Intrepid Report: Week of January 23, 2017

Intrepid Report Newsletter
Monday A valiant verbal warrior demythologizes the CIA By Edward Curtin Like Odysseus, Douglas Valentine is a wily warrior who managed to enter the enemy’s stronghold disguised as a gift. Not Troy, and not within a wooden horse, but in the guise of a nice young “Nobody,” he was able, thirty or so years ago, to breach the walls of the CIA through William Colby, a former director of the Central Intelligence Agency. The guileful thing he brought was his proposal to demystify the Phoenix program, “the controversial CIA assassination program that resulted in the deaths of thousands of civilians during the Vietnam War,” with which Colby was notably associated. At Trump inauguration, his hollow rhetoric collides with reality The contrast between his promises to America's forgotten and the greed of the new president and his circle of fat cat appointees is horrible. By Michael Winship and Bill Moyers Throughout the campaign and the transition period leading up to the inauguration, whenever Donald Trump was caught lying or tweeting something outrageous we were told by his acolytes that we should ignore his words and instead pay attention to his deeds. Kellyanne Conway, Trump’s Queen of Bull, who has moved from campaign manager to White House counselor, actually has argued that what he says should not be taken literally, even telling CNN’s Chris Cuomo, “You always want to go with what’s come out of his mouth rather than look at what’s in his heart.” In first hour, President Trump delivers ‘punch in the gut to middle class’ ‘Today's action is all the proof we need to know whose side the Trump administration is on’ By Deirdre Fulton About an hour after President Donald Trump was sworn in on Friday, his administration suspended indefinitely a scheduled cut in mortgage insurance premiums—effectively raising costs for middle-class borrowers by about $500 a year. We are mourning . . . but we are marching & organizing for democracy & the Earth By Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman In the midst of a terrible national illness, we organize and march for the known and solid cures. The balancing act is over: What Elor Azaria taught us about Israel By Ramzy Baroud For some, the ‘manslaughter’ conviction—following the murder by Israeli army medic, Elor Azaria, of already incapacitated Palestinian man, Fattah al-Sharif—is finally settling a protracted debate regarding where Israelis stand on Palestinian human rights. Tuesday Why the massive Women’s March will fail By Jack Balkwill Like Mark Twain, “I am always on the side of the revolutionists, because there never was a revolution unless there were some oppressive and intolerable conditions against which to revolute.” I do support Saturday’s Women’s March on Washington and its offshoots around the nation and the planet. Trump advisor calls press secretary’s falsehoods ‘alternative facts’ ‘Sean Spicer gave alternative facts,’ Kellyanne Conway said, in response to outrage over White House press secretary's false claims about inauguration crowd size By Nika Knight After President Donald Trump spent his first full day in the White House attacking the press, deploying White House press secretary Sean Spicer to falsely claim the media underreported the size of his inauguration crowds, top Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway doubled-down on those statements on Meet the Press early Sunday. It’s not what they say; it’s what they do! By Dave Alpert “How do you know a politician is lying? His lips are moving.” ‘Billion-year’ Gambian president was installed by the CIA By Wayne Madsen Gambian President and dictator Yahya Jammeh, facing a combined military force composed of Senegalese army troops, the Nigerian air force, and troops from Mali, Ghana, and Togo, has agreed to relinquish the presidency of Gambia. On December 1, 2016, Jammeh was defeated for re-election in a surprise upset by his little-known rival Adama Barrow. Jammeh received only 45 percent of the vote. Obscured American: Peter the food service worker By Linh Dinh An American president has become a cartoon hero or villain. Like Obama, Trump is an inconsequential yet lurid target for worshippers and detractors to unload emotions. As we rejoice or rage at this figurehead, the Military Banking Complex will continue to serve the elites at our expense. Wednesday Trump faces gnawing problems in the Great White North By Eric Walberg The shock election of Donald Trump has thrust Canada into one of the most perilous periods of its existence. Our relationship with the United States, upon which so much of our security and prosperity depends, has never been more uncertain. Trump’s two-step strategy to take over the truth By Robert Reich Donald Trump is such a consummate liar that in coming days and years our democracy will depend more than ever on the independent press—finding the truth, reporting it, and holding Trump accountable for his lies. A ‘hard Brexit’ won’t be a ‘clean Brexit’ By Linda S. Heard Britain’s prime minister, Theresa May, is in a fighting mood. She’s threatened that Britain has the option of simply walking away from the EU if there’s no good deal on offer. That would entail Britain unilaterally tearing up the European Communities Act, enabling the country to begin negotiating global trade deals which cannot be done with any seriousness as long as the UK is a member—something considered tantamount to bigamy. Brexit on a slow track to oblivion? By Stephen Lendman Prime Minister Theresa May’s support for Brexit is more rhetorical than real. Religious fanaticism versus humanist values By Nasir Khan The only reasonable way to get out of the mindset of religious fanaticism is to turn to humanism and humane values that fanatics fight against. It is true the road is long and hazardous but it is worth trying to explore. If rational people start thinking on these lines, they will also start walking along these lines and they will influence others. Otherwise, we will remain mired in the mud of religious fanaticism and barbarism. Thursday Journalism and pornography Real crime is always organised By Dr T P Wilkinson When I began reading the work of Douglas Valentine about six years ago, I had not read his books, only the articles that the US online journal CounterPunch had published. In fact I only began reading CounterPunch because of the accident of having been introduced to the two original editors of what was then only a printed newsletter. Later I was even able to publish a few pieces in that journal before its more famous founding editor’s demise. Why do I preface a book review with such personal observations? To that question, I will return later. The Netherlands to counter Trump’s ‘global gag rule’ with international abortion fund Fearing for women's health, Dutch government steps forward to ensure reproductive healthcare programs around the world remain funded By Nika Knight The world has responded with fear and outrage to many of President Donald Trump’s repressive actions since taking office, and the Dutch government immediately announced plans to counter one: the reinstatement of the “global gag rule” which cuts off U.S. funding to any NGO around the world that mentions abortions. Trump’s infrastructure scam By Robert Reich Our country is in dire need of massive investments in infrastructure, but what Donald Trump is proposing is nothing more than a huge tax giveaway for the rich. Confirmation vote for Pompeo for CIA reminiscent of Iraq war vote By Wayne Madsen In the U.S. Senate, some votes have more impact than others. That was certainly the case with the January 23 Senate vote to confirm Representative Mike Pompeo (R-KS) as director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Quite aside from President Trump’s embattled relationship with the CIA, Pompeo’s confirmation by the Senate is similar to the Senate’s passage of the Iraq War Resolution in 2002, legislation that gave President George W. Bush the green light to engage in a costly invasion and occupation of Iraq. A moment of truth for journalists Are you the people’s tribunes or are you props decorating the scene for a horrendous monologue? By Todd Gitlin It came to this, on Day 1 of the New Order: Trump’s press secretary, Sean Spicer, summoned reporters to a scolding more officially known as a “briefing,” in the course of which Spicer (1) lied to them repeatedly, (2) scolded them for lying, and (3) refused to permit questions. Andy Borowitz summarizes the scene nicely, in The New Yorker: “DISTURBED MAN GETS PAST WHITE HOUSE SECURITY, GIVES PRESS CONFERENCE.” Friday The Trump conundrum: Remodeling the American republic, diktats via Twitter By John Stanton All right then, let’s not be too hasty in comparing President Donald J. Trump to Mussolini. It is too soon for that as Pope Francis said recently. Police state tactics target independent journalists covering Anti-Trump protests By Stephen Lendman First Amendment rights are too precious to lose. Without them, all others are at risk. Does Israel call the shots in British politics? By Linda S. Heard Russia’s alleged attempt to sway the results of the US presidential election pales by comparison to Israel’s proven infiltration of Britain’s political sphere. However, whereas the US political establishment is up in arms, threatening a new round of anti-Russian sanctions, the British government has done its utmost to sweep the explosive findings of an Al Jazeera undercover reporter under the rug. Has the American dream become the American nightmare? By John W. Whitehead For too long now, the American people have allowed themselves to be persuaded that the government’s job is to take care of us: to feed us, clothe us, house us, educate us, raise our children, heal our infirmities, manage our finances, protect us from our enemies, guard us against all dangers (real and imaginary), and provide for our every need. A great and joyful march, but it’s not enough Saturday's protests were inspiring but just the first step in fighting back against those who would end democracy. By Michael Winship “Peaceful protests are a hallmark of our democracy. Even if I don’t always agree, I recognize the rights of people to express their views.”