Newspaper & online reporters and analysts explore the cultural and news stories of the week, with photos frequently added by Esco20, and reveal their significance (with a slant towards Esco 20's opinions)
January 17, 2017
Donald Trump’s alleged ties with Russia overshadow confirmation hearings
Donald Trump’s picks to lead the CIA and the Department of Defense both sounded warnings over Russia’s growing global ambitions during their confirmation hearings before the Senate on Thursday. Mike Pompeo, Trump’s choice for CIA director, sided with intelligence officials who accuse Moscow of attempting to skew the US election. His comments came amid an increasingly bitter row between Trump and US intelligence agencies. James Mattis, Trump’s nominee for secretary of defense, told the Senate armed services committee that Russia had “chosen to be a strategic competitor, an adversary in key areas”. Meanwhile, Eric Swalwell, the ranking member of the CIA subcommittee of the House permanent select committee on intelligence, has called for an independent bipartisan commission to investigate Russian influence on the US election. The commission was needed to “to set the record straight on what happened, and to recommend how best to protect ourselves from now on”, Swalwell writes for the Guardian. Trump’s inauguration is next Friday, though some have already begun to wonder what happens now and to speculate as to whether he could be impeached.
Trump lashes out over Russia claims.
Donald Trump’s first press conference since July had originally been called to demonstrate how he would avoid conflicts of interest involving his business empire. But the event was heavily overshadowed by news that the FBI had been handed unverified but potentially damaging intelligence, including claims of alleged sexual impropriety in a Moscow hotel room. The president-elect attacked intelligence agencies and specific news organizations, notably CNN, which reported that Trump and Obama had been briefed about a summary of a memo on Trump’s alleged links with Moscow, and BuzzFeed, which published the document – that claimed Russian operatives had gathered compromising material against him – in full. Trump called the dossier “fake news”. The person who produced the dossier detailing the allegations against Trump was named on Wednesday as 52-year-old former MI6 officer Christopher Steele, who co-founded the London-based firm Orbis Business Intelligence. Here’s the story of how the documents came to light.
January 16, 2017
January 11, 2017
January 10, 2017
NONE DARE CALL IT TREASON.
If it turns out that Russian operatives have compromising information on Trump, and that he and his campaign collaborated with Russia on intervening in the presidential campaign on his behalf, that's treason.
BUZZFEED
DAILY BEAST
January 7, 2017
Putin Ordered a Cyber Campaign of Leaks and Propaganda to Help Trump, Report Says
Russia carried out a comprehensive cyber campaign to upend the U.S. presidential election, an operation ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin that “aspired to help” elect Donald Trump by discrediting his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, U.S. intelligence agencies concluded in a declassified report released today. The report depicts Russian interference as unprecedented in scale.
NY TIMES, DAVID SANGER
January 6, 2017
Americans can spot election meddling because they’ve been doing it for years
America gets taste of its own medicine?
While accusations of the Russian government attempting to interfere with the US election are troubling and should be taken seriously, the US is no stranger to election manipulation, writes Owen Jones. “The US is a world leader in the field of intervening in the internal affairs of other countries,” he writes. The US has intervened in a number of foreign elections, with the post-cold war Russia among the most notable.
THE GUARDIAN
January 4, 2017
Finland trials basic income for unemployed
Finland has become the first country in Europe to pay its unemployed citizens a basic monthly income, amounting to €560 (£477/US$587), in a unique social experiment that is hoped to cut government red tape, reduce poverty and boost employment. Olli Kangas of the Finnish government agency KELA, which is responsible for the country’s social benefits, said the scheme’s idea was to abolish the “disincentive problem” among the unemployed. The trial aimed to discouraged people’s fears “of losing out something”, he said, adding that the selected persons would continue to receive the €560 even after obtaining a job.
Cuomo Proposes Free Tuition at New York State Colleges for Eligible Students
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo seized on a potent issue that energized younger Democrats during the presidential race, pledging on Tuesday to cover tuition costs at state colleges for hundreds of thousands of middle-and low-income New Yorkers.
Under the governor’s plan, college students who have been accepted to a state or city university in New York — including two-year community colleges — would be eligible, provided they or their family earn $125,000 or less a year.
Mr. Cuomo, a Democratic centrist thought to have presidential ambitions, has tracked left on a series of issues during his second term, championing a higher minimum wage and paid family leave, though he continues to face criticism from some progressive groups over sometimes working closely with Senate Republicans.
New York already offers in-state students one of the lowest tuition rates in the nation. Current full-time tuition at four-year State University of New York schools for residents is $6,470; at two-year community colleges, the cost is $4,350. Full-time costs for City University of New York schools are about the same. The state also provides nearly $1 billion in support through its tuition assistance program, which has an adjusted gross income limit of just under $100,000. Those awards top out at $5,165; many grants are smaller.
The tuition plan will require legislative approval, a potential challenge when the governor and lawmakers have been at odds over a raise and other issues. On Tuesday, Democrats and Republicans offered qualified support for the plan, saying they wanted more details on the proposal and adding that each party had also worked to lower tuition.
January 3, 2017
January 2, 2017
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