Rep. Dana Rohrabacher Goes to Moscow

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) has plans to bring a congressional delegation to Russia. Rohrabacher is quoted in a Wednesday article by Robert Costa in the Washington Post as saying a purpose of the trip is to discuss with Russian officials “how we can work with the Duma.” The Duma is a legislative body of the Russian government.

Rohrabacher, as chairman of the Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats Subcommittee of the Foreign Affairs Committee, has a significant role in the United States House of Representatives regarding US relations with Russia. In this position, Rohrabacher has on occasion forcefully made the case for easing tensions between the US and Russia. For example, in March of 2015, Rohrabacher, speaking during a meeting of the subcommittee concerning Ukraine, criticized the US government’s effort “to basically defeat and humiliate Russia.” He argued that the US goal should instead be “to do what is right by Ukraine and bring peace to Ukraine.”

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Ron Paul asks: Can Trump Rein In the CIA?

President-elect Donald Trump has said he wants to shrink and reform the CIA and much of the US intelligence community, which he has claimed has become very politicized. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) recently warned Trump about crossing the CIA, stating that, “You take on the intelligence community — they have six ways from Sunday at getting back at you.” Will Trump try to really take on the destructive policies and actions of the CIA, or will he focus on re-arranging the deck chairs and putting his own people in positions of power? Our take in today’s Ron Paul Liberty Report:

Reprinted from The Ron Paul Institute for Peace & Prosperity.

Who Wants Obama To Pardon Lawrence Franklin?

Former Defense Department analyst Lawrence A. Franklin was convicted of felonies for passing in 2004 classified military information to two American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) lobbyists and an Israeli diplomat. Franklin worked for Under Secretary of Defense Douglas Feith, a major proponent of the disastrous US Iraq invasion. The AIPAC officials tried to use Franklin’s information to get the US to militarily "pivot" toward Iran by getting coverage that Iran was attacking the US in the Washington Post. The two AIPAC officials – Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman – were charged but avoided conviction. Shortly after Obama took office, the Department of Justice abruptly dropped a very solid criminal case developed by the FBI.

Israel affinity organizations and their leaders generally lobby hard to get non-prosecution (urging "prosecutorial discretion") for cases of major U.S. crimes that benefited Israel. When that fails, coordinated efforts are made to overturn felony convictions. On October 18, 1961 JFK pardoned "Hank" Greenspun’s felony conviction for smuggling arms during Israel’s War of Independence after intense lobbying. On January 20, 2001 Bill Clinton pardoned "Al" Schwimmer, founder of Israel Aircraft Industries, for similar crimes. On January 1, 2009 George W. Bush issued a posthumous pardon for B-17 bomber smuggler Charles T. Winters after intense lobbying by more than 28 members of congress, the American Jewish Committee, and Jewish federations. Many of argued that crimes committed for Israel should not be punished and that many others had done much more and not been punished.

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End of the World, Progressive Article Edition

For those who would like to become a progressive columnist in the world of Trump, here’s a guide for your first and every subsequent article:

  • Everything was pretty freaking close to perfect on November 7. Yeah, tough about Bernie, but Clinton was going to be great.
  • Putin, Comey, media, maybe Bernie, everyone you hate and fear, elected Trump because 62 million Americans are white, misogynists, and Nazis. They also are wrong about not having good jobs; don’t people in the Rust Belt read the job statistics?
  • Anyway, Trump is an oaf and/or an evil genius.
  • He is out to destroy America; riff off this for the next forever.

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What Will Baghdad Face in 2017?

Being stuck in traffic is daily fare in Baghdad. While checkpoints have been dramatically reduced in recent times, and the number of concrete walls appear markedly decreased, traffic jams still defy description. It doesn’t help in the least that everyone is leaning on their horns. A half-a-million taxis roam around Baghdad spewing pollution as they look for potential fares. Proposals to counter this problem have been put forth to authorities, for example, the creation of taxi stands throughout the city. All attempts to remedy this problem seem futile.

In my travels this trip to Najaf, Karbala, Babylon, and Baghdad, the dilemma of widespread corruption is of predominant concern. Young and old, without exception, feel caught in and strangulated by this reality. One young person related how one of the bosses in their workplace substantially increased their salary by fudging figures. If someone were to speak up they would, at best, be let go.

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