Mark Alexander on Trump’s America: A Grave Situation

The way things are going in the US at the moment, it is not impossible that the country will descend into civil war. If Americans retain Trump as their president, he will keep on fanning the flames, keep pouring petrol on the fire. That sounds melodramatic, but if the flames continue to be fanned, God only knows where it will all end. This is the height of irresponsible ‘leadership’. Whilst I don’t condone violence and looting, far from it actually, these people have genuine grievances, and they aren’t being addressed; on the contrary, they are being brushed aside and ignored. Add to this mess, the racism, the pandemic, the millions who have lost their jobs, the poverty, the staggering wealth and income inequalities, lack of universal healthcare, and an impending economic depression and they have a very dangerous cocktail indeed on their hands. – ©Mark

Fault Lines - Hate in Trump's America

In the first week after Donald Trump won the US presidential election, the United States saw a sharp rise in hate crimes and people being attacked because of their race, ethnicity or religion. Many analysts attribute it to the divisive rhetoric Trump himself used during the campaign that seized upon racial tensions in the country. These tensions were simmering under the surface but are now out in the open.

The most recent and high-profile manifestation of this was in August in Charlottesville, Virginia when a white supremacist drove his car through a crowd of anti-racist demonstrators, killing a young woman and injured dozens of others during a rally by various far-right groups. Fault Lines examines how hate is playing out across Trump’s America and the toll it is taking on communities across the country.

Conspiracy Theories and Rumours in Trump's America - The Listening Post

On The Listening Post this week: Conspiracy theories and rumours swirl in Washington, DC as media and the American public try to make sense of it all. Plus, the evolution of headline writing. Contributors: Adam H. Johnson – Media Analyst, FAIR; Marcy Wheeler – Independent Journalist; Oksana Boyko – Host, RT; Michael S. Schmidt – National Security Reporter, New York Times

The Dilemma Facing Ex-Muslims in Trump's America

THE ATLANTIC: How to challenge Islam while defending its adherents

“Challenging Islam as a doctrine,” Ali Rizvi told me, “is very different from demonizing Muslim people.” Rizvi, a self-identified ex-Muslim, is the author of a new book titled The Atheist Muslim: A Journey from Religion to Reason. One of the book’s stated aims is to uphold this elementary distinction: “Human beings have rights and are entitled to respect. Ideas, books, and beliefs don’t, and aren’t.”

The problem for Rizvi is that the grain of Western political culture is currently against him. Those in the secular West live in an age when ideas are commonly regarded as “deeds” with the potential to wound. So, on the left, self-critique of Islam is often castigated as critique of Muslims. Meanwhile, the newly elected president of the United States and his inner circle have a tendency to conflate the ideas of radical Islam with the beliefs of the entire Muslim population. So, on the right, the very same self-critique of Islam is used to attack Muslims and legitimize draconian policies against them. » | Simon Cottee | Monday, March 6, 2017

États-Unis : première vague d'expulsions de sans-papiers

LE POINT: Les autorités américaines ont arrêté et expulsé des centaines de clandestins lors d'opérations qui ont créé la panique dans les communautés d'immigrés.

Les autorités américaines ont arrêté et expulsé plusieurs centaines de sans-papiers considérés comme prioritaires, la semaine passée, lors d'opérations présentées comme routinières, mais qui ont créé la panique dans les communautés d'immigrés à travers les États-Unis. Les opérations des agents de ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), l'agence fédérale spécialisée dans les reconduites à la frontière, ont ciblé des foyers d'immigrés clandestins à Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Austin et d'autres villes. "Les objectifs de ces opérations ne diffèrent pas des arrestations ciblées et de routine conduites quotidiennement par les équipes de recherche de fugitifs", a déclaré la porte-parole d'ICE, Jennifer Elzea, à l'Agence France-Presse. » | Source AFP | samedi 11 février 2017

Trump's America. Do Some People Fear for Their Safety?

As we test America's mood a month before Donald Trump becomes President, 5 News has found ordinary people left fearing for their safety.

Distrurbing! Letters Threatening Genocide against Muslims and Praising Trump Sent to Multiple California Mosques

LOS ANGELES TIMES: The Council on American-Islamic Relations has called for increased police protection of local mosques after letters that threatened the genocide of Muslims and praised President-elect Donald Trump were sent to multiple California mosques this week.

The letters were sent to the Islamic Center of Long Beach and the Islamic Center of Claremont, CAIR’s greater Los Angeles chapter said in a statement. The same letter also was sent to the Evergreen Islamic Center in San Jose, according to CAIR’s San Francisco Bay Area chapter.

The handwritten letter, which was photocopied, was addressed to “the children of Satan” and called Muslims a “vile and filthy people.”

“Your day of reckoning has arrived,” the letter states, according to CAIR-LA. “There’s a new sheriff in town — President Donald Trump. He’s going to cleanse America and make it shine again. And, he’s going to start with you Muslims.” » | Hailey Brnson-Potts | Saturday, November 26, 2016

How Donald Trump's 'Deportation Force' Might Work

Nov. 27, 2016 - 3:41 - Attorney Katie Phang provides insight

BBC Panorama - Trump's New America | November 14, 2016

America's 2016 election season has been the most bitter and ugly in living memory. Hilary Andersson meets angry Americans on both sides of the electoral race who feel disillusioned and disenfranchised by the electoral process. Panorama asks, can America's new president quell the voices of radicalism and unite America again?