USA elections 2016 « nuclear-news

European security officials fear that Trump may trigger a war against Iran

Security officials worry Israel and Saudi Arabia may see the end of Trump as their last chance to go to war with Iran, MSN insider@insider.com (Mitch Prothero) 18 Nov 20,

They also fear that Israel and Saudi Arabia may see the departure of Trump as a ticking clock they need to beat.

Trump has elevated hardliners on Iran inside the Pentagon.

maximum pressure on Iran

— or a combination of Israel or Saudi Arabia creating a military confrontation in the waning days of the administration has been a concern for over a week, according to three European intelligence officials who spoke with Insider.

The news that last week the president requested a list of military options from his military and diplomatic advisors has

sent these concerns into overdrive.

One fear is of unilateral action by the US to force a military clash that might make it impossible for the incoming Biden

administration to return to the 2015 joint nuclear agreement that traded sanctions relief on Iran for an end to its

nuclear weapon programs, all three officials said. They declined to speak on the record in exchange for their candid

views on the situation…..

Israel conducted a series of attacks in Iran over the summer, in the knowledge that Trump was sympathetic to a

“maximum pressure” strategy.

The fears were underlined last week, in the wake of Trump’s election defeat, when the president replaced much of

the top leadership of the Department of Defense — including Secretary Mark Esper — with figures considered

hardliners on Iran. That inflamed worries among both Democrats and European allies, said all three sources.

Biden — who enters office on Jan 21, 2021 — has not expressed any solid policy positions on Iran except to

highlight his belief that the 2015 agreement (which Trump voided in 2018) had been working as intended in preventing the Iranians from developing a nuclear weapon………

Security officials say the US will be a ‘crippled world power’ until Biden takes over and fear Trump will declassify intelligence that will help Putin
Israel keeps blowing up military targets in Iran, hoping to force a confrontation before Trump can be voted out in November.

.https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/security-officials-worry-israel-and-saudi-arabia-may-see-the-end-of-trump-as-their-last-chance-to-go-to-war-with-iran/ar-BB1b68rX

November 19, 2020 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics international, USA elections 2016, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Does Senator mark Rubio now REALLY believe that Donald Trump would be safe with the nuclear codes?

Dana Bash catches Rubio in trap with clip where he said Trump ‘too erratic to have the nuclear codes https://www.rawstory.com/2016/11/dana-bash-catches-rubio-in-trap-with-clip-where-he-said-trump-too-erratic-to-have-the-nuclear-codes/ TOM BOGGIONI 27 NOV 2016 FLorida Senator Marco Rubio (R) gave his full support to Donald Trump on Sunday morning but continued to hedge his bets when it comes to feeling comfortable handing over the nuclear codes to the president-elect.

Appearing on CNN’s State of the Union, host Dana Bash reminded the Florida senator that he once called Trump unfit for the office of the presidency, and warned against “turning over the nuclear codes to an erratic individual.”

“Senator, do you still have those concerns about President-elect Trump?” Bash asked.

“Well, Dana, we had an election,” Rubio replied. “Ultimately the voters chose him both as our nominee and now as our president. The election is over and it’s time to govern. We’ll give him every chance to be successful. That’s what I”m focused on now. At some point elections end and governing needs to begin.”

“Senator, I completely get elections are over and now it is time for governing,” Bash pressed. “But given the fact that it’s time for governing and your criticism was about his abilities to govern, even as far as saying that he shouldn’t have the nuclear codes because he’s too erratic. What will you do as senator, as somebody who actually has the responsibility of check and balance, to make sure that he is governing properly given the concerns that you expressed?”

“The same as I would do with anybody else who is elected.” Rubio replied, side-stepping once again before adding, “I feel comfortable voters have voted him to be the commander-in-chief.” [Video]

November 28, 2016 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA elections 2016 | Leave a comment

Trump keeping ‘open mind’ on climate

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/trump-keeping-open-mind-on-climate/news-story/4e03198412ba39cf818050b3831f7f6e Reuters November 23, 2016

US President-elect Donald Trump thinks there is some connection between climate change and human activity and “clean air is vitally important,” a New York Times reporter has tweeted.

Trump, who met Times reporters and editors in New York, “says he is keeping ‘an open mind'” on the issue, the Times’ reporter wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.

Trump has previously called man-made global warming a hoax.

“I think there is some connectivity” between humans and climate change, Trump said in the Times interview.

November 23, 2016 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA elections 2016 | Leave a comment

3 nuclear dangers, 3 opportunities – with President Trump

Nuclear Trump: 3 Dangers and 3 Opportunities The man whom advisers did not trust with a Twitter account will soon have the unfettered opportunity to launch nuclear war. The Nation By Joseph Cirincione , NOVEMBER 16, 2016

“……. The man who can be baited with a tweet, the man whose campaign team did not trust with a Twitter account, the man whose unpredictability and wild temperament made him an unacceptable choice for the majority of voters this November, will have, from that moment forward, the unfettered ability to launch nuclear war.

There is no institutional check on a president’s ability to fire nuclear weapons should he or she wish to do so. President Trump will be able to launch, within minutes, one or one thousand nuclear weapons without any vote, any check, or even any serious deliberation.

It is one of three great nuclear risks of the Trump presidency—and one that President Obama could negate with the stroke of a pen. Before he leaves office, he could, at long last, take our nuclear weapons off hair-trigger alert. It would then take many hours, even days, to launch, allowing for consultation and reflection.

It may even be that President Trump will take steps to reduce nuclear dangers. But he first must avoid two other risky policies he favored during the campaign. He should not do anything to encourage other nations to get nuclear weapons. Trump said in election interviews that he thought it fine if South Korea or Japan or Saudi Arabia wanted nuclear bombs, because “it’s going to happen anyway.” There are already far-right, nationalist groups in South Korea and Japan pushing for nuclear weapons, and both nations have the technical capability to build them. Japan already has the plutonium needed for the cores of weapons; it could likely build a bomb within a few months.

Encouraging allies to go nuclear would reverse 71 years of American policy. No president, Democratic or Republican, liberal or conservative, has ever encouraged an ally to build nuclear weapons. Not the United Kingdom, not France, not Israel. The bedrock of US policy has been to stop the spread of these weapons and reduce the existing arsenals, working toward their complete elimination. Trump could destroy that consensus, unleashing a new, destabilizing wave of proliferation.

Trump might also rip up the historic Iran agreement or allow Congress to pass new sanctions that would violate the accord. The far-right congressional opponents of the deal are itching to do so. Trump has taken contradictory positions on the agreement, vowing to AIPAC earlier this year that he would “dismantle” it, but also saying elsewhere that he would resolutely enforce it and also that he would “review” it.

Destroying the agreement, whether by abrogation or violation or neglect, would result in the worst of all worlds: the collapse of the sanctions regime as our allies desert us, and the collapse of any restraints on Iran’s nuclear program as the deal dissolves. We would be back on a dangerous path to another conflict in the Middle East or a nuclear-armed Iran. Or both.

Fittingly for the deeply contradictory nature of the Trump presidency, there are also three possible positive nuclear outcomes. If we can avoid the worst, it is possible that President Trump could significantly improve global nuclear security.

It is clear that Trump does not see Russia as an adversary. This may be naive, but it is possible that he, like previous Republican presidents, could agree on deep cuts in Russian and US nuclear arsenals. Indeed, it is only Republican presidents who have had the political space to make significant reductions. Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush made deep cuts in the arsenal, while Bill Clinton and Barack Obama just trimmed the stockpile……

Trump has also said that he’s willing to talk to North Korean leader Kim Jung-un. This could be a complete disaster. But, if done right, it could be a breakthrough for nuclear security, capping that growing nuclear program. ……..

There is no shortage of good ideas for Trump to draw on. One source is a new report that Ploughshares Fund released this week at a special event in Washington, “Ten Big Nuclear Ideas for the Next President.” It has groundbreaking essays from Senator Dianne Feinstein, former Secretary of Defense William Perry, Senator Ed Markey, Representative Adam Smith, former CIA operative Valerie Plame, and the former commander of our nuclear arsenal, retired Gen. James Cartwright, among others. ……

There are just too many unknowns to allow any reasonable prediction of what Trump may or may not do once he is in the Oval Office. We do not know which, if any, of these three great risks or three possible opportunities will develop. But the opportunity to make this world a safer place is still within reach.

A great deal depends on what we, outside of this new administration, do. https://www.thenation.com/article/nuclear-trump-3-dangers-and-3-opportunities/

November 19, 2016 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA elections 2016 | 2 Comments

Optimists hope for a change in Donald Trump’s behaviour, but the signs are not good

Which Trump? Early Signs Not Good http://commondreams.org/views/2016/11/17/which-trump-early-signs-not-good?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=socialnetwork

by Ralph Nader

Optimists are hoping for a Trump makeover. They cling to his brief victory remarks suggesting that he wants to be the “president of all the people.” In his 60 Minutes interview following the election Trump said that the protestors were out in the streets because “they do not know me.” They recall his statement some months ago that he had to say outlandish things in order to get greater media attention and reach more people than his Republican primary competitors.

Character and personality are not prone to change in most people. Especially in the case of Trump, who sees these campaign tactics as reasons for his “successes.” However, the assumption to exalted, higher offices of public trust and power sometimes brings out the better angels.

So far, though, the signs are foreboding. Trump values loyalty, and people like Rudy Giuliani and Newt Gingrich stuck with him at his lowest points earlier this year. Trump knows very little about the awesome job given him by that dead hand from the past – the Electoral College – which has once again caused a plurality of voters to see their chosen candidate lose (Even Trump acknowledged its unfairness on CBS’s 60 Minutes after the election).

Lack of knowhow coupled with blind loyalty brings Trump to rely heavily on these old hands behind the worsening corporate state and military belligerence.

His transition appointments are delighting the corporatists. The man chosen to oversee the changes in the Environmental Protection Agency denies that climate change is man-made and scowls at regulation of harmful pollutants. Trump has opened the door to the big oil and gas lobbyists to control the Department of Energy and the Department of the Interior. Wall Streeters are smacking their lips over Trump cavorting with opponents of regulating that giant gambling casino.

His military advisers do not come from the ranks of prudent retired officials who see perpetual war for what it is – a mechanism for national insecurity, authoritarianism and profits for the military-industrial complex that President Dwight Eisenhower warned us about in his 1961 farewell address. To the contrary, many of Trump’s military advisors have been quick to embrace an Empire mentality and its warfare state.

One can imagine how a major stateless terrorist attack on the U.S. during his administration could provoke Trump into a heavy-handed retaliation with dangerous and unforeseen consequences. This is exactly what these adversaries want him to do in order to further spread their propaganda campaign against the U.S. Meanwhile, our civil liberties, and the domestic necessities of the people are shoved aside.

His first two major assistants – Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and Chief Strategist Steve Bannon – have called for corporate tax reductions and elimination of the estate tax on the rich (the only ones who pay it). Despite the “small government” façade, they are not likely to challenge the deficit-swelling combination of a larger military budget, decreased revenue and continuation of the bailouts, subsidies and giveaways known as crony capitalism that have enriched Trump and his plutocratic allies over the years.

Intrigue and internal fighting inside the White House and top Cabinet levels are likely if Trump insists on giving powerful roles to his three children and son-in-law (albeit without pay). Nepotism and conflicts of interest are acidic cocktails and undermine the integrity and transparency of public office.

Then there is the explosive crackdown on immigrants – many of whom benefit millions of Americans by working in low-wage jobs – that can produce daily turmoil, not to mention the exorbitant human cost of breaking up families in communities across the country.

In past Republican Party electoral victories, there was always a modicum of checks and balances to slow their plutocratic greed and power grabs. As of January 21, 2017 the Republican Party controls the Executive Branch, the Congress, the Supreme Court and most likely 33 governorships and 32 state legislatures. The anti-democratic Electoral College is the cause this November of giving the GOP control over the White House and, by extension, the Supreme Court (see nationalpopularvote.com).

Other than an unlikely vigorous and fearless free press, not just in Washington but also back in the localities, or a self-destructive Trump implosion, the redeeming power of the people can only come from the grass roots.

Our country is in an extraordinarily high-risk condition, given who possesses the reins of power. Self-described conservatives and liberals can curb that power if they form alliances back in the Congressional districts around the major initiatives on which they agree (See my book Unstoppable: The Emerging Left/Right Alliance to Dismantle the Corporate State). Such alliances have occurred with success in the past.

With the power brokers employing their divide-and-rule tactics, such potent political alliances will require citizen action and adequate funding in all Congressional districts with focused and sustained intensity on their Senators and Representatives. Congress, with only 535 lawmakers, is the most accessible of the checks and balances reachable by the people back home.

How many enlightened billionaires, serious citizen-patriots and advocates for transforming elections and governance step up?

November 18, 2016 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA elections 2016 | Leave a comment

The Trump temper could bring about nuclear war between USA and Russia

Nuclear War with Russia Possible Scenario with Donald Trump’s Temper [RUMOR] http://www.citizenoracle.com/2016/11/14/nuclear-war-russia-possible-scenario-donald-trumps-temper-rumor/By John Leuven Lasan November 14, 2016 The possibility of a nuclear war with Russia could start anytime soon if the newly-elected U.S. President, Donald Trump, will not keep his cool. It was also said that Trump must avoid letting his short temper make its way into global affairs. Because of this news, some people feared that the U.S. may face a nuclear war with Russia, something that might cause “global destruction.”

President Barack Obama repeatedly stated he would not trust Donald Trump with the nuclear launch codes of the nuclear missiles, given Trump’s temperament. He added that emotions could cloud Trump’s judgment when making decisions that would annihilate millions of lives. The worse-case scenario would be the relationships turning more confrontational; Moscow might misread a situation over Trump’s administration.

Moreover, one of the shortcomings of President Obama’s administration is managing its relationship with Russia resulting to several war threats and misunderstandings in the past years. President-elect Donald Trump’s biggest test will be forming a good relationship with the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, in order to deal with the threat of nuclear war with Russia.

Indeed, the United States of America has not declared war since 1942. Apparently, China or North Korea could hit the United States with nuclear weapons, but the nuclear conflict with Russia is the greatest danger to the U.S., given the current nuclear strategies of the country.

The question of war and peace has been one of the major issues on the news and social media ever since Donald Trump was elected as the next President of the United States. The U.S. president’s power to execute war is quite extensive. Most importantly, he can take military actions without specific authorization from the Congress. Whether people like it or not, President Donald Trump will have a large say over the question of peace or a nuclear war with Russia.

November 16, 2016 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA elections 2016 | 1 Comment

Donald Trump’s lying tweets

Donald Trump wrongly tweets that he ‘never said’ more countries should have nuclear weapons POLITIFACT, By Lauren Carroll , November 14th, 2016 Two days after telling CBS that he planned to be “very restrained” on social media going forward, President-elect Donald Trump lashed out at the New York Times on Twitter.

“Wow, the @nytimes is losing thousands of subscribers because of their very poor and highly inaccurate coverage of the ‘Trump phenomena,’” Trump tweeted Nov. 13.

The New York Times communications team responded to say the news organization actually had a surge in digital and print subscriptions after the election.

He also tweeted, wrongly, “The @nytimes sent a letter to their subscribers apologizing for their BAD coverage of me. I wonder if it will change – doubt it?”

He’s referring to a Nov. 13 letter from the news organization’s editor and publisher, in which they thank readers for their loyalty and admit that they underestimated support for Trump. The letter does not include an apology.

Lastly, Trump wrote, “The @nytimes states today that DJT believes ‘more countries should acquire nuclear weapons.’ How dishonest are they. I never said this!”

Here are some of Trump’s key comments about whether more countries should have nuclear weapons……….

Trump accused the New York Times of mispresenting his belief, but the newspaper did not. The reporter portrayed his comments on arming other countries with nuclear weapons as something Trump “has suggested” to further U.S. security interests.

Trump has said he is opposed to nuclear proliferation while also repeatedly saying some countries, namely Japan and South Korea, might be “better off” if they were to develop nuclear weapons, given their proximity to North Korea. He even made such comments to the New York Times.

We rate Trump’s statement False. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/nov/14/donald-trump/donald-trump-wrongly-tweets-he-never-said-more-cou/

November 16, 2016 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA elections 2016 | Leave a comment

Donald Trump goes back on his previous statements, attacks media

Donald Trump Conveniently Forgets The Time He Said More Countries Should Have Nukes http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/entry/donald-trump-nuclear-weapons_us_5828903be4b0c4b63b0d1c7d The president-elect on Sunday railed about the “dishonest” media.

14/11/2016 Donald Trump on Sunday continued to walk back some of his most controversial campaign rhetoric.

The president-elect went on a mini-tirade against The New York Times on Twitter, taking issue with the way the newspaper described his past statements about nuclear proliferation.

In fact, Trump did say he was open to more countries getting nuclear weapons ― in an interview with the very same newspaper back in March.

“Well I think maybe it’s not so bad to have Japan — if Japan had that nuclear threat, I’m not sure that would be a bad thing for us,” he said.

Nor would it be so bad, Trump has said, if countries like South Korea and Saudi Arabia had nukes, too.

“It’s going to happen, anyway,” he said in an interview with CNN. “It’s going to happen anyway. It’s only a question of time. They’re going to start having them or we have to get rid of them entirely. But you have so many countries already, China, Pakistan, you have so many countries, Russia, you have so many countries right now that have them.”

November 14, 2016 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA elections 2016 | 1 Comment

Donald Trump will not last the distance as USA President

Michael Moore Predicts Donald Trump Won’t Last The Full 4 Years“He will break laws because he’s only thinking about what’s best for him.” Huffington Post 11/11/2016 Documentary filmmaker Michael Moore, who in July correctly predicted Donald Trump would win the White House, now says the president-elect’s first term will end in either his resignation or impeachment.

“Here’s what’s going to happen, this is why we’re not going to have to suffer through four years of Donald J. Trump, because he has no ideology except the ideology of Donald J. Trump,” Moore said Friday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “And when you have a narcissist like that, who’s so narcissistic where it’s all about him, he will, maybe unintentionally, break laws. He will break laws because he’s only thinking about what’s best for him.”

When host Mika Brzezinski asked Moore if he were now wishing ill on Trump, Moore replied, “He is ill.”

“He is racist,” Moore said. “He is a misogynist. He is an authoritarian.” ……

Moore participated in a massive anti-Trump protest in Manhattan on Wednesday and has urged relentless resistance.

“We are going to resist, we are going to oppose,” he told MSNBC. “This is going to continue, tonight and the next night and the next night. And all he has to do is start nominating Rudy Giuliani as attorney general, and things like that ― or his Supreme Court. This is going to be a massive resistance. Women are calling for a million woman march on the Inauguration Day, and there is going to be the largest demonstration ever on Inauguration Day.”

Earlier this week in New York, Moore called for demonstrations to continue until Trump is out of office. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/michael-moore-predicts-trump-impeach-resign_us_58261464e4b0c4b63b0c6dee

November 12, 2016 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, USA, USA elections 2016 | 1 Comment

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will co-operate with President Trump – UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS

German Chancellor Angela Merkel Issues CHILLING Warning To Donald Trump, BiPartisan Report , By Sarah MacManus –November 9, 2016 German Chancellor Angela Merkel isn’t going to let up on newly minted President-elect Donald Trump any time soon. The European stateswoman issued a very carefully worded statement to the press on Wednesday, not so subtly hinting that she’d be keeping an eye on the Republican and letting all parties know that her cooperation — and that of Germany — comes with conditions.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel reacts to Donald Trump as elected President (english subtitles)

It could mean the cooperation of our European allies, as well. Merkel also serves as the de facto leader of the European Union, and was listed by Forbes as one of the world’s second most powerful individuals in the last five years.

Donald Trump would do well to heed her warning.

Trump took a swing at Merkel during his campaign over her refugee policy, criticizing her willingness to accept refugees and immigrants into Germany and stating: “What Merkel did to Germany is a shame, it’s a sad, sad shame.”

Merkel’s even-handed statement of congratulations to the Republican was composed with the utmost precise wording and couched in tones of warning……..

“Please accept my congratulations on your election as President of the United States of America.

“You will assume office at a time in which our countries are jointly facing many different challenges.

“Germany’s ties with the United States of America are deeper than with any country outside of the European Union. Germany and America are bound by common values — democracy, freedom, as well as respect for the rule of law and the dignity of each and every person, regardless of their origin, skin color, creed, gender, sexual orientation, or political views. It is based on these values that I wish to offer close cooperation, both with me personally and between our countries’ governments.

“Partnership with the United States is and will remain a keystone of German foreign policy, especially so that we can tackle the great challenges of our time: striving for economic and social well-being, working to develop far-sighted climate policy, pursuing the fight against terrorism, poverty, hunger, and disease, as well as protecting peace and freedom in the world.

“In the years ahead as president, I wish you a sure hand, every success, and God’s blessing.” http://bipartisanreport.com/2016/11/09/just-in-german-chancellor-angela-merkel-issues-chilling-warning-to-donald-trump/

November 12, 2016 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Germany, politics international, USA elections 2016 | Leave a comment

Under President Trump there’ll be a fossil fuel fan administration

Meet the Fossil Fuel Superfans Tipped to Run Energy and Climate Under Trump Truthout, Friday, 11 November 2016 By Zachary Davies Boren, Joe Sandler Clarke and Emma Howard, Energydesk | Report “…….Trump, an avowed climate change denier and fossil fuel champion, looks set to stack his key energy and environment positions with oil and gas men and free market zealots.

Using documents leaked to Buzzfeed, sources at Politico and beyond, we’ve done a rundown of who’s in line for a top energy and climate job in the US government.

Harold Hamm (Possible Energy Secretary)

Tipped for energy secretary in a Trump administration, oil and gas billionaire Hamm has been showered with praise by the new President-elect, who said with classic hyperbole that Hamm understands energy “better than anybody else”.

As chief exec of Oklahoma-based fracking firm Continental Resources, Hamm would represent the first cabinet appointee directly plucked from the fossil fuel industry since 1977.

For years Trump has been dismissive of man-made climate change, but the particular brand of anti-regulation and anti-renewables stance he deployed in the election was vintage Hamm, who was often referred to as Trump’s ‘energy adviser.’

Hamm, whose firm runs the bulk of the Bakken shale formation in North Dakota, has already called for Trump to scrap “overreaching regulations” in order to ramp up oil production — despite record-breaking output under Obama.

During the campaign, Hamm said Trump didn’t actually “understand” oil issues after the then-candidate suggested local communities should have a say in whether there’s fracking in their area.

Myron Ebell (possible EPA)

Myron Ebell is a highly active climate change denier.

Reports emerged in September that Trump would appoint him to lead the transition at the Environmental Protection Agency.

Ebell is currently head of libertarian think-tank the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), which says of itself: “The CEI’s largest program takes on all the hard energy and climate issues.

“CEI questions global warming alarmism, makes the case for access to affordable energy, and opposes energy-rationing policies, including the Kyoto Protocol, cap-and-trade legislation, and EPA regulation of greenhouse gas emissions. CEI also opposes all government mandates and subsidies for conventional and alternative energy technologies.”

The CEI also leads SafeChemicalPolicy.org, a coalition that lobbies against regulation of the chemicals industry. It promotes the “life enhancing value of chemicals” — even those that scientists claim “significantly increase our risks of cancer, developmental defects, and even obesity”.

If that wasn’t enough, Ebell also runs the Cooler Heads Coalition, a grassroots group that works to “dispel the myths of global warming.” It names the neoconservative American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the Heartland Institute among its members.

The Heartland Institute has used the words of mass murderers to justify its opposition to climate action and attempted to block climate change teaching in schools.

ALEC, which has repeatedly blocked legislation to tackle climate change, has become so divisive that even oil giants Shell and BP have quit the group.

Sarah Palin (Possible Secretary of Interior) “I would love to have the strength of Sarah Palin in my administration.” That’s what Trump said back in September 2015.

The former Vice Presidential candidate and Alaska Governor is on the shortlist for the next Secretary of the Interior, running the government department responsible for the management of federal land and, crucially, the country’s natural resources.

On announcing her support for the then-candidate Trump, Palin told CNN she would love to run the Department of Energy, seemingly without knowing what the department actually did.

“Energy is my baby,” she said. “Oil, gas, minerals, those things God has dumped on this part of the earth for mankind’s use instead of us relying on unfriendly foreign nations for us to import their resources. If I were head of that, I’d get rid of it.”

The Interior Department has broad ranging responsibilities, from managing America’s national parks to dealing with the land rights of Native Americans, to making decisions about fracking and offshore drilling

The thought of the woman responsible for the “drill baby drill” campaign overseeing who can drill off the coast of Alaska certainly is something.

Forrest Lucas (Possible Secretary of Interior) One of Palin’s rivals for the Interior job is oil industry executive Forrest Lucas.

Lucas, 74, is the co-founder of Lucas Oil and is wealthy enough to have given new Vice President Mike Pence $50,000 while he was running to be Indiana’s governor and spend more than $100million putting his name on an American Football stadium 10 years ago. The Indianapolis Colts now play their home games at the Lucas Oil Stadium.

The oil and gas industry has been fighting furiously against the Obama administration for eight years, on everything from Arctic drilling to the Keystone XL pipeline, so having one of their own heading up the department of interior would be a boon.

As Khalid Pitts, from the Sierra Club, told Politico it would be “open season” on America’s environment if someone like Lucas was given a job.

That said, current secretary Sally Jewell is a former Mobil Oil executive, but she is also known for her conservation work.

Mike McKenna (Energy Department)

Energy lobbyist Mike McKenna is in line to to lead the transition at the Energy Department.

McKenna is the President – and according what is presumably his LinkedIn page also the “Czar” — at lobby firm MWR Strategies, while also working as a specialist for the energy department in the past.

According to the Washington Post, he has lobbied on behalf of the firm owned by the billionaire Koch Brothers, which was listed by Forbes as one of the largest private companies in the US. They are a major funder of climate sceptic think-tanks and scientists as well as efforts to water down environmental regulation at the EU level.

Also among the companies to have been represented by McKenna, named by the Washington Post, are multinational Dow Chemical and energy firm EDF Suez, which owns fracking licences in the UK. http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/38348-meet-the-fossil-fuel-superfans-tipped-to-run-energy-and-climate-under-trump

November 12, 2016 Posted by Christina Macpherson | climate change, USA, USA elections 2016 | Leave a comment

Big banks will be happy with American election result

Trump Announces Big Gift To Banks Despite His Campaign Rhetoric Against Wall Street http://news.groopspeak.com/breaking-trump-announces-big-gift-to-banks-despite-his-campaign-rhetoric-against-wall-street/, 11 Nov 16
President-elect Trump is announcing on his website that he will immediately dismantle the Dodd-Frank financial regulations put into place shortly after the 2008 crash and signed into law by President Obama. With a Republican Congress backing him up, it’s fair to say that he will get his wish.

Banks are hailing the move as a godsend and see it as less oversight and more profit.

If such a move is implemented, its effects will be far-reaching. It will get rid of legislation that has up until now protected consumers from abusive lending and mortgage practices by banks that caused the financial crisis in the first place – and which it sought to prevent from happening again.

In total, there are 16 major areas of oversight reform that the law put into place that will go away.

“Following the financial crisis, Congress enacted the Dodd-Frank Act, a sprawling and complex piece of legislation that has unleashed hundreds of new rules and several new bureaucratic agencies,” reads the statement. “The proponents of Dodd-Frank promised that it would lift our economy. Yet now, six years later, the American people remain stuck in the slowest, weakest, most tepid recovery since the Great Depression.”

It’s no secret that Republicans have been wanting to undo the massive legislation since the very moment it was implemented. They will now get their chance.

The law took years to write and while it will be almost impossible for them to get rid of it entirely in their first 100 days, there are some things they can do to reverse some of its major provisions from the very get go, padding banks profits almost as soon as the new year begins.

Once Republicans get rid of the “Volcker-rule,” banks will once again be able to make speculative investments that led to the industry’s downfall almost a decade ago.

Another major target – the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, will almost assuredly go away.

They made news just a few months ago in September when they fined Wells Fargo more than $100 million for the widespread illegal practice of secretly opening unauthorized accounts without the permission of account holders. This protection will no longer exist under a Trump administration.

Elizabeth Warren, known for her tough stance on the big banks, vowed to fight Trump and Republicans on this if they attempted to follow through with it.

“If Trump and the Republican Party try to turn loose the big banks and financial institutions so they can once again gamble with our economy and bring it all crashing down, then we will fight them every step of the way,” she said.

Given that Trump just recently added this to his site, it must mean that he is making this a priority in his administration. He has already stated publicly that repealing Obamacare would be one of the first things he does, so it remains to be seen where this will rank on his to-do list.

November 12, 2016 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, USA, USA elections 2016 | Leave a comment

Danger of World War III closer, with election of Donald Trump

WW3 News: Trump Win to Send World to Even Greater Danger of Conflict http://www.techplz.com/alec-baldwin-leave-us-promised-trump-wins-else-leaving/174389/ 12 Nov 16, – Trump is the new president of the United States. The question in everybody’s mind is, will the new leader of the most powerful country in the world bring peace? Or is a new age of political tension upon us?

The whole world awoke to the shocking (for some) news that Donald J. Trump has won the US presidential elections. The Republican candidate shocked the whole world with his victory. Trump is a vocal supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin; the new president has proclaimed his admiration for the Russian president many times. Trump is by no means a skilful diplomat. He recently criticized his country’s own wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and demanded that US’s own allies share in the defense expense accrued by the US military. Recently, Trump called the issue on climate change a “chinese hoax.”

Will Trump bring about war and destruction to the world? Questions are now asked on when Trump will get the Nuclear launch codes of the US military.

WW3 NEWS WHEN WILL TRUMP GET THE NUCLEAR CODES?

With Trump’s obvious tendency to make enemies in every turn, the obvious question is: How easy is it for President Trump to push the button to launch Nuclear Missiles and jumpstart World War 3? The answer is: pretty simple actually.

According to Bruce Blair, who is a research scholar at Princeton, the US president has the sole authority to authorize the use of nuclear weapons. “The commander-in-chief’s power is pretty clear.” He told Bloomberg. Blair continued to explain that the US president always has a continuous line with his military officials. The US president has the power to authorize a nuclear counterstrike as well.

Kingston Reif of the Arms Control Association recently said that the US president has the “supreme authority” to decide what to do with America’s nuclear weapons.

America currently has 900 nuclear missiles, all of them 30 times more powerful than the bombs dropped in Nagasaki and Hiroshima.

WW3 NEWS: MORE TENSE RELATIONSHIP WITH BEIJING

According to a report by The New York Time, Beijing is exceedingly worried about Trump’s unpredictability. Territorial issues in the South China Sea has made tensions between US and China very tense in the past few years. With a Trump presidency now at hand, will the US – China relationship decline further? And how will the new US president handle his country’s powerful nuclear arsenal? The times are very frightening indeed.

November 12, 2016 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, USA elections 2016, weapons and war | Leave a comment

A nuclear proponent tipped as Trump’s Energy Secretary

Will Donald Hoffman Be President Trump’s Secretary Of Energy? Forbes, Rod Adams, 11 Nov 16, President-elect Trump announced a major emphasis on infrastructure building and manufacturing growth that is going to require a large increase in our energy consumption.

Though many observers keep referring to a four-year-old tweet to characterize Trump’s view on climate change as a hoax, he has at least two close advisors — Senator Jeff Sessions and Donald Hoffman — that are strong supporters of nuclear energy development.

My reasonably well-founded guess is that Don Hoffman is near the top of a short list of potential candidates to become the Secretary of Energy.

Don mentioned his opportunities to talk with Candidate Trump about nuclear energy’s capacity for abundant, reliable power production without pollution or CO2 emissions in an October article published by EENews…….

Who Is Donald Hoffman?

Hoffman joined Trump’s Leadership Council in March. He is the founder, President and CEO of Excel Services Corporation, a nuclear engineering and consulting firm that Don founded in 1985 …….EXCEL has done business with virtually every U.S. nuclear utility and every nuclear plant and enrichment facility in the United States. The company is also currently working on projects in 21 countries, as well as with the International Atomic Energy Agency and the World Nuclear Association, among other organization. http://www.forbes.com/sites/rodadams/2016/11/10/will-donald-hoffman-be-president-trumps-secretary-of-energy/#60c6dc4a3115

November 12, 2016 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, USA, USA elections 2016 | Leave a comment

With Trump as USA President Asia’s Nuclear Crisis Expands

With Trump, Asia’s Nuclear Crisis Expands
Next to North Korea and fearing U.S. abandonment, South Korea and Japan weigh their own options, WSJ, By DAVID FEITH Nov. 11, 2016 Seoul

The nuclear crisis in Northeast Asia was bound to be one of the most dangerous challenges facing the next U.S. president, no matter who won on Tuesday. With Donald Trump’s surprise victory, though, it could metastasize in dramatic ways: If you thought North Korea’s nuclear march was disconcerting, consider that South Korea and Japan may now pursue nuclear programs of their own, raising the risks and stakes of war not only with North Korea but China too…….

It’s possible Mr. Trump will drop his enthusiasm for South Korean and Japanese nuclearization upon entering the Oval Office. His campaign advisers tended to ignore the subject in public statements, likely a reflection of the decades-old bipartisan consensus against nuclear proliferation in Washington. But as with other issues, the approach of President Trump will depend on who he brings into the White House for advice, and whether he listens to them……..

South Korea’s civilian nuclear infrastructure—24 plants providing 30% of the country’s energy—could be used to produce 5,000 bombs worth of fissile material, Mr. Cheong says, dwarfing Pyongyang’s capability. Embracing the necessary technologies, including plutonium reprocessing, could be “the game-changer that will enable South Korea to manage North Korean problems.”………

Several potential candidates in South Korea’s looming presidential election back nuclearization, including former National Assembly floor leader Won Yoo-cheol and Nam Kyung-pil, governor of the country’s most populous province. Mr. Cheong, who acknowledges that “experts and technocrats have tended to be against going nuclear,” says that officials have privately expressed greater interest since Pyongyang’s latest nuclear test in September. Once Pyongyang completes a hydrogen bomb, he says, “many experts will switch their views.”

Then there’s Donald Trump. If he sticks to supporting South Korean and Japanese nuclearization, he might as well hold a bonfire of traditional U.S. nonproliferation dogmas on the White House lawn. http://www.wsj.com/articles/with-trump-asias-nuclear-crisis-expands-1478797800

November 12, 2016 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics international, USA elections 2016, weapons and war | Leave a comment

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