American Stalinism

Friday,  Apr 6, 2018

Saudi Arabia plans to build a Hyperloop

 

Trump considering hitting China with an additional $100 billion in tariffs President Trump announced Thursday that he is contemplating imposing an additional $100 billion in tariffs against China, piling on to the $50 billion already authorized by the White House. Trump said the increase is in response to China’s decision to raise import duties on U.S. products, including soybeans and pork, by up to 25 percent, which he called an “unfair retaliation” against the U.S. “Rather than remedy its misconduct, China has chosen to harm our farmers and manufacturers,” Trump said. Source: The New York Times

Ex-South Korean President Park Geun-hye sentenced to 24 years for corruption A court in Seoul convicted former South Korean President Park Geun-hye of bribery, extortion, abuse of power, and other corruption-related charges on Friday and sentenced her to 24 years in prison and a $16.8 million fine. Park, who maintains her innocence, was not in court to hear the verdict. She has a week to appeal the verdict. Park was impeached in December 2016 and removed from office in March 2017 by the Constitutional Court, and the scandal has also taken down longtime ally Choi Soon-sil, who is serving 20 years, and dozens of other government and business leaders, most prominently Samsung heir apparent Lee Jae-yong, whose five-year sentence was cut in half and suspended. Source: The Associated Press

 

Thursday, Apr 5,  2018

The Israeli Defence Forces releases footage of a man fatally shot yesterday during an apparent attempt to breach the Gazan border fence. Israel says he was carrying an AK-47 and explosive devices including grenades, and accused Hamas of “playing with fire”. (Ynet News)

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko holds a press conference in Vinnytsia announcing the end of the Anti Terror Operation in Donbass in May. It will be replaced with a military force. (UNIAN)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan calls 15 peaceful anti-war protestors arrested last month at Boğaziçi University in Istanbul terrorists and says they will not be allowed to complete their education. (Times Higher Education)

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has reportedly told Chinese President Xi Jinping that he is willing to resume six-party talks. (Yahoo! News)

Vasily Nebenzya, the Russian ambassador to the United Nations, tells the UN Security Council the United Kingdom has created a “fake story” and says Russia has “told our British colleagues that you are playing with fire and you will be sorry.” UK UN representative Karen Pierce tells the Security Council UK actions “stand up to any scrutiny” and compares Russian requests to join the investigation to an arsonist investigating their own fire. (BBC)

Brazilian federal judge Sérgio Moro orders the arrest of former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva by late Friday to begin serving a 12-year sentence for corruption. (Reuters)

Newly released documentation reveals Benjamin Morrow, a man killed by an explosion on March 5 in his home in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, possessed white supremacist literature, five guns with ammunition, boxes of binary explosives, jars of explosive TATP, and a small explosives manufacturing laboratory. (Wisc News)

An arrest warrant is issued for Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight champion Conor McGregor after he was involved in a melee at a press conference at the Barclays Center in New York City ahead of UFC 223. Video footage appears to show McGregor throwing a guard rail through a window of the Khabib Nurmagomedov team bus. (The Guardian)

White House: U.S. involvement in Syria coming to ‘rapid end’ The White House on Wednesday said that U.S. military involvement in Syria is “coming to a rapid end.” Roughly 2,000 American troops are still in the country, assisting in the fight against the Islamic State. In a statement, the White House said that ISIS is “almost completely destroyed,” and as such, the U.S. will seek to wind down its combat presence. “The United States and our partners remain committed to eliminating the small ISIS presence in Syria that our forces have not already eradicated,” the statement read. “We will continue to consult with our allies and friends regarding future plans.” No timetable was offered for withdrawal. Source: NBC News, The Associated Press

Mueller’s team is reportedly questioning Russian oligarchs In recent weeks, Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team has questioned Russian oligarchs traveling in the United States, and in at least one case searched a man’s electronic devices after he disembarked from his private jet in the New York City area, several people familiar with the matter told CNN on Wednesday. Mueller is investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, and by showing interest in Russian oligarchs, it reveals his team is focusing on the possible flow of foreign money to President Trump’s campaign and inauguration fund, CNN reports. Under campaign finance laws, foreign nationals are not allowed to donate to U.S. political campaigns. Source: CNN

Facebook says Cambridge Analytica breach affected up to 87 million users Personal information from up to 87 million Facebook users was improperly shared with data firm Cambridge Analytica, Facebook revealed Wednesday — significantly more than the company’s previous estimate of 50 million. Most of the 87 million users were Americans, the social media company explained in a blog post. Facebook will start notifying users next week if their information was improperly obtained. Facebook has been under intense scrutiny since reports found that Cambridge Analytica, a political consulting firm with ties to President Trump, had harvested user information without permission. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s CEO, has agreed to testify before the House Oversight Committee to address the “breach of trust.” Source: Facebook

More Below The Fold

Wednesday,  Apr 4,  2018

Lawyers representing U.S. President Donald Trump are told by FBI special counsel Robert Mueller the President is considered to be more than a witness but is not under criminal investigation. (CNN)

Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the opposition Labour Party, calls for an investigation into comments by UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson. Johnson is facing criticisms he overstated the strength of evidence against Russia, an accusation he calls “lamentable” and accuses Corbyn of sympathizing with Russia. (The Guardian) (BBC)

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons rejects a Russian request for a joint investigation. (BBC)

Facebook increases its estimate of the number of affected users to 87 million. (BBC)

 

The leaders of Iran, Turkey and Russia meet in Ankara. They declare their commitment to achieving a “lasting ceasefire” in Syria. (Ahval)

U.S. President Donald Trump signs an order sending the National Guard to patrol the Mexico–United States border in response to Congress’s failure to pass tightened border security measures. (CBS)

Shin Bet and the Israeli Defence Forces announce the arrests of eleven suspected members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group off the Gazan coast suspected of planning an attack on the Israeli Navy. (Israel National News) (The Times of Israel)

Protests enter a second week, with the death toll from last week’s clashes at the Israeli-Gazan border rises to 19. Hamas organisers directing participants to stay well back from the border fence to prevent further violence. (Haaretz)

Israeli human rights group B’Tselem launches a campaign calling on soldiers to refuse orders at the border. (972)

The parents of Ayşe Deniz Karacagil, killed in Raqqa, Syria, after she joined the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, are acquitted of a terrorism propaganda charge for attending her funeral. (Hurriyet Daily News)

The Sohag Criminal Court in Egypt sentences 35 alleged Muslim Brotherhood members to life imprisonment and imposes prison terms on 155 more. Separately, a military court sentences four more to life imprisonment, imposes prison terms on two others, and acquits 13. (The Star Tribune)

Police across the nation arrest a total of 29 alleged coup participants on suspicion of terrorism. (Anadolu Agency)

Authorities in Ukraine announce the arrest of a suspected terrorist in connection with a 2017 Kiev attack that killed two and wounded three including MP Ihor Mosiychuk. (Interfax)

The first ever direct train from London to Amsterdam departs from St Pancras railway station. The new Eurostar service estimated at three hours and 41 minutes arrived six minutes behind schedule. (The Independent)

Ukraine and Turkey sign an agreement improving aviation co-operation. (Anadolu Agency)

China threatens tariffs of 25% on the import of 106 U.S. products, including soybeans and Boeing aircraft in reaction to a previous U.S. threat of tariffs worth up to $50 billion. (Deutsche Welle)

Egyptian news site Masr al-Arabia says its offices were raided and a journalist arrested in response to them republishing an article by The New York Times alleging irregularities in the nation’s recent Presidential election. (The Guardian)

 

Tuesday,   Apr 3, 2018

Military scientists at Porton Down state they are uncertain of the source of the nerve agent used, but are “completely confident” it was a Novichok agent. (ITV)

Russia asks for the United Kingdom to release “every possible element of evidence” proving Russian involvement and asks the Executive Council of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to call a special session tomorrow. (The Independent)

On the first anniversary of the attack Russia’s Investigative Committee releases a statement saying they have identified all participants, have eleven suspects in custody, and have almost concluded their investigation. (The Moscow Times)

A shooting at YouTube headquarters wounds four. The gunwoman takes her own life. (The Guardian)

Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Liberman says the nation will maintain its tactics at the Gazan border of shooting anybody who approaches the fence, and calls on Hamas to cease hostilities in exchange for aid. (The Times of Israel)

The Saudi-led Arab Coalition says the Saudi Arabian Navy repelled an attack by Iran and Houthis against a Saudi-flagged oil tanker in the Red Sea. (Arab News)

UK retailer Conviviality, owner of Bargain Booze, says it intends to appoint administrators within ten days. (Citywire)

Two underground trains collide in Duisburg, Germany, injuring at least 35. (Euronews)

At a United Nations donor conference nations pledge US$2 billion in aid for Yemen, with almost half coming from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. (The Guardian)

A 13-year-old boy is rescued after falling into a sewer and becoming trapped for 12 hours in Los Angeles. (Isle of Wight Radio)

Russian MPs call for sanctions against Latvia in response to plans to make Latvian mandatory for all students in secondary schools in the country, which is a quarter ethnic Russians. (BBC)

Saudi Arabia lifts a ban on imports of frozen guava from Egypt. (Egypt Today)

Reuters reports the United States’ planned meeting this spring with Gulf Arab leaders is postponed because of the ongoing dispute between Qatar and other U.S. allies in the Middle East. (Reuters)

 

American Stalinism Then and Now
The left has readopted its 1930s purge-happy mindset, in spirit if not in substance.
By ANDREW J. BACEVICH • March 7, 2018

I submit that something similar is occurring today. Ours is another low, dishonest era, for which progressive intellectuals will one day have much to answer. Not unlike the Stalinists of the 1930s, many of today’s most prominent writers and thinkers—that “herd of independent minds,” in Harold Rosenberg’s derisive description—have forfeited any actual independence of mind in favor of fashionable ideological fetish.

As was the case with the American Stalinists, they demand conformity and permit no dissent. Rather than socialism as interpreted by Marx and further refined by Lenin and Stalin, their agenda centers on demolishing traditional norms related to sex, gender, and sexuality, all in the name of perfecting freedom.

In their ranks, the spirit (not the substance) of American Stalinism has found a rebirth. Like the devout Stalinists of yore, they see utopia just around the corner. Their latest version looks to uninhibited sexual expression, compulsory diversity, and infinite choice on all matters pertaining to personal identity to make things right.

The contempt for bourgeoisie values cultivated among American Stalinists back in the 1930s—due process and the presumption of innocence, for example—finds its counterpart today in contempt for the so-called heteronormative order. As was the case during the Moscow Trials, accusation suffices as evidence of guilt, even when it comes to doling out punishment, shunning and public humiliation have today replaced exile and execution.

THE END