Biden Canceled Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” Policy, But Asylum Seekers Still Waiting in Squalid Camps
Democracy Now (U.S.A)

Biden Canceled Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” Policy, But Asylum Seekers Still Waiting in Squalid Camps

One of the most controversial Trump-era immigration policies — the so-called Remain in Mexico program, officially called the Migrant Protection Protocols — left about 25,000 asylum seekers stranded on the other side of the border while their cases progressed through U.S. courts. President Joe Biden has suspended that program, but immigrant advocates say his administration needs to move more quickly to undo the damage. Although dozens of asylum seekers have been allowed to trickle in, many thousands are still waiting in dangerous conditions for their chance to cross the border, including in the Matamoros refugee camp across the border from Brownsville, Texas. It is the largest camp of…

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24 February 2021
Biden may have thrown the left a few bones, but he’s keeping some of Trump’s worst policies in place
The Canary UK

Biden may have thrown the left a few bones, but he’s keeping some of Trump’s worst policies in place

Recently elected US president Joe Biden is claiming that his administration will herald a new era following the disastrous and reactionary Trump presidency. And he’s also claiming to listen to the progressive wing in his party’s base that supported the candidacy of Democratic primary runner-up Bernie Sanders. But though he has followed through on some of these promises, he’s also left several of Trump’s worst policies completely untouched. We shouldn’t be surprised, though. Because, as The Canary has argued on many occasions, the Democratic Party to which he belongs has long been little more than a slightly watered-down version of the Republicans. And that leaves open the question…

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19 February 2021
“Dangerous to the Republic”: John Nichols Says Trump’s Senate Trial Is Most Important in U.S. History
Democracy Now (U.S.A)

“Dangerous to the Republic”: John Nichols Says Trump’s Senate Trial Is Most Important in U.S. History

This month, Democracy Now! turns 25—that’s 25 years of bringing you the voices and stories you won’t hear in the corporate media. Democracy Now! has always refused to take government or corporate funding, because nothing is more important to us than our editorial independence. Nothing is more important to us than telling you the truth. But that means we rely on you, our audience, for support. Please make your contribution of $25 or more in honor of our 25th anniversary and help us stay on air for another 25 years. Right now, a generous donor will even DOUBLE your gift, which means it’ll go twice as far! This…

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11 February 2021
Trump’s top for impeachability
The Canary UK

Trump’s top for impeachability

Image description A “Top Trump” style card is illustrated with the words “Donald J Trump” down the side and “Former reality TV host & president” at the bottom. There is an image of Donald Trump on the card and next to that an image of a blue bird puking green vomit and the words “toxic media rating” followed by five radioactive waste symbols. Beneath that, the following characteristics and ratings are written: Shouting about election fraud – 99 Finding evidence of election fraud – 0 Inciting domestic terrorism – 99 Impeachability – 99 Next to the card is a game’s box with an illustration of Tump and the…

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10 February 2021
Watch: Dramatic Video of Capitol Attack & Trump’s Incitement Kicks Off Impeachment Trial in Senate
Democracy Now (U.S.A)

Watch: Dramatic Video of Capitol Attack & Trump’s Incitement Kicks Off Impeachment Trial in Senate

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.AMY GOODMAN: The Senate voted 56 to 44 to proceed with the impeachment trial of Donald Trump for inciting the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol January 6. Six Republicans joined Democrats rejecting arguments from Trump’s defense team that it’s unconstitutional for a former president to face an impeachment trial. Trump is the first president to ever be impeached twice and the first to be tried after leaving office. The Democratic House impeachment managers opened the day with a dramatic 13-minute video highlighting the words of Donald Trump on January 6 and scenes of rioters attacking…

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10 February 2021
Five key questions in Donald Trump’s impeachment trial
The Canary UK

Five key questions in Donald Trump’s impeachment trial

Arguments have begun about the impeachment trial of Donald Trump on allegations that he incited the violent mob that stormed the US Capitol on 6 January. Here are five key questions about what to expect when senators hear the case against the former president in the very chamber that was besieged by insurrectionists. – Will Donald Trump be convicted? It is unlikely. While many Republicans were harshly critical of Trump for telling supporters to “fight like hell” and go to the Capitol, their criticism has since softened. The shift was evident during a test vote on 26 January. Only five Republican senators voted against a motion that was…

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8 February 2021
Will Biden Admin Reverse Trump’s “Dangerous” Recognition of Morocco’s Occupation of Western Sahara?
Democracy Now (U.S.A)

Will Biden Admin Reverse Trump’s “Dangerous” Recognition of Morocco’s Occupation of Western Sahara?

President Donald Trump broke with decades of U.S. foreign policy in the waning days of his administration and recognized Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, a territory the country has occupied since 1975 in defiance of the United Nations and the international community. U.S. recognition came as Morocco agreed to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, becoming the fourth Arab nation to do so in recent months as part of a regional push by the Trump administration to strengthen Israel without addressing the Palestinian conflict. Now the Biden administration must weigh whether to reverse Trump’s decision on Western Sahara. “It’ll be very dangerous if Biden does not reverse Trump’s unprecedented…

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5 February 2021
Sunrise Movement’s Varshini Prakash: Biden’s Climate Agenda Must Go Beyond Undoing Trump’s Damage
Democracy Now (U.S.A)

Sunrise Movement’s Varshini Prakash: Biden’s Climate Agenda Must Go Beyond Undoing Trump’s Damage

President Joe Biden is expected to issue executive orders to suspend new oil and gas leasing on federal property, reestablish a White House council of science advisers, and set a goal to protect 30% of federal land and water by 2030. He is also predicted to announce a number of initiatives prioritizing environmental justice by creating a White House interagency council on environmental justice and directing federal agencies to invest more in communities of color heavily impacted by pollution and the climate crisis. These actions, as well as executive orders to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline and put a moratorium on oil and gas permits in the Arctic…

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27 January 2021
Biden Is Reversing Trump’s Anti-Immigrant Acts. Will He Repair Harm from Deportations Under Obama?
Democracy Now (U.S.A)

Biden Is Reversing Trump’s Anti-Immigrant Acts. Will He Repair Harm from Deportations Under Obama?

President Joe Biden has placed immigration at the center of his ambitious agenda, signing several executive orders reversing Trump’s anti-immigrant policies and promising a pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States. But Biden is not only navigating the destructive legacy of his immediate predecessor, but also that of the Obama administration when he was Vice President, which oversaw three million deportations. “These are people who had families, jobs and homes in the United States,” says investigative journalist Jean Guerrero. “What he needs is not just to reverse Trump’s policies and go back to Obama-era policies. He needs to actually repair the harm that…

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26 January 2021
Biden Reverses Trump’s Trans Military Ban, But Assault on Rights Continues at State Level
Democracy Now (U.S.A)

Biden Reverses Trump’s Trans Military Ban, But Assault on Rights Continues at State Level

President Joe Biden has signed an executive order repealing the Trump administration’s ban on transgender people serving in the U.S. military and ordered the Pentagon to review the files of troops who were forced out because of the ban and to immediately halt discharges of transgender troops now serving. Chase Strangio, Deputy Director for Transgender Justice with the ACLU’s LGBT & HIV Project, calls it “an incredibly important development,” but warns the attack on transgender rights is continuing at the state level, with a raft of new legislation targeting trans people in education, healthcare and more. “We have this significant backlash to the very notion that trans humanity…

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26 January 2021