in Washington. A collective defense by other governments has been the key to survival in the past. That remains true today.

    Trump no doubt poses a serious threat. He is enamored of autocrats who rule without the checks and balances on executive power that he would shirk. He has stopped participating in the UN human rights council and censored the US state department’s annual human rights report. He has summarily sent immigrants to El Salvador’s nightmarish mega-prison, proposed the mass ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Gaza and threatened to abandon Ukraine’s democracy to Vladimir Putin’s invading forces.

    Kenneth Roth, former executive director of Human Rights Watch (1993-2022), is a visiting professor at Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs. His book, Righting Wrongs: Three Decades on the Front Lines Battling Abusive Governments, was published by Knopf and Allen Lane in February

    Continue reading…

    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • Not much is publicly known about the nearly 60 white South Africans who arrived May 12, 2025, at Dulles National Airport in suburban Washington DC, fleeing what the Trump administration describes as racial discrimination and political violence from the country’s Black majority. But in classifying South Africa’s privileged white minority as “refugees” and fast-tracking their path to US citizenship, the White House, in typical fashion, overlooks a salient point which is that statistically speaking, South Africa is arguably the most comfortable place in the world for white settlers to live while the US is among the least.

    The post South African ‘Refugees’ May Find The Grass Is Not Greener In America appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.