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Clarence Thomas, in Dissent, Asserts Gun Rights Aren't 'Favored' at High Court

TODAY'S TOP STORIES Clarence Thomas, in Dissent, Asserts Gun Rights Aren't 'Favored' at High Court Justice Clarence Thomas, in a blistering dissent Tuesday, accused the U.S. Supreme Court of making the right to keep...  READ MORE » Judge in AT&T Merger Case Shuts Down Bid for Trump-DOJ Communication “[AT&T and Time Warner] have fallen far short of establishing that this enforcement action was selective that...  READ MORE » Here's Why SCOTUS Should Discard Auer Deference The doctrine gives agencies wide scope to interpret their own regulations. The high court has a chance to stop it.  READ MORE » Former Skadden Associate Charged in Mueller Probe Alex van der Zwaan, the son-in-law of a Russian oligarch, is accused of lying to investigators.  READ MORE » Clarence Thomas's Confirmation Faces #MeToo Microscope A New York magazine report Sunday raised new questions about Justice Clarence Thomas's U.S. Senate confirmation hear...
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After 16 Years, Afghanistan War Is 'At Best A Grinding Stalemate,' Journalist Says

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After 16 Years, Afghanistan War Is 'At Best A Grinding Stalemate,' Journalist Says February 6, 2018 TERRY GROSS Enlarge this image A U.S. Army helicopter crew chief scans the ground near Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan in June 2017. Capt. Brian Harris/AP America's war in Afghanistan is the longest war the U.S. has ever fought. Beginning a month after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the initial mission was to remove the Taliban from power and destroy the al-Qaida terror network. Now, nearly 17 years later, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Steve Coll points out that the war's goals have changed. "The objective is not a grand peace ceremony on some grand aircraft carrier," Coll says. "It's to reduce the violence in Afghanistan, to reduce the suffering of innocents in Kabul, to support the constitutional government that we invested in after Sept. 11 so heavily in money and in American lives and sacrifices on the battlefield...
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More than troubling

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President Trump’s nominee to lead the CIA, Gina Haspel, was deeply involved in the Agency’s torture program, according to multiple credible press reports. Gina Haspel’s Troubling Role in the CIA Torture Program According to press accounts, President Trump’s nominee to lead the CIA, Gina Haspel, was deeply involved in the Agency’s torture program, though there are more questions than answers about exactly what her role was. News reports last year stated that Haspel was the chief of base at the CIA’s first overseas prison (or “black site”) for terrorism suspects, in Thailand. She was involved in the destruction of the videotapes that documented the torture. Read more   See coverage of our analysis: ‘She Should Be in Jail’—Rights Groups Rally to Stop Torture Overseer Turned Trump CIA Pick Gina Haspel  |  The Daily Beast Trump’s CIA pick Gina Haspel ‘up to her eyeballs in torture’ — but Senate Dems can’t even ask about it  |  Raw St...
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Wish you all a Merry Christmas

Dear Friend, I'm taking a two day's break for Christmas. Wish you all a Merry Christmas. Stay safe. Also more stories from around the world.  If you don't mind, and if you think the content of this news letter is critical for the dignified living and survival of humanity and other species on earth, please forward it to your friends and spread the word. It's time for humanity to come together as one family! You can subscribe to our news letter here  http://www.countercurrents.org/news-letter/.  In Solidarity Binu Mathew Editor Countercurrents.org Trump’s Path To Nuclear War by Walt Gelles http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/12/23/trumps-path-nuclear-war/ Donald Trump’s reckless policies, belligerence, volatile personality, and rejection of diplomacy have brought the world to the brink of war in Korea.  Such a war could rapidly turn nuclear, killing hundreds of thousands or millions of people, spreading deadly radiation ac...
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National Law Journal

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CONSTITUTIONAL LAW   |   NEWS Sotomayor, in Dissent, Takes On Trump Travel Ban Tweets By Ellis Kim The majority and dissenting opinions revealed a rift on the bench over how much the president's pre- and post-inauguration...  Read More INTERNATIONAL LAW   |   COMMENTARY The Surprising News About the GDPR for U.S. Law Firms By Vince Neicho Going forward, firms that develop sound governance policies for handling information and take steps to protect data...  Read More CIVIL RIGHTS   |   NEWS Big Law Rushes to Reunite Families Separated under Trump's Immigration Policy By Ellis Kim Firms including Paul Weiss; Kirkland & Ellis; and Covington & Burling have all gotten involved in some fashion after...  Read More GOVERNMENT   |   NEWS Manafort Charges Survive Bid for Dismissal in Virginia By Ellis Kim Tuesday's decision from U.S. District Judge T.S. El...
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Progressive Breakfast: The Shutdown Debacle: Trump and the Politics of Hate

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MORNING MESSAGE Robert Borosage The Shutdown Debacle: Trump and the Politics of Hate The GOP’s shameful treatment of DREAMers isn’t accidental or random. It exemplifies the repugnant preying on racial fears that is a core strategy of Donald Trump’s Republican Party. We must build a broad majority that rejects that politics and its practitioners. U.S. Talks Trade War At Davos Commerce’s Ross declares trade war under way. Bloomberg: “Trade wars ‘are fought every single day,’ and the U.S. has been engaged in one ‘for quite a little while,’ Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in comments that diverge from President Donald Trump. ‘The difference is the U.S. troops are now coming to the rampart,’ Ross told reporters reporters at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Ross’s comments about the Trump administration’s move Tuesday to slap new tariffs on solar panel and washing machine imports conflict with Trump’s own statements.” Mulvaney Moves To Reorient CFPB Acting consumer ...
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