Ivory Coast on “Brink of Genocide”
The Ivory Coast is on the “brink of genocide,” according to the West African country’s new ambassador to the UN, and the world must take action immediately, reported The Guardian UK. Youssoufou Bamba’s plea claimed that houses in the area were being marked according to the tribe of those who lived inside, while the UN accused the security forces of President Laurent Gbagbo of blocking access to what investigators believe are mass graves. Gbagbo has refused to step down in favor of Alassane Ouattara, who is widely considered to have won last month’s elections. Calls for intervention have received some traction among African leaders – a Nigerian government official said Friday that West African countries are considering a military option to force Gbagbo to cede power.
WikiLeaks Cable Dump Reveals Flaws of State Department’s Information-Sharing Tool
A bureaucratic and obscure information-sharing initiative, Net-Centric Diplomacy, was a database so obscure that few diplomats were aware of it until the WikiLeaks State Department cable dump revealed its contents. An investigation by The Washington Post has found that the system played a critical role in the most sensitive heist of information in modern times. Due to Net-Centric’s design and confusion among users, the database became an inadvertent and accessible repository of the US’s most private discussions with foreign leaders and diplomats.
Financier Steven Rattner to Pay $10 Million in Settlement
Steven L. Rattner, an American financier and private equity investor put in charge of overhauling the auto industry by President Obama, has agreed to pay $10 million to New York state’s pension fund to settle charges that he engaged in a kickback scheme. In addition, New York Attorney General and soon-to-be <!—[if gte mso 9]>
Filibuster Reform Introduced, With Uncertain Future
Sen. Tom Udall (D-New Mexico) has introduced a package of filibuster reforms to be considered for the Senate’s first session in the new year, including an end to secret holds, banning the minority party from blocking debate entirely and forcing senators who want to obstruct legislation to argue their case on the Senate floor. But Talking Points Memo reports that Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) may be working with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) to replace Udall’s proposal with more modest reforms.
As Frustration Grows, Airports Consider Ditching TSA
Sixteen airports in the country, since 2002, have hired private firms to replace the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), reports The Washington Post. Responding to recent public outrage over invasive security screening, airports including San Francisco and Kansas City International Airport, say that the unwieldy size and bureaucracy of the federal aviation system is much of the reason for their switch. However, their request must be approved by the TSA.
Facebook Passes Google as Most Popular Site on the Internet
Pegged by The Washington Post as the year that America’s favorite online pastime became social networking, not searching, 2010 became the year Facebook first pushed past Google to become the most popular site on the Internet, according to web tracking firms.
Truthout Is Preparing to Meet Trump’s Agenda With Resistance at Every Turn
Dear Truthout Community,
If you feel rage, despondency, confusion and deep fear today, you are not alone. We’re feeling it too. We are heartsick. Facing down Trump’s fascist agenda, we are desperately worried about the most vulnerable people among us, including our loved ones and everyone in the Truthout community, and our minds are racing a million miles a minute to try to map out all that needs to be done.
We must give ourselves space to grieve and feel our fear, feel our rage, and keep in the forefront of our mind the stark truth that millions of real human lives are on the line. And simultaneously, we’ve got to get to work, take stock of our resources, and prepare to throw ourselves full force into the movement.
Journalism is a linchpin of that movement. Even as we are reeling, we’re summoning up all the energy we can to face down what’s coming, because we know that one of the sharpest weapons against fascism is publishing the truth.
There are many terrifying planks to the Trump agenda, and we plan to devote ourselves to reporting thoroughly on each one and, crucially, covering the movements resisting them. We also recognize that Trump is a dire threat to journalism itself, and that we must take this seriously from the outset.
After the election, the four of us sat down to have some hard but necessary conversations about Truthout under a Trump presidency. How would we defend our publication from an avalanche of far right lawsuits that seek to bankrupt us? How would we keep our reporters safe if they need to cover outbreaks of political violence, or if they are targeted by authorities? How will we urgently produce the practical analysis, tools and movement coverage that you need right now — breaking through our normal routines to meet a terrifying moment in ways that best serve you?
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