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Category: Politics

Trump doesn’t want to alienate his white supremacist and antisemitic supporters

Trump doesn’t want to alienate his white supremacist and antisemitic supporters

The Guardian reports: Donald Trump repeatedly refused to disavow the outspoken antisemite and white supremacist Nick Fuentes after they spoke over dinner at his Mar-a-Lago resort, rejecting the advice from advisers over fears he might alienate a section of his base, two people familiar with the situation said. The former US president was urged publicly and privately to denounce Fuentes in the aftermath of the dinner, which included the performer Ye, previously known as Kanye West, who has also recently…

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A peek inside the FBI’s unprecedented January 6 geofence dragnet

A peek inside the FBI’s unprecedented January 6 geofence dragnet

Wired reports: The FBI’s biggest-ever investigation included the biggest-ever haul of phones from controversial geofence warrants, court records show. A filing in the case of one of the January 6 suspects, David Rhine, shows that Google initially identified 5,723 devices as being in or near the US Capitol during the riot. Only around 900 people have so far been charged with offenses relating to the siege. The filing suggests that dozens of phones that were in airplane mode during the…

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Twitter grapples with Chinese spam obscuring news of protests

Twitter grapples with Chinese spam obscuring news of protests

The Washington Post reports: Twitter’s radically reduced anti-propaganda team grappled on Sunday with a flood of nuisance content in China that researchers said was aimed at reducing the flow of news about stunning widespread protests against coronavirus restrictions. Numerous Chinese-language accounts, some dormant for months or years, came to life early Sunday and started spamming the service with links to escort services and other adult offerings alongside city names. The result: For hours, anyone searching for posts from those cities…

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Depressed, powerless, angry: Why frustration at China’s zero-Covid is spilling over

Depressed, powerless, angry: Why frustration at China’s zero-Covid is spilling over

The Observer reports: Victoria Li* has experienced several lockdowns since Covid emerged in China almost three years ago. Being a prisoner in her own home in Beijing made her feel depressed, powerless and angry. “Being stuck at home with my door sealed, I felt unmotivated to do anything,” she said. “I didn’t want to work, I didn’t want to study. Sometimes, I crept into my bed and cried,” said the lawyer, who is in her 20s. Even when she was…

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Chinese protests spread over government’s Covid restrictions

Chinese protests spread over government’s Covid restrictions

The Wall Street Journal reports: Protests are erupting in major cities in China over President Xi Jinping‘s zero-tolerance approach to Covid-19, an unusual show of defiance in the country as the economic and social costs from snap lockdowns and other strict restrictions escalate. Demonstrations occurred throughout the weekend in both Beijing and Shanghai. According to eyewitness accounts, there were also protests in the eastern city of Nanjing and in Wuhan, the original epicenter of the pandemic. Video footage and photos…

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Even amid murderous Russian raids, western apathy is Kyiv’s deadliest foe

Even amid murderous Russian raids, western apathy is Kyiv’s deadliest foe

Simon Tisdall writes: A two-day-old baby is killed in an attack on a maternity ward in southern Ukraine. Officials say at least 437 children have died since Russia’s invasion began. More than 800 have been injured. How many kids are permanently traumatised is anybody’s guess. Every day, Vladimir Putin gets away with murder. The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station is shelled again, despite repeated UN warnings of Europe-wide catastrophe. In liberated Kherson, more grisly evidence of war crimes is uncovered. Wherever the Russians go, it’s the same…

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Key U.S. lawmakers vow continuing Ukraine support

Key U.S. lawmakers vow continuing Ukraine support

VOA reports: Newly empowered U.S. Republican lawmakers set to take leadership roles in the House of Representatives in January promised Sunday that Congress would continue to support Ukraine militarily in its nine-month fight against Russia but said there would be more scrutiny of the aid before it is shipped to Kyiv’s forces. Congressmen Michael McCaul of Texas and Mike Turner of Ohio, likely key officials overseeing new Ukraine aid packages, told ABC’s “This Week” show there would be continued bipartisan…

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After more than 600 mass shootings this year, let’s be honest about guns

After more than 600 mass shootings this year, let’s be honest about guns

In an editorial, the Washington Post says: The mass shootings that plague this nation are a uniquely American jumble of contradictions. Each new one horrifies, and yet fits into a depressingly familiar pattern. Communities count the dead — nearly 50 so far in November — and tally the gruesome details. The country vows to honor the lives cut short. And then it all fades from the headlines and people move on, leaving behind thoughts and prayers but no concrete policies…

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Western sanctions catch up with Russia’s wartime economy

Western sanctions catch up with Russia’s wartime economy

The Washington Post reports: When Russian President Vladimir Putin launched last month a new council for coordinating supplies for the Russian army, he seemed to recognize the scale of the economic problems facing the country, and his sense of urgency was palpable. “We have to be faster in deciding questions connected to supplying the special military operation and countering restrictions on the economy which, without any exaggeration, are truly unprecedented,” he said. For months, Putin claimed that the “economic blitzkrieg”…

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Artillery is breaking in Ukraine. It’s becoming a problem for the Pentagon

Artillery is breaking in Ukraine. It’s becoming a problem for the Pentagon

The New York Times reports: Ukrainian troops fire thousands of explosive shells at Russian targets every day, using high-tech cannons supplied by the United States and its allies. But those weapons are burning out after months of overuse, or being damaged or destroyed in combat, and dozens have been taken off the battlefield for repairs, according to U.S. and Ukrainian officials. A third of the roughly 350 Western-made howitzers donated to Kyiv are out of action at any given time,…

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Putin apologists like Roger Waters need to shut up — or condemn Russia

Putin apologists like Roger Waters need to shut up — or condemn Russia

Janine di Giovanni writes: Earlier last month, I was sitting in a bomb shelter in Kyiv with dozens of civilians as we were pounded by missiles. Putin intended his bombs to do more than punish. He wanted them to destroy the power grids and heating facilities that keep Ukraine warm during the nation’s brutal winters. I direct a war crimes unit in Ukraine called The Reckoning Project. Our job is to gather human testimonies during wartime which we then verify,…

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At protests, guns are doing the talking

At protests, guns are doing the talking

The New York Times reports: Across the country, openly carrying a gun in public is no longer just an exercise in self-defense — increasingly it is a soapbox for elevating one’s voice and, just as often, quieting someone else’s. This month, armed protesters appeared outside an elections center in Phoenix, hurling baseless accusations that the election for governor had been stolen from the Republican, Kari Lake. In October, Proud Boys with guns joined a rally in Nashville where conservative lawmakers…

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Trump’s latest dinner guest: Nick Fuentes, white supremacist and antisemite

Trump’s latest dinner guest: Nick Fuentes, white supremacist and antisemite

The New York Times reports: Former President Donald J. Trump on Tuesday night had dinner with Nick Fuentes, an outspoken antisemite and racist who is one of the country’s most prominent young white supremacists, at Mr. Trump’s private club in Florida, advisers to Mr. Trump conceded on Friday. Also at the dinner was the performer Kanye West, who has also been condemned for making antisemitic statements. Mr. West traveled to meet with Mr. Trump at the club, Mar-a-Lago, and brought…

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Is the right getting too strange to win elections?

Is the right getting too strange to win elections?

Graham Gallagher writes: An inkling of the Republican Party’s shocking underperformance in the midterms could be seen in a literal, not figurative, crusade. Allen West, former congressman and Texas Republican Party chairman, decided in September that the time was ripe to join the Knights Templar, the infamous sect of medieval soldier-monks. Photographed standing in a white robe emblazoned with a red cross draped jauntily over his tuxedo, West—a close ally of Donald Trump—tweeted that he had taken “an oath to…

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Iran strengthens military presence on Iraq border in push against Kurdish groups

Iran strengthens military presence on Iraq border in push against Kurdish groups

The Wall Street Journal reports: Iran is deploying armored and special units along its western border to prevent the infiltration of Kurdish opposition groups based in Iraq, a top commander of the Revolutionary Guard said Friday, exacerbating the risk of a wider military conflict in the volatile area. The deployment follows an intensification of Tehran’s response to protests sweeping the country, particularly in the Kurdish border areas, which have experienced some of the most consistent antigovernment rallies. Mahsa Amini, the…

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Iran arrests soccer’s Voria Ghafouri amid scrutiny of World Cup team

Iran arrests soccer’s Voria Ghafouri amid scrutiny of World Cup team

The Washington Post reports: A prominent Iranian soccer player was arrested Thursday on charges that included destroying the reputation of the country’s national team, which is competing in the World Cup, state-linked Iranian media outlets reported Thursday. The player, Voria Ghafouri, is a former member of Iran’s national squad and a frequent critic of the government. His arrest occurred at a moment in which Iranian soccer players are under close scrutiny for their statements about a nationwide uprising in Iran…

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