Stories covered this week include:
OBAMA TERROR ALERT
Even a former CIA analyst who was part of the team that hunted Osama bin Laden for years, Nada Bakos said- “We just showed our hand, so now they’re obviously going to change their position on when and where”. And Will McCants, a former State Department adviser on counterterrorism said -“It’s crazy pants — you can quote me.”
DETROIT, ROCK BOTTOM
So what’s happening in Detroit? It seems like every time we hear about the motor city we hear about its economic struggles and everything in between, from the blighted neighborhoods, thousands of boarded up homes, abandoned local businesses, rampant crime, and a more than 50% decline in the cities population since 2008. What we don’t hear about is the new game that our friends in the banking department of the bourgeoisie are playing with the livelihoods of Detroit’s residents. As we know, Wall Street has a tendency to bundle, repackage and gamble on the market anything from Margaretville Mixers to Credit Default Swaps, and it just so happens that they’ve added Interest Rate Swaps to the same category. Joel Northam reports.
PROTESTORS SPOIL ALEC’s 40th BIRTHDAY
One of the organizers of the protest, Greg Goodman said: “ALEC promotes the interests of Big Business and the 1% while actively working to disenfranchise ordinary people, erode workers rights, gut the social safety net, destroy the environment, eliminate corporate liability, criminalize poverty and immigration, privatize the public goods and inject even more money into our political system, drowning out the voices and rights of the people.”
GLOBAL TEMPERATURES RISING, WHAT TO DO?
Human behavior is causing climate change, and unless we can reverse our current course no amount of clean canteen usage over Styrofoam cups will save us. But you and I are just individuals- what can we do about? Lee Camp joins the Resistance Report team to remind us one of the most obvious, if most difficult things we can do to fight Global warming.
STOP THE MACHINE!
Last week, environmental activists blockaded and shut down road construction that seeks to pave the way for companies like US Oil Sands to start working on the first industrial sized tar sands mine in the United States. Activists from Rising Tide Canyon Country and Peaceful Uprising engaged in a weeklong non-violent resistance training- the Canyon County action Camp- whose culminating action was the blockade.
THE GREAT GAS GALA- UK
The community in Balcombe, Sussex has been resisting attempts by fracking company Cuadrilla Resources to start drilling in their village since July 25. According to their website (greatgasgala.org.uk): “The camp outside the site is still going strong though, with people refusing to be intimidated by this police thuggery. People are staying overnight but more support is needed. Carloads of people arriving from all over UK.
Help us Prepare for Trump’s Day One
Trump is busy getting ready for Day One of his presidency – but so is Truthout.
Trump has made it no secret that he is planning a demolition-style attack on both specific communities and democracy as a whole, beginning on his first day in office. With over 25 executive orders and directives queued up for January 20, he’s promised to “launch the largest deportation program in American history,” roll back anti-discrimination protections for transgender students, and implement a “drill, drill, drill” approach to ramp up oil and gas extraction.
Organizations like Truthout are also being threatened by legislation like HR 9495, the “nonprofit killer bill” that would allow the Treasury Secretary to declare any nonprofit a “terrorist-supporting organization” and strip its tax-exempt status without due process. Progressive media like Truthout that has courageously focused on reporting on Israel’s genocide in Gaza are in the bill’s crosshairs.
As journalists, we have a responsibility to look at hard realities and communicate them to you. We hope that you, like us, can use this information to prepare for what’s to come.
And if you feel uncertain about what to do in the face of a second Trump administration, we invite you to be an indispensable part of Truthout’s preparations.
In addition to covering the widespread onslaught of draconian policy, we’re shoring up our resources for what might come next for progressive media: bad-faith lawsuits from far-right ghouls, legislation that seeks to strip us of our ability to receive tax-deductible donations, and further throttling of our reach on social media platforms owned by Trump’s sycophants.
We’re preparing right now for Trump’s Day One: building a brave coalition of movement media; reaching out to the activists, academics, and thinkers we trust to shine a light on the inner workings of authoritarianism; and planning to use journalism as a tool to equip movements to protect the people, lands, and principles most vulnerable to Trump’s destruction.
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We’re asking all of our readers to start a monthly donation or make a one-time donation – as a commitment to stand with us on day one of Trump’s presidency, and every day after that, as we produce journalism that combats authoritarianism, censorship, injustice, and misinformation. You’re an essential part of our future – please join the movement by making a tax-deductible donation today.
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