Monthly Archives: May 2025

Miami Herald: Pam Bondi Under Fire Over Qatar Jet: ‘Wrong Signal’

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Attorney General Pam Bondi’s alleged connection to Qatar has drawn criticism as the Qatari government plans to gift President Donald Trump a luxury Boeing 747-8 for temporary use as Air Force One. Bondi previously lobbied Congress for Qatar, earning $115,000 a month in 2020. The situation has since fueled legal and ethical concerns regarding foreign gifts to U.S. officials.

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Democratic pollster Matt McDermott said, “The DOJ memo approving Trump’s Qatari jet? Written by Pam Bondi. Her last job? Lobbying for Qatar.”

Pam Bondi Under Fire Over Qatar Jet: ‘Wrong Signal’
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/pam-bondi-under-fire-over-qatar-jet-wrong-signal/ss-AA1F5kGq

Inquirer: US senator denounces ICE raid on home of Filipino teachers in Hawaii

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Sen. Brian Schatz describes the raid as ‘racial profiling and a shameful abuse of power’

Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) has denounced the recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid on the home of Filipino teachers in Kahului, Maui.

“The reported interrogation and efforts to detain Filipino teachers in their home on Maui by ICE agents is outrageous,” Schatz said in a statement. “This is racial profiling and a shameful abuse of power.”

The teachers and their families were detained at the multi-family home for more than 40 minutes, one of the teachers told The Maui News.

“The whole situation was really overwhelming and traumatic for all of us, but I felt the need to speak out because I felt it could have been handled better, and I really do not want to see that happen again with teachers who are here to help our children, who are here legally as well,” the teacher said.

ICE told Island News the federal search warrant served during the May 6 raid was related to an immigration investigation.

“For the safety of the agents and the occupants, residents of the home were briefly detained and interviewed in addition to the search,” an ICE agent said in a statement. “At the conclusion of the search, HSI special agents left the location without any arrests made.”

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“In this case, with educators rousted from their beds at gunpoint, there was no public apology for the harm that was done,” Tui said.

“We’re concerned that, if this was a mistake, what other mistakes are being made or will be made affecting other innocent people.”

Senator Schatz said the ICE raids were “clearly designed to instill fear” among the teachers.

US senator denounces ICE raid on home of Filipino teachers in Hawaii
Senator Brian Schatz has denounced the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid on the home of Filipino teachers in Kahului, Maui.

https://usa.inquirer.net/172200/us-senator-denounces-ice-raid-on-home-of-filipino-teachers-in-hawaii

Futurism: Tesla’s Robotaxi Launch Is Already an Enormous Mess

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As Tesla prepares for the slated June launch of its robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, there’s a pretty big elephant in the room: that its autonomous driving services leave a lot to be desired.

As Forbes reports, the serious safety concerns surrounding Tesla’s so-called “Full Self-Driving” may result in CEO Elon Musk’s robotaxi service being dead on arrival.

“It’s going to fail for sure,” billionaire and longtime Tesla critic Dan O’Dowd told Forbes.

Atta boy F’Elon!

Tesla’s Robotaxi Launch Is Already an Enormous Mess
As Tesla prepares the slated June launch of its Robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, there’s a pretty big elephant in the room.

https://futurism.com/the-byte/tesla-robotaxi-launch-mess

Houston Chronicle: Houston judge orders U.S. to locate Venezuelan refugee seeker deported to El Salvador

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A Houston judge on Monday ordered the U.S. government to track down a Venezuelan man who is believed to have been deported to El Salvador after government attorneys told the court they did not know where he was. 

Widmer Josneyder Agelviz Sanguino, 24, was taken into Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody last fall after arriving in Houston as a refugee, but his family and attorneys stopped hearing from him on March 15 as his asylum case was awaiting a decision. Days later, his name appeared on a flight manifest published by CBS News identifying the 238 Venezuelan men who had been deported to a mega prison in El Salvador.

Neither his family nor his team has had contact with him since.

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/immigration/article/houston-judge-venezuelan-deportation-20335757.php

Raw Story: Trump is being ‘played for a fool’: conservative columnist

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President Donald Trump is being “played by a fool” in negotiations over the Russian invasion of Ukraine, conservative columnist Max Boot warned in The Washington Post — and he has no idea how effortlessly he’s being used.

Trump has been tough to pin down on the Ukraine war. He has spent much of his political career sympathetic to Russia’s Vladimir Putin after his government interfered in the 2016 presidential election, and has frequently suggested Ukraine should give up territory to appease Russian aggression, but has more recently acted aware that Russia isn’t interested in peace — yet, Boot wrote, he keeps giving Putin far more chances than he is entitled to.

“President Donald Trump is not known for being patient or forgiving with those who defy his will,” wrote Boot. “In just the past few days, he has lashed out at New York Attorney General Letitia James, Bruce Springsteen, Beyoncé and former FBI director James B. Comey — all of whom have incurred his wrath for various reasons. Yet when it comes to dealing with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin — who continues to sabotage Trump’s showcase efforts to end the war in Ukraine — the president seems to have an endless supply of patience, goodwill and understanding.”

Trump is being ‘played for a fool’: conservative columnist

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-ukraine-2672134891

Mediaite: Trump Made the First Move for Jet ‘Gift’ From Qataris: Report

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President Donald Trump’s claim that a jet plane from the Qatari royal family was a “gift” is facing turbulence after multiple sources tell CNN it was in fact the Trump administration that initiated talks to acquire the Boeing 747 that could temporarily serve as Air Force One.

Four sources familiar with the discussions contradict Trump’s implied line that Qatar spontaneously offered the plane. Instead, they say US officials, frustrated by delays in Boeing’s delivery of the new presidential fleet, actively pursued alternative options — Qatar among them.

“Qatar was one of the clients,” a source told CNN, explaining that Boeing pointed the Pentagon toward existing international customers. “The Pentagon offered to buy the plane and Qatar indicated it was willing to sell it.”

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The administration was told by Boeing, which is making the next generation of Air Force One planes, that the two planes would not arrive until 2027. Trump wanted something sooner. So the Pentagon, with the White House backing, reached out to Qatar.

Boeing had given the administration a list of possible planes that could work as Air Force One in the meantime, and Qatar had one of those planes.

The president’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, he also helped facilitate these early meetings. The Pentagon then offered to buy the plane, and Qatar offered to sell it. Now, we’re told the lawyers are still hashing out the details, but the White House is still claiming that this is going to be a donation from Qatar. Or, as Trump wrote on Truth Social recently, a gift “free of charge.”

Trump Made the First Move for Jet ‘Gift’ From Qataris: Report
Trump’s claim that a promised Qatar jet plane was a “gift” is facing turbulence after sources tell CNN it was in fact the administration that initiated talks.
Trump Made the First Move for Jet ‘Gift’ From Qataris: Report

Responsible Statecraft: Hegseth is taking the Army on another dead end ride to Asia

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The U.S. Army is getting ready to fight China. At least that’s how Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Army leaders are selling their new modernization initiative, announced on April 30.

Framed as an opportunity for “generational change,” the overhaul intends to “optimize” the Army’s force structure and equip its soldiers for the Indo-Pacific’s maritime terrain while divesting the heavy armored vehicles and helicopters that have been Army mainstays for a decade.

Like the Army’s past efforts to pivot to Asia, however, the initiative is likely to fail. The Army doesn’t have a game-changing or undiscovered role to play in a potential future conflict with China, and another expensive reboot isn’t going to help it find one. Instead, it’s time for the Army to face reality and double down on the narrow but essential core competencies it can already bring to the Indo-Pacific, including air defense, command and control, and sustainment.

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/hegseth-army

Fortune: U.S. economy is experiencing ‘death by a thousand cuts’, says Deutsche Bank, as confidence in national debt management erodes

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Economists have criticized politicians’ plans to reduce America’s national debt as too little, too late. But analysts are warning that the issue is now coming home to roost, with the once unshakeable confidence in the United States’ fiscal future beginning to erode.

America’s national debt, which currently stands at more than $36.2 trillion, is increasingly rising on economists’ agendas. Their fear is that as the nation’s debt burden increases, alongside the interest payments to service the debt, the economy will not grow fast enough to sustain the spending.

Such fears were reflected in a Moody’s downgrade of U.S. credit last week from Aaa to Aa1. Moody’s justified: “While we recognize the US’ significant economic and financial strengths, we believe these no longer fully counterbalance the decline in fiscal metrics.”

U.S. economy is experiencing ‘death by a thousand cuts’, says Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank’s Jim Reid says Moody’s recent debt downgrade continues a drip of bad fiscal news for the American economic outlook.

https://fortune.com/2025/05/20/us-economy-experiencing-death-by-thousand-cuts-deutsche-bank

Also here:

U.S. economy is experiencing ‘death by a thousand cuts’, says Deutsche Bank, as confidence in national debt management erodes

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/u-s-economy-is-experiencing-death-by-a-thousand-cuts-says-deutsche-bank-as-confidence-in-national-debt-management-erodes/ar-AA1F7C7n

EURweb: Artifacts Tied to Slavery and Civil Rights Quietly Pulled from Black History Museum as Trump Orders ‘Race‑Free’ Review

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More than 30 objects, including Harriet Tubman’s hymnal, have been rotated out of the National Museum of African American History and Culture amid President Trump’s executive order targeting “divisive” racial exhibits.

In all, NBC News counted 32 artifacts that have disappeared from public view at the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) just weeks after Trump signed a March 27 executive order demanding that the Smithsonian eliminate material that “divides Americans based on race.”

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The executive order charges Vice President J.D. Vance with a top‑to‑bottom review of Smithsonian content deemed to “degrade shared American values.” Its timing has fueled accusations of historical whitewashing. 

artifacts-tied-to-slavery-and-civil-rights-quietly-pulled-from-black-history-museum-as-trump-orders-racefree-review

https://eurweb.com/2025/artifacts-tied-to-slavery-and-civil-rights-quietly-pulled-from-black-history-museum-as-trump-orders-race%E2%80%91free-review

Knews: AOC Rips ‘Anti-American’ Trump Over Democratic Arrests

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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) criticized President Donald Trump and his administration for being “anti-American” following a confrontation involving Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and Democratic lawmakers at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center. Baraka was accused for trespassing and released after arrest. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin accused New Jersey Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman, LaMonica McIver, and Robert Menendez of trespassing and assaulting ICE agents.

Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) said, “If anyone’s breaking the law in this situation, it’s not members of Congress, it’s the Department of Homeland Security. It’s people like Tom Homan and Secretary Kristi Noem.” She added, “You lay a finger on someone, on Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman … or any of the representatives that were there, you lay a finger on them, we are going to have a problem. Because the people who are breaking the law are the people not abiding by it.”

AOC Rips ‘Anti-American’ Trump Over Democratic Arrests
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/aoc-rips-anti-american-trump-over-democratic-arrests/ss-AA1F5sac