Week of May 29, 2017 Trump’s dumbest deal ever: selling out the U.S. to the Saudis, Trump’s infrastructure privatization scheme

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We cannot keep publishing without your help. We rely on you to help us pay our monthly expenses. So please Donate  Monday Trump’s dumbest deal ever: selling out the U.S. to the Saudis By Wayne Madsen Donald Trump, who fancies himself as the grand artist of deal making, just made a series of terrible deals with the radical Wahhabist government of Saudi Arabia. Trump signed a deal with the Saudis, which was negotiated largely by Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, to provide the kingdom with military hardware, including advanced fighter jets, tanks, artillery, precision-guided munitions, and radar systems. The package could be worth as much as $360 billion. The Saudis will undoubtedly use their American-provided weapons to continue atrocities against the people of Yemen, Syria, and Bahrain, where Saudi military forces have been involved in internal rebellions on behalf of radical Sunni interests. Hawkish Russophobe Zbigniew Brzezinski passes By Stephen Lendman Zbigniew Brzezinski served as geopolitical counselor to Lyndon Johnson, later as Jimmy Carter’s National Security Advisor. Making America meaner By Robert Reich Last Wednesday, on the eve of his election to the House of Representatives, Montana Republican Greg Gianforte beat up Ben Jacobs, a reporter for the “Guardian” newspaper. Kick Donald Trump’s circus out of town By Michael Winship I’m increasingly convinced that the real reason Ringling Bros. has gone out of business is that when it comes to circuses, the Trump White House was just too much competition. Memorial DAZE! By Philip A Farruggio My neighbor is a Vietnam vet suffering from the effects of Agent Orange. He is in his early 70s and looks at least 10 years older. In and out of hospitals with lapses in memory, the guy still maintains a ‘ gung ho ‘ Amerikan exceptionalism mindset. Will he ever learn the truth about how his life and that of millions of others, military and civilian, were damaged or destroyed by our country? Tuesday Reality and its enemies By Lawrence Davidson There is an ongoing reality that is destroying hundreds of thousands of lives in the Middle East. And though most Americans are ignorant of the fact, and many of those who should be in the know would deny it, the suffering flows directly from decisions taken by Washington over the last 27 years. Trump’s infrastructure privatization scheme By Stephen Lendman Straightaway in office, Trump proved he’s an imperial/predatory corporatist tool—his rhetorical populism pretense, not real, his agenda hugely harming ordinary people at home and abroad. There is no media more hostile than Qatar’s It is troubling to discover that one of Al Jazeera’s prime functions was to act as a mouthpiece for the Muslim Brotherhood By Linda S. Heard In response to the banning of Qatari websites by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, Qatar’s foreign minister announced that his country is the target of “a hostile media campaign.” Don’t fall for these pharma scare tactics By Martha Rosenberg Long before the Internet and direct-to-consumer advertising, the medical profession tried to reassure people about their health concerns. Remember “take two aspirins and call me in the morning”? Fear strikes at, not out! By Philip A Farruggio Memories come and go, but important ones seem to stay with us for entirety. I can recall, so vividly, traumatic events from my early youth. Wednesday Shifting the blame: How US made Iran responsible for 9/11 By Eric Zuesse The official U.S. government line is that Iran is the main country responsible for the 9/11 attacks in America. On 9 March 2016, a U.S. civil court ruled that Iran must pay to some victims of the 9/11 attacks $10.5 billion in fines, and the Obama administration had no comment, so the U.S. press ignored the verdict almost totally. But this verdict was the only official U.S. court ruling thus far about state-sponsorship of the 9/11 attacks, 16 years after the event. It was therefore huge news on 9 March 2016—it created a precedent, for the U.S. government to allege that Iran had caused the 9/11 attacks and is consequently ‘the number one terrorist state’ (as Israelis have long claimed). But it received very little coverage at the time. Trump blasts Abbas By Stephen Lendman Trump represents Anglo-Zionist interests, responsible for endless imperial wars, conquest, colonization, resource control, exploitation of millions and dominance—creating nightmarish conditions worldwide. Trump’s visit to Israel: How Palestine disappeared from US media coverage By Ramzy Baroud As if he has, overnight, been transformed into a master politician, Donald Trump’s 27-hour trip to Israel has left many analysts mystified. Trump’s rollback of civil rights By Robert Reich Trump’s budget isn’t just about massive tax cuts for rich and major cuts in assistance for the poor. He also wants to roll back civil rights. The lessons of ‘Sgt. Pepper’s’ 50 years later: Stop fighting one another and focus on the real enemy By John W. Whitehead The more things change, the more they stay the same. Thursday Trump to roll back Obama’s Cuba policy By Stephen Lendman Obama’s policy was dubious when announced. His so-called “new course on Cuba” concealed dirty business as usual, strategy and tactics changing, not Washington’s objective to return the country to US vassal state status. The buttinski should butt out of Korea By Jacob Hornberger Korea is none of the U.S. government’s business. The only proper course of action is for the Pentagon and the CIA to exit the country and bring those 23,000 American soldiers stationed in Korea home. No negotiations. No agreements. No talks. Just butt out of what is none of your business and exit the scene by coming home. The unpleasant impact of an unserious budget If you can get past the fuzzy math, Trump's budget means certain pain for most families—and big tax cuts for the wealthiest few. By Josh Hoxie Federal budgets, while boring and wonky, can have a serious impact on our lives. They dictate our collective priorities for how we choose to spend our public resources in support of the common good. Fortress Europe: The rise of fascism and racism in the Netherlands By Thomas C. Mountain A few days ago I returned from Veldhoven, The Netherlands, where last April 13 in a breathtakingly fascist act of racism, the mayor of this small Dutch town evicted over 600 Eritrean youth attending a conference; kicked out of their hotel and forced to leave the city in the middle of the night. Hollywood, California: In the heart of political correctness, Trump’s effects are changing discourse By Wayne Madsen Hollywood and its glitterati of actors, writers, and other celebrities has often been known as a bastion for political correctness and progressive politics. However, even in this most anti-Donald Trump of all locales in the United States, the effects of Trump’s insensitive bombast has triggered a wave of sympatico comments from those employed by Hollywood’s entertainment industry. Friday ‘Destructive fossil fuel puppet’ Trump ditches climate deal with fact-free speech ‘Generations from now, Americans will look back at Donald Trump's decision to leave the Paris Agreement as one of the most ignorant and dangerous actions ever taken by any president’ By Lauren McCauley President Donald Trump took what critics are saying is “one of the most ignorant and dangerous actions ever taken by any president” Thursday afternoon and pulled the United States out of the Paris climate agreement. In wake of Trump’s first overseas visit, frayed alliances emerge By Wayne Madsen White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer actually stated something true at his contentious press briefing on May 30. He said Donald Trump’s first overseas trip was “unprecedented.” The trouble for Trump and Spicer is that the trip was “unprecedented” but not in a way that could be considered a success for the president. Three Mile Island nuke plant closure strengthens call for renewable energy future By Harvey Wasserman Tuesday’s announcement that the Three Mile Island Unit One nuclear plant will close unless it gets massive subsidies has vastly strengthened the case for a totally renewable energy future. The deplorable state of healthcare in America By Stephen Lendman Healthcare in America is the world’s best—based on the ability to pay. Be warned, Donald Trump: Ghosts are everywhere Harry Truman understood the importance of allies in Europe. President Trump does not. By Michael Winship “The damned place is haunted, sure as shootin.’’
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