{"id":24611,"date":"2020-02-22T21:49:09","date_gmt":"2020-02-23T05:49:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/?p=24611"},"modified":"2020-02-22T22:48:38","modified_gmt":"2020-02-23T06:48:38","slug":"rouge-forum-dispatch-at-it-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/rouge-forum-dispatch-at-it-again\/","title":{"rendered":"Rouge Forum Dispatch: At it Again!"},"content":{"rendered":"

We Say Fight Back!<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

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‘We’re all in it for the kids’: Education unions lead thousands in job action at Queen’s Park<\/h1>\n

Thousands of striking teachers and education workers rallied at the Ontario Legislature\u00a0on Friday in a demonstration they say is intended to send a message to\u00a0Premier Doug Ford and Education Minister Stephen Lecce.<\/p>\n

“We’re all in it for the kids,” head of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association\u00a0Liz Stuart told CBC News.<\/p>\n

“I am really hoping that the government really understands that this is about all of our members. We have 30,000 of them here today.”<\/p>\n

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Earlier Friday morning,\u00a0Stuart was\u00a0joined at a news conference\u00a0by Harvey Bischof of the\u00a0Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF), president\u00a0of the Association of Franco-Ontarian Teachers (AEFO)\u00a0R\u00e9mi Sabourin, and\u00a0Sam Hammond, president of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO).<\/p>\n

In all, nearly 200,000 teachers and education workers demonstrated in 72 school boards on Friday, affecting nearly 5,000 schools and two million students across the province.\u00a0\u00a0https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/canada\/toronto\/ontario-teachers-provincewide-strike-1.5470980?fbclid=IwAR36_2esJnJlcaQW_LcV2LQCXJBttrE2eRACP-DaMyqyy0u9GR04KOyt428<\/p>\n

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UC Santa Cruz graduate assistants will continue to withhold grades past deadline: WILDCAT!!!<\/h1>\n

University of California Santa Cruz graduate assistants said they will continue the unsanctioned strike past the midnight deadline. The university says those who do not turn in their grades may not have their positions available for the Spring quarter and beyond. The students are seeking a 60% pay increase due to the high cost of housing in Santa Cruz.<\/p>\n

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The Little Red Schoolhouse<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Proposed Book Banning Bill in Missouri Could Imprison Librarians<\/h1>\n

Bill would allow review boards to censor books, fine or imprison librarians who violate the law<\/em><\/p>\n

A bill proposed in Missouri this month represents a transparent, shameful attempt to legalize book banning in public libraries within the state, PEN America said today.<\/p>\n

The bill \u2014 the Parental Oversight of Public Libraries Act or House Bill 2044<\/a> \u2014 aims to add several provisions to the state\u2019s funding law for public libraries. These new provisions establish \u201cparental library review boards\u201d that would evaluate whether any library materials constitute \u201cage-inappropriate sexual material.\u201d Members of these five-member boards, who would be elected at a town meeting by a simple majority of voters, are empowered to determine whether material is appropriate, including by evaluating its literary merit. Public librarians are explicitly barred by the statute from serving on such review boards, even if they are from the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a shockingly transparent attempt to legalize book banning in the state of Missouri,\u201d said James Tager<\/a>, deputy director of Free Expression Research and Policy at PEN America. \u201c\u00a0\u00a0 pen.org\/press-release\/proposed-book-banning-bill-in-missouri-could-imprison-librarians\/?utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR0jpKK2OfwVpCE_tnB7MPO-SlughC2iiP9vNtILzd6CH_r4gYGywOlD6VE<\/a><\/p>\n

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Assange\u2019s US Extradition Hearing Opens Monday<\/h1>\n

The International Hot War of the Rich on the Poor<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"President<\/p>\n

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As Afghan Soldier Kills 2 Americans, Peace Talks Forge Ahead<\/span><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n

This time when U.S. soldiers are killed by an Afghan, Trump does not call off talks with the Taliban. Is ending the war the only way to end these killings?<\/p>\n

…the war has become a bleeding stalemate in which even some Afghan soldiers turn their guns on American service members, viewing them as invaders instead of partners. The American sergeants mourned at Dover Air Force Base were killed by an Afghan soldier whose uniform, salary and M249 light machine gun were paid for by the United States<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Of the roughly 3,500 total American and NATO deaths in this war, American officials say, more than 150 have been killed in such \u201cgreen-on-blue\u201d attacks\u00a0\u00a0 www.nytimes.com\/2020\/02\/17\/world\/asia\/afghanistan-peace-american-deaths.html<\/a><\/p>\n

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US, Taliban Agree to Week-Long Fake Truce in Afghanistan<\/h1>\n

The long expected \u201creduction in violence\u201d between the US and the Taliban was finalized, sign and put into effect on Friday at midnigh<\/a>t. The deal will last seven days, and could be immediately followed by the Afghanistan peace deal.<\/p>\n

Taliban officials are suggesting that if all is well, the final peace deal would be signed on February 29<\/a>, Pompeo confirmed the date, but US officials aren\u2019t confirmed the specifics of this plan.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, it is being reported that if the peace plan is signed, the Taliban and Afghan government would enter into their own power-sharing talks in the 10 days that follow. This may be difficult with Afghanistan still dealing with a contested election outcome.<\/p>\n

For many months, all indications are that the peace deal itself is fairly simple. The Taliban wants all foreign troops out of the country, and the US wants assurances that the Taliban will keep ISIS and al-Qaeda out of the country. Beyond that, the Taliban is expected to work out deals with the US-backed government, whatever that turns out to be.\u00a0 news.antiwar.com\/2020\/02\/21\/us-taliban-agree-to-week-long-truce-in-afghanistan\/<\/a><\/p>\n

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Afghan troops say Taliban are brothers and war is \u2018not really our fight.\u2019<\/h1>\n

The world is waiting anxiously to see whether the U.S. and Afghan governments and the Taliban will agree to a one-week truce<\/a> that could set the stage for a \u201cpermanent and comprehensive\u201d ceasefire and the withdrawal of U.S. and other foreign occupation forces from Afghanistan. Could the talks be for real this time, or will they turn out to be just another political\u00a0smokescreen<\/a> for President Trump\u2019s addiction to mass murder <\/a>and celebrity whack-a-mole<\/a>?<\/p>\n

If the ceasefire really happens, nobody will be happier than the Afghans fighting and dying on the front lines of a war that one described to a BBC reporter as \u201cnot really our fight.\u201d Afghan government troops and police who are suffering the worst casualties on the front lines of this war told the BBC they are not fighting out of hatred for the Taliban or loyalty to the U.S.-backed government, but out of poverty, desperation and self-preservation. In this respect, they are caught in the same excruciating predicament as millions of other people across the greater Middle East wherever the United States has turned people\u2019s homes and communities into American \u201cbattlefields.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Afghanistan,\u00a0U.S.-trained special operations forces conduct\u00a0\u201chunt and kill\u201d\u00a0<\/a>night raids and offensive operations\u00a0in\u00a0Taliban-held\u00a0territory, backed by\u00a0devastating U.S. airpower that\u00a0kills largely\u00a0uncounted numbers<\/a> of resistance fighters and civilians. The U.S. dropped\u00a0a\u00a0post-2001\u00a0record\u00a07,423 bombs\u00a0and missiles<\/a> on Afghanistan in 2019.\u00a0\u00a0 www.nationofchange.org\/2020\/02\/17\/afghan-troops-say-taliban-are-brothers-and-war-is-not-really-our-fight\/<\/a><\/p>\n

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Reminder: The Truth About Tonkin<\/h1>\n
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Questions about the Gulf of Tonkin incidents have persisted for more than 40 years. But once-classified documents and tapes released in the past several years, combined with previously uncovered facts, make clear that high government officials distorted facts and deceived the American public about events that led to full U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
By Lieutenant Commander Pat Paterson, U.S. Navy<\/strong><\/div>\n
www.usni.org\/magazines\/naval-history-magazine\/2008\/february\/truth-about-tonkin?fbclid=IwAR3izn153HtITFDkyf2WWgSvhFBVoWZ0w5lb0RXzh7ndFUKL1R_nrZGL7U<\/a><\/div>\n
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Confidential Videos show why Seals Outed Eddy Gallagher (in link)<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n

www.nytimes.com\/2019\/12\/27\/the-weekly\/eddie-gallagher-navy-seal.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Combat video, text messages and confidential interviews with members of the Navy SEALs obtained by The New York Times reveal chilling details about the conduct of Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher.<\/p>\n

Trained as a medic, sniper and explosives expert, Gallagher was the consummate leader of Alpha Platoon, SEAL Team 7, part of the Navy\u2019s elite commando force. But when his own men said he committed war crimes, it sent shock waves up the chain of command \u2014 reaching all the way to the commander in chief.<\/p>\n

Gallagher\u2019s case continues to roil the Navy even after his acquittal on the most severe charges, and the public debate on Fox News and Twitter has widened the rift between President Trump and some top military leaders.<\/p>\n

What exactly happened in Iraq in 2017 that so alarmed Gallagher\u2019s brothers in arms? And why has the case resonated with Trump and his political base?\u00a0 (NYTIMES The Weekly)<\/p>\n

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Droning the World<\/h1>\n

How the President Became a Drone Operator<\/strong>
\nFrom Obama to Trump, the Escalation of Drone Warfare<\/strong>
\nBy Allegra Harpootlian<\/a><\/p>\n

We\u2019re only a few days into the new decade and it\u2019s somehow already a bigger dumpster fire than the last. On January 2nd, President Trump decided to order what one expert<\/a> called \u201cthe most important decapitation strike America has ever launched.” This one took out not some nameless terrorist in a distant land or a group of civilians who happened to get in the way, but Major General Qassem Suleimani<\/a>, the leader of Iran\u2019s elite Quds Force and the mastermind of its military operations across the Middle East.<\/p>\n

Among the thousands of ignored American drone strikes since the 9\/11 attacks, this was not one of them. In the wake of the assassination, we\u2019ve seen: the Iraqi parliament vote<\/a> to expel American forces from their country; all the Democratic presidential candidates<\/a> make statements condemning the strike; thousands of protestors<\/a> around the world take to the streets; and both chambers of Congress introduce<\/a> resolutions aimed at curbing the president\u2019s expanding war powers. Even though there is still so much we don\u2019t know, one thing is for sure. Everything we thought we knew about drone warfare — and America\u2019s wars more broadly — is about to be thrown out the window.\u00a0\u00a0 www.tomdispatch.com\/post\/176649\/tomgram%3A_allegra_harpootlian%2C_droning_the_world\/<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Risen: The Biggest Secret<\/a><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n
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My Life as a New York Times Reporter in the Shadow of the War on Terror<\/a><\/h2>\n

I was sitting in the nearly empty restaurant of the Westin Hotel in Alexandria, Virginia, getting ready for a showdown with the federal government that I had been trying to avoid for more than seven years. The Obama administration was demanding that I reveal the confidential sources I had relied on for a chapter about a botched CIA operation in my 2006 book, \u201cState of War.\u201d I had also written about the CIA operation for the New York Times, but the paper\u2019s editors had suppressed the story at the government\u2019s request. It wasn\u2019t the only time they had done so.\u00a0 theintercept.com\/2018\/01\/03\/my-life-as-a-new-york-times-reporter-in-the-shadow-of-the-war-on-terror\/<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Iranian<\/p>\n

All the Times the US Allied With Soleimani Against Common Enemies, Giving Him Air Support at Tikrit<\/h1>\n
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Soleimani played a key role in helping defeat ISIL in Iraq, where he was a de facto and even tactical U.S. ally.<\/p>\n

Since the U.S. political establishment and press has been demonizing Gen. Qasem Soleimani since he was rubbed out by Trump, it is perhaps worth complicating the story\u2014especially now that Trump is accusing him of having targeted not one but four U.S. embassies. Trump is a notorious and compulsive liar, and there is no reason to think that charge is true. The prime minister of Iraq says he invited Soleimani to Baghdad for peace<\/em> negotiations with Saudi Arabia and then Trump just suddenly blew his guest away. Soleimani came openly on a commercial flight and went through passport control with his diplomatic passport. His arrival in Baghdad was not part of a covert operation to hit Americans. Nor did Soleimani, as Wolf Blitzer breathlessly reported on CNN<\/em> kill “millions” (when? where?).<\/p>\n

Nor was he a terrorist; terrorists are non-state actors. He was a general in the Iranian military. Soleimani fought in the Iran-Iraq War of 1980-88, which was a defensive war on Iran’s part, since Iraq aggressively invaded under Saddam Hussein. The United States supported Saddam to the hilt in his aggression. So you’d have to say that in the 1980s Soleimani was doing something heroic, whereas the Reagan administration was doing something shameful. Reagan even ran interference for Saddam at the U.N. when Iran brought a complaint about the Iraqi use of chemical weapons.\u00a0\u00a0 www.commondreams.org\/views\/2020\/01\/11\/all-times-us-allied-soleimani-against-common-enemies-giving-him-air-support-tikrit?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR1F1x_39EjfWng03hF6SQWzbTdkhHkVJ7QjKb7OSBFsxNNSLkejbroOkZ8<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The International Economic War of the Rich on the Poor<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Wells<\/p>\n

Wells Fargo is paying $3 billion to settle U.S. probes of fake-accounts scandal<\/h1>\n

Wells Fargo & Co. will pay $3 billion to settle U.S. investigations into more than a decade of widespread consumer abuses under a deal that lets the scandal-ridden bank avoid criminal charges.<\/p>\n

The deferred-prosecution deal with the Department of Justice spares the San Francisco lender a potential criminal conviction that could create serious complications for banks, if it cooperates with continuing investigations and abides by other conditions for three years. The accord also resolves a complaint by the Securities and Exchange Commission.<\/p>\n

Investigators found that Wells Fargo\u2019s overly aggressive sales targets led thousands of employees to open millions of unauthorized accounts in customers\u2019 names or foist other products on them from 2002 to 2016, often by creating false records or misappropriating their identities, the Justice Department said Friday in a statement announcing the penalties. That generated millions of dollars in fees and interest, and in some cases it damaged customers\u2019 credit ratings.<\/p>\n

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US debt surpasses $23 trillion for first time<\/h1>\n
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The federal government’s outstanding public debt has surpassed $23 trillion for the first time in history, according to data<\/a> from the Treasury Department released on Friday.<\/p>\n

Growing budget deficits have added to the nation’s debt at a speedy rate since President Trump<\/a><\/span> took office. The debt has grown some 16 percent since Trump’s inauguration, when it stood at $19.9 trillion. It passed $22 trillion for the first time just 10 months ago.\u00a0 thehill.com\/policy\/finance\/468600-us-debt-surpasses-23-trillion-for-first-time<\/a><\/p>\n

Of the $23 trillion figure, just under $17 trillion was in the category of debt held by the public, which is a more useful gauge of the debt the government has to pay down, and the number typically used in calculating the nation’s debt burden. The other $6 trillion comes from loans within government bodies.<\/p>\n

Still, the $23 trillion figure marks a milestone.<\/p>\n

\"Milken<\/p>\n

Trump grants clemency to 11, including former junk bond king Michael Milken<\/h1>\n

President Trump granted pardons or commutations Tuesday to 11 convicted felons, including Michael Milken, the disgraced former junk bond king who waged a decades-long campaign for a pardon, in a mass clemency that expanded the president\u2019s interventions in judicial matters since his Senate impeachment acquittal.<\/p>\n

Among those who had their sentences commuted was former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who has served eight years of a 14-year prison term. He was found guilty of trying to sell an open U.S. Senate seat that had been held by Barack Obama.<\/p>\n

The president also made clear he had not ruled out pardoning Roger Stone, who is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court on Thursday despite Trump\u2019s complaints on Twitter earlier Tuesday that his longtime friend and advisor deserved a new trial.<\/p>\n

Stone was convicted in November of seven counts of witness tampering and lying to Congress during the special counsel probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Trump told reporters he thought Stone was \u201cbeing treated unfairly.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 www.latimes.com\/politics\/story\/2020-02-18\/trump-rod-blagojevich-commute-sentence<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The Emergence of Fascism as a Popular Mass Movement and <\/u><\/strong>The War on Reason<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n