Trump

Trump White House Says Military Occupation of Nation’s Capital Set to Expand

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Original article by Brett Wilkins republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

A National Guard member guides an armored vehicle in Washington, D.C. on August 12, 2025. (Photo: Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)

One critic accused the president of “testing the limits of his power, hoping to intimidate other cities into submission to his every vengeful whim.”

The Trump administration’s military occupation of Washington, D.C. is expected to expand, a White House official said Wednesday, with President Donald Trump also saying he will ask Congress to approve a “long-term” extension of federal control over local police in the nation’s capital.

The unnamed Trump official told CNN that a “significantly higher” number of National Guard troops are expected on the ground in Washington later Wednesday to support law enforcement patrols in the city.

“The National Guard is not arresting people,” the official said, adding that troops are tasked with creating “a safe environment” for the hundreds of federal officers and agents from over a dozen agencies who are fanning out across the city over the strong objection of local officials.

Trump dubiously declared a public safety emergency Monday in order to take control of Washington police under Section 740 of the District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act. The president said Wednesday that he would ask the Republican-controlled Congress to authorize an extension of his federal takeover of local police beyond the 30 days allowed under Section 740.

“Already they’re saying, ‘He’s a dictator,'” Trump said of his critics during remarks at the Kennedy Center in Washington. “The place is going to hell. We’ve got to stop it. So instead of saying, ‘He’s a dictator,’ they should say, ‘We’re going to join him and make Washington safe.'”

According to official statistics, violent crime in Washington is down 26% from a year ago, when it was at its second-lowest level since 1966,

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) have both expressed support for Trump’s actions. However, any legislation authorizing an extension of federal control over local police would face an uphill battle in the Senate, where Democratic lawmakers can employ procedural rules to block the majority’s effort.

Trump also said any congressional authorization could open the door to targeting other cities in his crosshairs, including Baltimore, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Oakland. Official statistics show violent crime trending downward in all of those cities—with some registering historically low levels.

While some critics have called Trump’s actions in Washington a distraction from his administration’s mishandling of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, others say his occupation of the nation’s capital is a test case to see what he can get away with in other cities.

Kat Abughazaleh, a Democratic candidate for Congress in Illinois, said Monday that the president’s D.C. takeover “is another telltale sign of his authoritarian ambitions.”

Some opponents also said Trump’s actions are intended to intimidate Democrat-controlled cities, pointing to his June order to deploy thousands of National Guard troops to Los Angeles in response to protests against his administration’s mass deportation campaign.

Testifying Wednesday at a San Francisco trial to determine whether Trump violated the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878—which generally prohibits use of the military for domestic law enforcement—by sending troops to Los Angeles, California Deputy Attorney General Meghan Strong argued that the president wanted to “strike fear into the hearts of Californians.”

Roosevelt University political science professor and Newsweek contributor David Faris wrote Wednesday that “deploying the National Guard to Washington, D.C. is an unconscionable abuse of federal power and another worrisome signpost on our road to autocracy.”

“Using the military to bring big, blue cities to heel, exactly as ‘alarmists’ predicted during the 2024 campaign, isn’t about a crisis in D.C.—violent crime is actually at a 30-year low,” he added. “President Trump is, once again, testing the limits of his power, hoping to intimidate other cities into submission to his every vengeful whim by making the once unimaginable—an American tyrant ordering a military occupation of our own capital—a terrifying reality.”

Original article by Brett Wilkins republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

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Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.
Orcas discuss Donald Trump and the killer apes' concept of democracy. Front Orca warns that Trump is crashing his country's economy and that everything he does he does for the fantastically wealthy.
Orcas discuss Donald Trump and the killer apes’ concept of democracy. Front Orca warns that Trump is crashing his country’s economy and that everything he does he does for the fantastically wealthy.
Neo-Fascist Climate Science Denier Donald Trump says Burn, Baby, Burn.
Neo-Fascist Climate Science Denier Donald Trump says Burn, Baby, Burn.
Continue ReadingTrump White House Says Military Occupation of Nation’s Capital Set to Expand

Vance ‘not welcome in Scotland,’ campaigners say

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/vance-not-welcome-scotland-campaigners-say

US vice president JD Vance, as Foreign Secretary David Lammy welcomes him to Chevening House in Kent, during his visit to Britain, August 8, 2025

ANTI-GENOCIDE campaigners in Scotland are planning a hostile reception for US Vice-President JD Vance, while the Scottish Greens have demanded that not a single penny of public money be spent on a man who has “no place here.”

Mr Vance had a holiday with his family in the Cotswolds before joining Foreign Secretary David Lammy at his official country retreat, Chevening House in Kent, for some fishing.

But Police Scotland are now believed to be on standby ahead of an unconfirmed stay by the vice-president at the private Carnell estate near the Ayrshire town of Hurlford. 

Pro-Palestinian campaign group Mothers Against Genocide were set to offer their own greeting at the estate last night, waving Palestinian flags and rattling pots and pans to show their disgust at a man they say is “hunting and fishing while he is complicit in starving an entire population.”

Scottish Green MSP Maggie Chapman demanded answers on the cost of Mr Vance’s private visit.

As many as 1,000 police officers are thought to have been put on standby to deal with the potential visit, which comes hard on the heels of President Trump’s tour of his Scottish golf courses in Aberdeenshire and Ayrshire just a month ago.

Ms Chapman said: “JD Vance is a far-right extremist who has peddled misinformation and lies.

“He has played a central role in the racist Trump government that has torn apart families and communities, attacked women’s rights and armed the genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

…

Article continues at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/vance-not-welcome-scotland-campaigners-say

Continue ReadingVance ‘not welcome in Scotland,’ campaigners say

‘Climate Vandalism, Pure and Simple’: Defiant BP to Reopen North Sea Oil Field

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Original article by Jessica Corbett republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

Protesters march with an anti-fossil fuel banner during the demonstration in London on January 15, 2023.
 (Photo: Vuk Valcic/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

“The only sensible thing to do is to pivot the North Sea to something we have an abundance of, and something that will never run out—wind,” argued one climate advocate.

As the United Kingdom on Monday faced the onset of its fourth heatwave of this summer, climate campaigners continued to call out BP for its decision to plow ahead with reopening the Murlach oil field in the North Sea, despite fossil fuels pushing up global temperatures and the U.K. government’s efforts to limit extraction in the region.

“This is climate vandalism, pure and simple,” Kate Blagojevic, Europe team lead at the group 350.org, said in a Monday statement. “BP is putting its profit margins above the survival of communities, ecosystems, and future generations. Every barrel of oil from this project pushes us closer to climate breakdown, more floods, more fires, more heatwaves.”

“The era of fossil fuels is over, and BP’s desperate attempts to wring out the last drops of oil from the North Sea are a reckless betrayal of the public and the planet. They should be winding down, not doubling down,” she declared.

Greenpeace U.K. policy director Doug Parr was similarly critical, saying in a statement that “the North Sea is on death’s door. Reserves are drying up, and what’s left and untapped is barely enough to keep it on life support.”

The Telegraph on Sunday noted recent research from the government’s North Sea Transition Authority that found there were over 3 billion barrels of oil and gas in fields already in production, 6 billion barrels in known potential developments, and 3.5 billion barrels in identified exploration zones.

According to the newspaper, BP said the Murlach field contains 20 million barrels of recoverable oil and 600 million cubic meters of gas, and is “expected to produce around 20,000 barrels of oil and 17 million cubic feet of gas per day,” due to new technologies that weren’t around when it was shut down over two decades ago.

Parr said that “3 billion barrels wouldn’t last more than a few years at current rates of consumption, and even that assumes it is economic to extract. Whatever the political rhetoric, the oil and gas is pretty much gone, and soon, so too will the jobs of thousands of workers.”

“Unless we want to remain dependent on overseas imports and watch an entire industry collapse with no plan for workers,” he added, “the only sensible thing to do is to pivot the North Sea to something we have an abundance of, and something that will never run out—wind.”

Although the U.K’s current Labour Party leaders have pledged to avoid new licensing for fossil fuel projects in the North Sea, “BP won agreement to reopen Murlach, 120 miles east of Aberdeen, under the previous government and has since been installing equipment, with production potentially restarting next month,” The Telegraph explained.

A spokesperson for Ed Miliband, U.K. secretary of state for energy security and net zero, said Sunday that “we are committed to delivering the manifesto commitment to not issue new licences to explore new fields because they will not take a penny off bills, cannot make us energy secure, and will only accelerate the worsening climate crisis.”

“We are delivering a fair and orderly transition in the North Sea, with the biggest ever investment in offshore wind and two first-of-a-kind carbon capture and storage clusters,” the spokesperson added.

Miliband in June announced new guidance for environmental impact assessments of proposed oil and gas projects in licensed fields, which came in response to last year’s landmark U.K. Supreme Court ruling. After that decision, Judge Andrew Stewart of Scotland’s Court of Session ruled in January that Equinor and Shell, which are respectively behind the Rosebank oil and gas field and the Jackdaw gas project, can’t move ahead with extraction.

The June guidance means offshore developers can now submit applications for extractions in fields that are already licensed, including Rosebank and Jackdaw. In response to that development earlier this year, Mel Evans, Greenpeace U.K.’s head of climate, said that “it’s only right for the government to take into account the emissions from burning oil and gas when deciding whether to approve fossil fuel projects currently pending.”

“Since Rosebank and other drilling sites will pump out a lot of carbon while providing little benefit to the economy and no help to bill payers, they should fail the criteria ministers have just set out,” Evans added. “Real energy security and future-proofed jobs for energy workers can only come through homegrown, cheap renewable energy, and that’s what ministers should focus on.”

Original article by Jessica Corbett republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

Experienced climbers scale a rock face near the historic Dumbarton castle in Glasgow, releasing a banner that reads “Climate on a Cliff Edge.” One activist, dressed as a globe, symbolically looms near the edge, while another plays the bagpipes on the shores below. | Photo courtesy of Extinction Rebellion and Mark Richards
Experienced climbers scale a rock face near the historic Dumbarton castle in Glasgow, releasing a banner that reads “Climate on a Cliff Edge.” One activist, dressed as a globe, symbolically looms near the edge, while another plays the bagpipes on the shores below. | Photo courtesy of Extinction Rebellion and Mark Richards
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Donald Trump urges you to be a Climate Science denier like him. He says that he makes millions and millions for destroying the planet, Burn, Baby, Burn and Flood, Baby, Flood.
Nigel Farage urges you to ignore facts and reality and be a climate science denier like him. He says that Reform UK has received millions and millions from the fossil fuel industry to promote climate denial and destroy the planet.
Nigel Farage urges you to ignore facts and reality and be a climate science denier like him. He says that Reform UK has received millions and millions from the fossil fuel industry to promote climate denial and destroy the planet.

Continue Reading‘Climate Vandalism, Pure and Simple’: Defiant BP to Reopen North Sea Oil Field

Trump Says ‘Other Cities Are Hopefully Watching’ as He Deploys National Guard, Takes Over DC Police

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Original article by Brad Reed republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

U.S. President Donald Trump gestures while speaking during a news conference to discuss crime in Washington, D.C. on August 11, 2025.
 (Photo: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

“The administration’s actions are unprecedented, unnecessary, and unlawful,” declared Washington, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday moved to deploy the National Guard on the streets of Washington, D.C., while also officially taking over the city’s police department.

What’s more, Trump suggested that this could be a model for other American cities.

As reported by NBC News, Trump said during his announcement on plans to deploy the National Guard in the nation’s capital that “other cities are hopefully watching this” and that he hoped it would make them “self-clean up, and maybe they’ll self-do this and get rid of the cashless bail thing and all of the things that caused the problem.”

Trump then named Baltimore, Oakland, New York, and Chicago as potential future targets for National Guard deployments and other measures.

Shortly after Trump made his announcement, Washington, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb indicated that he was not taking the president’s attempt to take over his city’s police force lying down.

“The administration’s actions are unprecedented, unnecessary, and unlawful,” he declared in a post on X. “There is no crime emergency in the District of Columbia. Violent crime in D.C. reached historic 30-year lows last year, and is down another 26% so far this year. We are considering all of our options and will do what is necessary to protect the rights and safety of District residents.”

Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.) was also quick to condemn the president’s takeover of D.C. law enforcement as an unnecessary power grab.

“The president’s attempt to federalize the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department and deploy the National Guard on the streets of our nation’s capital is an abuse of power,” she said. “It’s an egotistical, pathetic attempt to stoke fear and distract from his failures: America is less affordable, healthy, and safe under this administration.”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who last year served as the Democratic Party’s vice-presidential nominee, chided critics who had accused him in the past of exaggerating the authoritarian threat of a second Trump term.

“The road to authoritarianism is littered with people telling you you’re overreacting,” he wrote on X.

The NAACP, meanwhile, compared Trump’s enthusiasm for deploying the National Guard in Washington, D.C. to purportedly battle crime with the lackadaisical attitude he took toward deploying the National Guard when his supporters violently stormed the United States Capitol building on January 6, 2021.

“As a reminder: The same president who proclaims he wants to take back our capital during a historic 30-year low crime rate also couldn’t find the National Guard on Jan. 6,” the organization wrote.

Public Citizen co-presidents Lisa Gilbert and Robert Weissman issued a joint statement slamming Trump’s actions and outright labeling him a “despot.”

“As autocrats commonly do, Trump is seeking control over the national capital in order to intimidate and squelch dissent,” they said. “Like despots around the world and throughout history, Trump is also relying on the pretextual deployment of military force to intimidate and project power, to suppress protest and undercut democracy.”

As reported by Politico, Trump’s seizure of the D.C. police is on borrowed time from a legal perspective. While the Home Rule Act gives Trump the power to take control of the D.C. police force for emergencies, this power only lasts for 30 days, after which he must seek authorization from Congress to maintain control.

Continue ReadingTrump Says ‘Other Cities Are Hopefully Watching’ as He Deploys National Guard, Takes Over DC Police

‘This Isn’t Normal!’ Secret Pentagon Plan for Troops to Put Down Local ‘Unrest’ Nationwide

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Original article by Jon Queally republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

People participate in a rally against the Trump Administration’s federal takeover of the District of Columbia, outside of the AFL-CIO on August 11, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Trump announced he is placing the DC Metropolitan Police Department under federal control, and will deploy the National Guard to the District in order to assist in crime prevention in the nation’s capital. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

“If people aren’t allowed to peacefully protest and the elections are being rigged through gerrymandering and voter suppression, how are Americans supposed to respond when they figure out their lives are being actively destroyed by a corrupt, fascist government?”

Internal documents obtained by The Washington Post and reported on Tuesday reveal a secret Pentagon plan by the Trump administration to create a standing force of military personnel that could be rapidly deployed to U.S. cities or communities to quell public protests or any situation President Donald Trump deems “domestic civil unrest.”

The proposal to create what it dubs a “Domestic Civil Disturbance Quick Reaction Force”—which evidence shows has been under serious consideration by the administration over recent months—would utilize existing statute, including invocation of Title 32, to authorize the deployment of specialized National Guard units anywhere in the country within hours, according to the documents.

According to the Post:

The plan calls for 600 troops to be on standby at all times so they can deploy in as little as one hour, the documents say. They would be split into two groups of 300 and stationed at military bases in Alabama and Arizona, with purview of regions east and west of the Mississippi River, respectively.

“This isn’t normal!!!” declared one social media user, a U.S. Navy veteran, in response to the reporting.

The leaked documents detailing the plan, which the Post noted “represents another potential expansion of [Trump’s] willingness to employ the armed forces on American soil,” comes just a day after the president sparked serious concerns (and local protests) by deploying National Guard troops in the city of Washington, D.C. and announcing a federal takeover of the D.C. police force.

Civil liberties advocates and critics of Trump’s growing authoritarianism warn the president is raising “a trial balloon” to see just how much he can get away with when it comes to deploying U.S. soldiers onto the nation’s streets.

Coupled with the D.C. takeover, Tuesday’s revelations about the Pentagon’s more expansive plan served to increase those fears, especially in the light of looming political battles regarding gerrymandered districts for next year’s congressional elections and growing disgust with the broader Trump policy agenda.

“If people aren’t allowed to peacefully protest and the elections are being rigged through gerrymandering and voter suppression, how are Americans supposed to respond when they figure out their lives are being actively destroyed by a corrupt, fascist government?” asked Wisconsin state Rep. Chris Larson, a Democrat.

“The U.S. military should never be used against peaceful civilians,” said Larson. “The criminal president who thinks it’s cool can f*ck all the way off.”

Joseph Nunn, an attorney at the Brennan Center for Justice specializing in the domestic use of the U.S. military, told the Post that the lawfulness of the proposal is far from clear and that the creation of such a force would be deeply troubling.

“You don’t want to normalize routine military participation in law enforcement,” Nunn warned. “You don’t want to normalize routine domestic deployment.”

“When you have this tool waiting at your fingertips, you’re going to want to use it,” he added. “It actually makes it more likely that you’re going to see domestic deployments—because why else have a task force?”

Continue Reading‘This Isn’t Normal!’ Secret Pentagon Plan for Troops to Put Down Local ‘Unrest’ Nationwide