- Post author:dizzy
- Post published:30 January 2026
- Post category:Airstrip One/Green Party/Neo-liberalism/new authoritarianism/plutocracy/politics/USUK
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US turns sanctions on Cuba into an oil siege
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/us-turns-sanctions-cuba-oil-siege
SHORTAGES: A driver refuels others wait in a long line behind to fill up at a petrol station in Havana, Cuba, Tuesday, January 27By pressuring Mexico to halt oil shipments, Washington is escalating its blockade of Cuba into a direct bid for economic collapse and regime change, argues SEVIM DAGDELEN
THE United States is forcing an oil boycott against Cuba through pressure on Mexico — a targeted blow aimed at bringing the island to its knees economically and forcing a regime change.
The decision by the Mexican government to no longer ship oil to Cuba threatens to initiate a countdown to the island’s economic collapse.
Following the US attack on Venezuela, Washington had already prevented oil from that country from being exported to Cuba.
Mexico stepped in temporarily and supplied over 40 per cent of Cuba’s oil imports.
The oil stop and the siege of Cuba
As a consequence of the Mexican oil stop, which occurred under pressure from US President Donald Trump, the US sanctions regime against Cuba is turning into a siege aimed at the complete sabotage of power generation, all production, and tourism.
At its core, however, the siege by the US is aimed at a regime change in Cuba within weeks. It is about breaking the country’s sovereignty.
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Article continues at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/us-turns-sanctions-cuba-oil-siege
The Guardian view on long waits for disability benefits: the system should not push people closer to poverty
Long delays in processing personal independence payment (Pip) claims have become one of the most damaging and least defensible failures in the UK’s welfare system. Pip is designed to support disabled people with the additional costs of daily living and mobility, yet for many claimants it has instead become a source of prolonged uncertainty, financial hardship and distress. Waiting months – and in some cases more than a year – for a decision can push people into debt, rent arrears and poverty, especially as Pip unlocks other support such as carer’s allowance.
Parliament has been sounding the alarm over the scale of the problem – but it appears the Department for Work and Pensions has its fingers in its ears. The stock response is that a new “health transformation programme” will lead to efficiency gains made by replacing paper Pip applications with an online claims system. Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, the chair of the public accounts committee, last week pointed out that MPs had been told “three years ago that improvements would have manifested by now; we are now told that they are a further three years off”.
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Article continues at https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jan/13/the-guardian-view-on-long-waits-for-disability-benefits-the-system-should-not-push-people-closer-to-poverty
Back on track ;)
Campaigners pledge to fight Mahmood police plan
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/campaigners-pledge-fight-mahmood-police-plan
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood during a tour of the Lambeth Central Communications Command Centre, south London, January 22, 2026CIVIL liberty campaigners pledged to fight plans to roll out facial recognition technology to all police forces across England and Wales.
Overriding concerns, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood claimed that the technology would cut crime, despite often being entirely inaccurate.
Boosting camera vans from 10 to 50, Ms Mahmood claimed: “New technology has the ability to help us go after criminals and bring more people to justice.
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Liberty slammed the government for announcing the rollout while supposedly still in the midst of a public consultation.
External relations director Ruth Ehrlich said that “rolling out powerful surveillance tools while a consultation is still under way undermines public trust and shows disregard for our fundamental rights,” adding: “The government must halt the rapid rollout of facial recognition technology, ensure safeguards are in place to protect each of us, and prioritise our rights.”
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See the original article at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/campaigners-pledge-fight-mahmood-police-plan
DOJ Investigating Omar Called ‘Continuation of Trump’s Revenge Campaign’
Original article by Brad Reed republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
“Your support is collapsing and you’re panicking,” Rep. Ilhan Omar said in response to the president.
Rep. Ilhan Omar on Monday swiftly hit back at President Donald Trump after he announced that the US Department of Justice had launched an investigation into her family’s finances.
In a Truth Social post, Trump claimed that the DOJ is “looking at” Omar, whom the president described as having “left Somalia with NOTHING, and is now reportedly worth more than 44 Million Dollars.”
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A detailed analysis of Omar’s financial disclosures published by Snopes last week found that that while Omar’s family net worth had jumped since she was first sworn into Congress in 2019, practically all of it was due to business ventures founded by her husband, Tim Mynett.
“The majority of value from the listed assets came from two businesses run by Mynett… and were thus labeled as ‘Partnership Income,’” Snopes explained. “Omar’s filing valued Mynett’s winery, eSt Cru Wines, at about $1 million to $5 million. Mynett’s venture capital management company, Rose Lake Capital, was valued between $5 million and $25 million.”
Omar responded to Trump’s claims of DOJ investigation by accusing him of trying to hide his own failures.
“Sorry, Trump, your support is collapsing and you’re panicking,” the Minnesota Democrat wrote in a social media post. “Right on cue, you’re deflecting from your failures with lies and conspiracy theories about me. Years of ‘investigations’ have found nothing. Get your goons out of Minnesota.”
Christina Harvey, executive director of Stand Up America, accused Trump of once again weaponizing the US Department of Justice to target his political opponents.
“The Justice Department’s ‘investigation’ of Representative Omar, a longtime critic of President Trump,” Harvey said, “looks suspiciously like a continuation of Trump’s revenge campaign against Minnesota’s elected officials and anyone else who disagrees with him.”
Trump last year directly pressured US Attorney General Pam Bondi to indict several political opponents, including former FBI Director James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.).
Comey and James were both subsequently indicted, and the DOJ has since launched criminal probes into other Trump critics, including Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.
Original article by Brad Reed republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
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