Joe Biden Says He Would Be Ready to Rejoin Iran Nuclear Deal

President Donald Trump unraveled a signature foreign policy achievement of his predecessor by quitting the Iranian nuclear deal two years ago and subjecting Tehran to harsh economic sanctions. President-Elect Joe Biden says under his administration, Washington would be ready to rejoin the agreement. Political analyst and a Professor at Tehran University Mohammad Marandi weighs in.

The Real Reason Trump Won’t Concede

Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich exposes how Trump is swindling his supporters through his meaningless "Official Election Defense Fund".

Trump Tells G20 Leaders He Wants to Work with Them ‘for a Long Time’

THE OBSERVER: US president delivers boasts and falsehoods while other members focus on dealing with the pandemic

Donald Trump has taken his campaign to deny the results of the US presidential election global, telling leaders at the G20 summit he’s looking forward to going on working with them.

The gathering of leaders of major world economies is being held online this year, but could have been an occasion for Trump to bid his peers goodbye and pledge American support in the battle against Covid-19. Instead, according to audio of his comments obtained by the Observer, he said: “It’s been a great honour to work with you, and I look forward to working with you again for a long time.” » | Emma Graham-Harrison and Julian Borger | Saturday, November 21, 2020

Invoking a Fantasy Winston Churchill Won’t Help as Brexit Becomes Grim Reality

THE GUARDIAN: Casting the former PM as a little Englander defying Europe is historical nonsense

Winston Churchill should be held to account when Britain throws itself out of the EU. Who is to blame for breaking up and impoverishing the United Kingdom? Churchill, by his followers’ own admission. Who is responsible for the border in the Irish Sea, the food shortages, the irresistible rise of Scottish nationalism, the needless blows to the stricken economy of a plague-ridden nation? No need to ask: Winston’s been at it again.

Not the Churchill of history, but a Churchillian delusion that has been a generation in the making. Its falsity will become apparent on 1 January. Until then, Tories can still pretend that their promises that Brexit would enrich us weren’t false. They can still opine that once “Boris” has completed Brexit he can move on to levelling up or tackling Covid or whatever other issue flits through his half-formed mind. They still don’t realise that in a few weeks their words will sound as absurd as saying: “After I’ve broken my legs, I will run a marathon.” » | Nick Cohen | Saturday, November 21, 2020

Neal Katyal: All of Trump’s Criminal Immunity Expires in about 60 Days | Deadline | MSNBC

Former U.S. acting solicitor general Neal Katyal explains the charges President Trump might face after he leaves office and the reason why his current legal efforts are incriminating him even more. Aired on 11/20/2020.

Smerconish: Here's the Real Danger in Trump's Charade

President Trump's dangerous efforts to "gum up" the election process is leading too many Americans not to accept the results of the 2020 election, Michael Smerconish says, because his enablers remain unwilling to tell the emperor he has no clothes.

Trump Makes Futile Last Stand to Overturn Results as Georgia Certifies Biden Win

THE GUARDIAN: President met with Michigan’s Republican leaders at White House in desperate bid to subvert democracy

Donald Trump was on Friday making a futile but dangerous last stand, without precedent in modern American history, to overturn the result of the presidential election so he can remain in power.

Even as Joe Biden’s victory in the state of Georgia was confirmed, the president met with Republican leaders from Michigan at the White House in an increasingly desperate bid to subvert democracy after a series of courtroom defeats over allegations of voter fraud.

The Trump campaign’s apparent strategy is to persuade Republican-controlled legislatures in Michigan and other battleground states in the electoral college to set aside the will of the people and declare Trump the winner, despite officials declaring it the most secure election in American history.

“The entire election, frankly, in all the swing states should be overturned and the legislatures should make sure that the electors are selected for Trump,” Sidney Powell, one of Trump’s lawyers, told the Fox Business Network on Thursday. » | David Smith in Washington || Saturday, November 21, 2020

Trump is such a pathetic little man. He’s the orange dictator wannabe! Donnie is the loser. It really is high time for him to concede to the winner: Joe Biden. Theankfully, it will soon be time for him for Trump to go. – Mark

Donald Trump Jr tests positive for coronavirus »

CC Ivanka Trump: How the President Has Stoked Unrest | The Mehdi Hasan Show | The Choice on Peacock

Two minute drill: Mehdi Hasan sums up almost everything Ivanka's father, the president, has done to incite violence and terror here in the U.S. since 2015.

'Night of the Beating': Details Emerge of Riyadh Ritz-Carlton Purge

THE GUARDIAN: Exclusive: three years on, some of the Saudi detainees reveal what they say took place

In early November 2017, nearly 400 of Saudi Arabia’s most powerful people, among them princes, tycoons and ministers, were rounded up and detained in the Ritz-Carlton hotel, in what became the biggest and most contentious purge in the modern kingdom’s history.

The arrests shook the foundations of Saudi society, in an instant turning untouchable establishment figures into targets for arrest. Statuses were discarded, assets seized and business empires upended. A conventional pact between the state and its influential elite was shredded overnight.

Now, leading figures caught up in the detentions have revealed details of what they say took place. The former detainees, many of whom were stripped of fortunes, portray a scene of torture and coercion, and of royal court advisers leading chaotic attempts to understand the investments behind the wealth of the kingdom’s most influential families, then seizing what they could find.

The accounts of what occurred in the Ritz, provided through an intermediary, are from some of the most senior Saudi business figures, who claim to have been beaten and intimidated by security officers, under the supervision of two ministers, both close confidantes of the man who ordered the purge, the crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman. » | Martin Chulov, Middle East correspondent | Thursday, November 19, 2020

The End of a Presidency: Trump’s Loss in a Divided America | Fault Lines

As the Democrats take back the White House, what does the 2020 presidential election say about the future of US politics?

Despite Joe Biden’s win, tens of millions of Americans chose Donald Trump for a second term. How the Republican party relates to this bloc of voters - along with the ideology Trump represents - is now central to its strategic direction.

For the Democrats, an old guard embodied by Joe Biden and a new generation of progressives are in a contest for influence over the party’s vision.

In The End of a Presidency: Trump’s Loss in a Divided America, Fault Lines explores how Trump changed the presidency, and where the two parties will go next.

Fmr. MI GOP Exec: I'm "Not Confident That They'll Certify the Election" | The Mehdi Hasan Show

Despite that lack of confidence, fmr. longtime Republican Jeff Timmer says his ex-colleagues in the Michigan GOP "have an obligation to certify the election results. A court will likely tell them to certify the election results."

Mary Trump: The President is Not Going to Concede | The Mehdi Hasan Show

Mary Trump, a psychologist and President Trump's niece, joins Mehdi Hasan to discuss how the GOP has enabled Trump's unwillingness to concede, delaying critical information sharing with the incoming Biden administration.

Leaders

“Call them whatever you like, but don’t call them leaders”

Tim O’Brien: ‘Donald Trump Will Go to His Grave Saying I Won’ | Deadline | MSNBC

Bloomberg Opinion senior columnist, Tim O’Brien, analyzes Trump’s decision to ignore the realities of the 2020 election and instead tout, with no evidence, that there was election fraud. Aired on 11/18/2020.

America's "Freedom" for the Rich Is Killing Us!

Republicans have a bizarre notion of what that word “freedom” means. But Americans who don’t have live-in chefs and pilots for their private jets are more inclined to agree with President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who pointed out in 1933, that “a necessitous man is not a free man.”

Schmidt Calls Efforts to Cast Doubt on the Election a ‘Breaking of Faith with American Democracy’

Co-founder of the Lincoln Project Steve Schmidt says Trump not accepting the results of the election is his worst action yet, and says it’s tragic to watch Republicans go along with it. Aired on 11/18/2020.

'Pathetic' Trump Denounced over Krebs Firing as Campaign Presses for Recounts

THE GUARDIAN: Senior House Democrat says Trump ‘views truth as his enemy’ / Campaign seeks recounts and investigations in key states

Donald Trump was condemned by opponents on Wednesday for firing the senior official who disputed his baseless claims of election fraud, as the president pressed on with his increasingly desperate battle to overturn Joe Biden’s victory.

The president’s election campaign team continued to press for recounts and investigations in battleground states where Biden has already been declared the winner, including a new request in Wisconsin for a partial recount.

And there was uproar over his decision late on Tuesday, announced by tweet, to fire a federal official in charge of election security who dismissed his claims of widespread voter fraud.

The firing of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (Cisa) director, Christopher Krebs, was “pathetic and predictable from a president who views truth as his enemy”, senior House Democrat Adam Schiff said. » | Maanvi Singh in Oakland, Sam Levine and Martin Pengellyin New York and Joan E Greve in Washington | Wednesday, November 18, 2020

Ivanka Trump obsessed with status, says former friend in tell-all essay »

Conservative Political Analyst Bill Kristol on If Trump Will Concede

Conservative political analyst and Editor at Large at the Bulwark, Bill Kristol, chatted with me on Instagram Live about President Trump’s refusal to concede. “The Republicans by going along with Trump,” Kristol said. “They have strengthened him a lot. They’ve set him up to be a major figure in the next months, maybe years.”

Democracy Now! Top US & World Headlines — November 17, 2020

Pete Buttigieg: 'Each Passing Day That This Denial Goes on, It Has a Real Cost' | Andrea Mitchell

Pete Buttigieg joins Andrea Mitchell to discuss the delayed transition process, on which he says that "Each passing day that this denial goes on, it has a real cost." He also addresses reports and speculation that he could serve in a role in the Biden administration, saying that "I would love a chance to return to public service but that's for the president-elect to decide. This administration is going to have enthusiastic support from me whether I'm on the inside or outside." Aired on 11/16/2020.

Born Rich – Documentary

This documentary by Jamie Johnson, heir to the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical fortune. He captures their rituals, worries and social customs. This is a documentary on the children of the superrich.

Directed by Jamie Johnson, one of their own and heir, this 80-minute documentary focuses on the growing wealth gap in America, as seen through the eyes of the filmmaker and 27-year-old heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune.

Barack Obama: The 2020 60 Minutes Interview

The former president shares the advice he would give President Trump, his thoughts on the killing of George Floyd, and what's behind the divisions in Washington and across the U.S. Scott Pelley reports

Barack Obama: One Election Won't Stop US 'Truth Decay'

Read the BBC article HERE »

Trump Acknowledges Biden’s Win, But Quickly Reverses, Saying ‘I Concede NOTHING!’

THE NEW YORK TIMES: WASHINGTON — President Trump appeared to briefly acknowledge for the first time Sunday morning that former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. had defeated him in the presidential election, but quickly reversed himself less than two hours later, insisting that “I concede NOTHING! We have a long way to go.”

The dueling tweets came as Mr. Trump continued to lie about the conduct of the vote-counting process, falsely insisting that Mr. Biden’s victory was the result of a “Rigged” election orchestrated by the “Fake & Silent” media.

His first tweet came Sunday morning at 7:47. Referring to Mr. Biden, the president said that “he won.” That represented the first time Mr. Trump had publicly said what his advisers have been telling him for days privately: His re-election bid failed and Mr. Biden will be inaugurated on Jan. 20.

After a flurry of tweets and news reports about his “concession,” Mr. Trump insisted that he had been misunderstood. » | Michael D. Shear | Sunday, November 15, 2020

Trump Waves to Supporters Protesting Election Results

Trump drives by a D.C. rally on Saturday amid electoral losses and failed court challenges »

What a state to get to! Pathetic! – Mark

Lawrence: ‘It’s All Over’ for William Barr & Donald Trump | The Last Word | MSNBC

Lawrence O’Donnell explains how Donald Trump’s remarks in the Rose Garden show that the president knows his administration is coming to an end on January 20. Aired on 11/13/2020.

Mary Trump on Her Uncle’s Loss

The niece of President Trump and author of "Too Much and Never Enough" Mary Trump texted me saying, “consider yourself lucky that you’re not out on the golf course with him right now.” So we decided to have a chat on Instagram Live. We chatted about the President’s reaction and how the next 74 days will unfold.

Democracy

It's time for Republicans to put America first.

Sainsbury’s Christmas Ad 2014

Is this, perhaps, one of the very best Christmas ads ever made? In my opinion, this year’s Christmas ads from the nation’s major supermarkets don’t hold the candle to this great ad by Sainsbury’s. This advertisement has everything: it is Christmassy, it represents the true spirit of Christmas, it is moving, and it is extremely well made. A wonderful advert! This is going to be very difficult to improve upon. It is timeless.

Elton John - Something About The Way You Look Tonight

"Directed by Tim Royes, the music video for The Big Picture’s first single features supermodels Alek Wek, Kate Moss, and Sophie Dahl. 'Something About The Way You Look Tonight' peaked at #1 in over 20 countries as the double-A side single with 'Candle In The Wind 1997'".

Downing Street Denies Internal Crisis Has Harmed Brexit Talks

THE GUARDIAN: Senior French and EU figures claim infighting at No 10 has delayed chances of deal

Downing Street has been forced to deny Boris Johnson has lost control of the Brexit negotiations as French ministers warn of weeks more talks amid “upheaval” in London, and senior Brussels figures claim the chaos had led to a standstill.

France’s minister for EU affairs, Clément Beaune, appeared downbeat on Friday about the chances of an imminent breakthrough on a UK-EU deal.

There has been scant progress in the last week of the trade and security talks, while No 10 has been shaken by infighting that led to the news that Dominic Cummings would be quitting as the prime minister’s chief adviser. » | Daniel Boffey in Brussels, Jon Henley in Paris and Peter Walker in London | Friday, November 13, 2020

Trump Is Bashing Fox News on Twitter as Pandemic Rages

CNN's Brian Stelter explains how President Donald Trump's relationship with Fox News is changing following the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Corona-Krise: Schweden ist auf dem Weg in eine dunkle Zeit

FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Schweden war stolz auf den eigenen Weg in der Corona-Krise. Jetzt steigen die Infektions- und Totenzahlen deutlich. Der Ministerpräsident stimmt die Bürger auf schwere Zeiten ein – und weicht immer mehr vom bisherigen Kurs ab.

Stefan Löfven hat klare Worte gewählt. Als der schwedische Ministerpräsident in Stockholm vor die Presse trat, hatte er Grundsätzliches zu sagen. Es sei November, begann er, der dunkelste Monat des Jahres, die Dunkelheit werde noch eine Weile bleiben, „und leider scheinen wir uns auch auf dunklere Zeiten zuzubewegen, wenn es um die Ausbreitung von Infektionen in Teilen der Welt, in Europa und in Schweden geht“.

Alle Anzeichen gingen in eine unerwünschte, falsche Richtung. Es bestehe die Gefahr, dass die Situation „völlig dunkel“ werde, sagte er. „Wir riskieren, dass mehr Menschen krank werden, mehr Menschen sterben“, dass es mehr überarbeitete Menschen im Gesundheitswesen gebe und mehr Operationen verschoben würden. Es war Mittwochnachmittag und auch den letzten Schweden sollte nach seiner Rede klargeworden sein, dass die Lage im Königreich sehr ernst ist. » | Von Matthias Wyssuwa, Hamburg | Donnerstag, 12. November 2020

McEnany's Answer Stuns Cooper: That's Next Level Stuff

CNN's Anderson Cooper discusses the lack of action from President Donald Trump and his White House administration days after the election results and reacts to a White House press secretary's reaction to the situation.

'Dejected' Trump Waffles over Waging Baseless Election Fight

CNN's Kaitlan Collins reports on President Trump's attitude and strategy days after President-elect Joe Biden's victory.

South African Activist Kumi Naidoo: Trump Is Attempting a Coup to Install Minority Rule

We continue to look at the world’s response to the U.S. election with South African activist Kumi Naidoo, a global ambassador for Africans Rising for Justice, Peace and Dignity, former secretary general of Amnesty International and former head of Greenpeace. Naidoo says President Donald Trump’s loss to Joe Biden is good news, but notes that the world lost four crucial years to tackle the climate crisis and other issues because of the Trump administration. “This is a relief, but it is not something for us to — at this stage, anyway — celebrate with any great enthusiasm,” he says.

Why Ex-CIA Chief Is More Worried about Trump Now

Former CIA Director John Brennan tells CNN's Wolf Blitzer why he's more worried now than he has been during the past four years of President Trump's administration.

Debate - What Could Trump Do in Next 76 Days- And Is He a 'Flight Risk'?

We’re joined by Timothy Snyder - professor of history at Yale University. His latest book analyses what he calls "America's turn towards authoritarianism" under Donald Trump.

Democracy Now! : Top US & World Headlines — November 12, 2020

The Invasion - The Outbreak of World War II

This extra-long episode reconstructs how Hitler's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 triggered a chain of events sparking a global conflagration. Hitler’s Poland Campaign unleashed a “Blitzkrieg” lasting six weeks only. However, it was a war of unprecedented brutality resulting in a tremendous suffering of the Polish people in the long run. Sheds light on some of their lives telling almost forgotten stories.

Lawrence: ‘Donald Trump’s Silence Is His Concession Speech’ | The Last Word | MSNBC

Lawrence O’Donnell explains why Donald Trump’s silence is the silence of a man who is terrified of what his life will become on January 20th. Aired on 11/11/2020.

Decoded: Saudi Food Wars

US Election: Gulf Arab Leaders Face New Reality after Biden Victory

BBC: "You'll have to forgive me if I seem a little distracted," said the Saudi ambassador to the UK as his eyes flicked towards his mobile phone. "I'm keeping an eye on the results coming in from Wisconsin."

That was eight days ago, when we still did not know who would be in the White House in January.

When Joe Biden was declared the winner, the Saudi leadership in Riyadh took rather longer to respond than they did when Donald Trump was elected.

This is hardly surprising: they had just lost a friend at the top table.

Mr Biden's victory could now have far-reaching consequences for Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf Arab states.

The US strategic partnership with the region goes back to 1945 and it will likely endure, but changes are coming and they will not all be welcome in Gulf capitals. » | Frank Gardner, BBC security correspondent | Thursday, November 12, 2020

Loser: Donald Trump Derided Defeat – Now He Must Live with It

THE GUARDIAN: What was once the president’s go-to insult now unequivocally applies to him, as his record of failure finally catches up with him

In the Manichean world of Donald Trump, there is one epithet more pathetic than any other: loser. He has used the term when describing fellow Republicans Mitt Romney and John McCain, critics such as Cher, his friend Roger Stone, and even American fallen heroes who died fighting for their country in France in 1918. Now he joins their ranks. He will forever carry around his neck the yoke of the one-term president, a burden shouldered in the last 40 years by just two other men – George HW Bush and Jimmy Carter.

To make his humiliation complete, Trump lost to someone he denigrated as“ the worst candidate in the history of presidential politics”. But in the end, after a nail-biting vote count, Joe Biden proved himself to be a more worthy opponent than that, albeit by a thinner margin than polls predicted.

In 2016 Trump was a curiosity – the outsider who promised to take Washington by storm, the real estate magnate who said he would drain the swamp, the self-proclaimed billionaire who wouldn’t reveal his tax returns but would be the champion of “forgotten Americans”. » | Ed Pilkington in New York | Wednesday, November 11, 2020


Trump’s Post-Election Tactics Put Him in Unsavory Company »

Keilar: Trump Denying Transition and Installing Loyalists Is Dangerous

CNN's Brianna Keilar breaks down the danger of President Trump's team refusing to begin the transition for President-elect Joe Biden and Trump firing key people in the administration to replace them with loyalists.

Trump's Handling of the Transition Is 'Innapropriate' and 'Reckless' | Andrea Mitchell | MSNBC

William Cohen, former Republican senator and Secretary of Defense to President Clinton, joins Andrea Mitchell to discuss the lack of cooperation in the transition process and President Trump's refusal to concede. Cohen reflects on the transition between President Clinton and President George W. Bush, "That's what a democracy is supposed to be about, that you want your successor to be in a position to protect and defend the interests of the American people." Aired on 11/11/2020.

As Trump Loses White House, Robert De Niro Shares Relief and the Hope for Accountability | MSNBC

Legendary Oscar-winning actor Robert De Niro speaks out in his first interview since Pres. Trump’s defeat, telling MSNBC’s Ari Melber that he is relieved about Trump’s loss and concerned about how someone like Trump could get as far as he did in American government, warning that “more people like” Trump may test democracy again. De Niro also reflects on Trump’s ethics, his silence since Saturday’s election call, why he believes Trump has “no center” and the appeal and role of “tough guys” and mafia films in American life and culture. Aired on 11/09/2020.