Comment: Hypocritical much?

Comment: Further reading on the ban:

• Nail Farage and Katie Hopkins voice support of US "Muslim ban", seek the same for UK
• Protests and lawsuits aiming to stop "Muslim ban" bankrolled by Soros
• 'Focus on ISIS, not starting WWIII': Trump blasts warmongering Senators McCain & Graham
• 'We must respond': European leaders take to Twitter to criticize Trump's 'Muslim ban'
• Trump's travel ban bars White Helmet leader attending Oscar
• Trump defends executive order, rejects 'Muslim ban' label: Says visa restrictions to be lifted after 90 days
• Three more federal judges rule to restrict Trump's 'Muslim ban' travel order
• Scott Adams: Trump's 'Muslim ban' is just another 'Art of the Deal' opening bid
• Foreign politicians are in no position to comment on Trump's domestic policies
• Media Blackout: Obama administration created the list of countries covered by Trump's 'Muslim ban'
• Tehran vows 'reciprocal' retaliation for US banning entry to Iranians
• Federal judge blocks deportation of detainees over Trump refugee order
• Vague Trump travel ban causes havoc in airports hours after implementation

Paul Joseph Watson cuts through a lot of the nonsense surrounding reactions to the ban:


Trump tweeted his own clarification:




On the Delta computer outage:

Delta struggled to return to normal Monday after a crippling computer outage caused big delays and the cancellation of about 300 flights.

It's the second time in less than six months that the airline has suffered a major IT problem resulting in travel chaos and angry passengers.

Delta said the outage started at 6:30 p.m. ET Sunday. The FAA announced a nationwide ground stop for all domestic Delta (DAL) flights. The measure remained in place for at least two and half hours until it was lifted.
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The airline's website and mobile apps also went down, adding to customers' frustrations.
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The problems unfolded as Delta and other airlines also scrambled to deal with the ramifications of President Donald Trump's sudden executive order barring entry to the U.S. for citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries and refugees. Trump's move spurred protests at airports across the U.S. over the weekend.

That's some impeccable timing...

CNN is up to its usual #fakenews tricks, censoring anything that contradicts its narrative:

The mainstream media had their Donald Trump victim in the flesh when Hameed Khalid Darweesh was detained at JFK airport in New York on Saturday. Darweesh was held after President Trump issued an executive order curtailing the acceptance of refugees from Syria and other jihadi-infected areas. He appeared before cameras outside the airport after his release.

After he heaped praise on America, a reporter shouted, "What do you think of Donald Trump?"

"I like him," Darweesh responded, as a look of shock came over the faces of Congressmembers Nydia Velazquez and Jerrold Nadler, before adding, "but I don't know, this is a policy, I don't know, he's a president and I'm a normal person." Nadler chuckled while Velazquez just stared at the ground.

But here's a portion CNN's website story, which left out Darweesh's narrative-busting praise for Trump:

According to court papers, both Darweesh and Alshawi were legally allowed to come into the US but were detained in accordance with Trump's order.

Darweesh, who worked as an interpreter for the US during the Iraq War, was released from detention early Saturday afternoon.

"America is the land of freedom," he told reporters at the airport shortly after his release. "America is the greatest nation."

...
Why would CNN quote Darweesh's praise for America, but not Trump? You know why...

Despite the outrage, "Trump's heartland voters shrug off global uproar over immigration ban":

Many of President Donald Trump's core political supporters had a simple message on Sunday for the fiercest opponents of his immigration ban: Calm down.

The relaxed reaction among the kind of voters who drove Trump's historic upset victory - working- and middle-class residents of Midwest and the South - provided a striking contrast to the uproar that has gripped major coastal cities, where thousands of protesters flocked to airports where immigrants had been detained.

In the St. Louis suburb of Manchester, Missouri, 72-year-old Jo Ann Tieken characterized the president as bringing reason into an overheated debate.

"Somebody has to stand up, be the grown up and see what we can do better to check on people coming in," she said. "I'm all for everybody to stop and take a breath ... Just give it a chance."
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In the electoral strongholds for Trump, residents seemed nonplussed about the uproar flashing across their television screens. They shrugged off concerns about botched execution, damage to foreign relations and legal challenges across the country.

In New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and other cities, Trump's action set off an outpouring of anger.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from California, evoked an image of the Statue of Liberty weeping. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York teared up himself on camera as he seethed over the "mean-spirited and un-American" immigration ban.

Veterans in government agencies, including the Homeland Security and State departments, blasted Trump's team for what they called slipshod planning and scant interagency communication, criticism the White House rejected.

At airports, security officials also struggled to consistently enforce vague rules.

But allegations of operational or administrative blunders may do little to dampen enthusiasm for a president who rose to power on a populist and protectionist platform, political analysts said.

Louise Ingram, a 69-year-old retiree from Troy, Alabama, said she forgave the new administration a few "glitches," such as widespread confusion over treatment of green card holders, as it moved to protect U.S. citizens from attacks.

"I'm not opposed to immigrants," she said. "I just want to make sure they are safe to come in."

Violence erupted at PDX airport as 10 protesters attacked 4 Trump supporters, knocking one unconscious:


Silicon Valley's ambivalence toward Trump has turned to anger:

The directives struck at the heart of Silicon Valley's cherished values, its fabled history and, not least, its embrace-the-world approach to customers. Two worldviews collided: the mantra of globalization that underpins the advance of technology and the nationalistic agenda of the new administration.

In response, a significant part of the tech community went to the barricades.

Netflix's chief executive, Reed Hastings, wrote on Facebook that Mr. Trump's actions "are so un-American it pains us all" and that "it is time to link arms together to protect American values of freedom and opportunity."

Brian Chesky, the chief executive of Airbnb, made the same point. "We must stand with those who are affected," he wrote on Twitter.

Sergey Brin, a Google founder who immigrated from the Soviet Union when he was 6, seemed to take that suggestion literally, attending an impromptu protest on Saturday evening at San Francisco International Airport. When some of the demonstrators realized that the 10th-richest man in America was with them, they asked for selfies. He good-naturedly obliged.

"I'm here because I'm a refugee," Mr. Brin said, according to a Twitter post by the Forbes writer Ryan Mac.

The tech companies' reaction was more forceful than that of other industries. Just about everyone in Silicon Valley came from somewhere else or is a son or daughter of someone who did or is married to someone who did.
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Even some of those working closely with the Trump administration were critical. Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX, who sits on two of Mr. Trump's advisory committees, wrote on Twitter that the ban was "not the best way to address the country's challenges." Mr. Musk was born in South Africa.

Aaron Levie, chief executive of the data storage company Box, wrote on Twitter that "on every level — moral, humanitarian, economic, logical, etc. — this ban is wrong and is completely antithetical to the principles of America."

Over all, Mr. Levie said in an interview, "there was a pretty resounding response from the tech industry showing how unacceptable this is."
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Murtadha al-Tameemi, 24, an Iraqi-born software engineer at Facebook, was told by a company lawyer on Tuesday that he needed to cut short a visit to Canada and return to the United States. The company feared that he would not be readmitted to the country because the president was expected to sign an executive order that would keep him out.

"It may be my naïveté about how politics and industries interact, but I don't interpret the tech community's opposition to the president as a political stance," Mr. Tameemi said. "It seemed more like a matter of values and a matter that impacts them."

The larger tech companies tended to be less forceful in their reactions to the executive order than the smaller ones. Google said it was "concerned." Apple said, "It is not a policy we support." Amazon said only that it was committed to diversity. Oracle did not respond to requests for comment.

On the one hand, these reactions are understandable: Trump's ban is sudden, chaotic, and harsh. On the other hand, not so much. So far the Trump admin has given no indication that it intends to ban immigration (on the contrary, it's open to immigration, as long as it's legal, and the immigrants have been vetted). Also, this temporary ban is no different than when Obama did the same thing on a smaller scale. (Remember, the countries on the list come from Obama too.) If Trump bans immigration, that would be a different story.

The general theme of the protests and indignation seems to be: bombing Muslims is good, banning Muslim refugees is evil. Consider that there wouldn't have been so many refugees in the first place if Bush and Obama hadn't led wars of aggression and color revolutions in MENA countries. Also consider that Trump says that's no longer U.S. foreign policy.

Consider this from Scott Adams:

The left sees Trump's executive orders on immigration as pure Hitler behavior. That gives him plenty of room to negotiate to the middle. The initial orders are too broad, and clearly target too many of the wrong people. As he fixes those special cases he will be moving away from the Hitler model toward the middle. And people are more influenced by the DIRECTION of things than the absolute position of things. As long as he is moving away from the Hitler analogy, people will chill out, even if they think he was too close to that position before. Direction matters.
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Are Trump's temporary immigration plans chaotic? Yes. Do they hurt innocent people who were minding their own business? Yes, temporarily at least. Did he scare the pants off of half the country? Yes. Will there be lots of unintended damage from Trump's immigration orders? Yes. No honest person should deny the cost component of the equation. It's ugly. But don't stop with a half-pinion. If you want a full opinion on immigration you have to compare those costs to the potential benefits that include fewer terrorist acts and avoiding Europe's refugee problems. Are people making that comparison?

No.

Actions like this have the capacity to bring out the worst of people, on both sides of the equation. The real test for Trump will be what direction he goes in the coming months. Will he go "full Hitler"? Or will he move toward the middle? If he moves toward the middle, will people chill out? Or will he have done more harm than good? Complex questions for which there is no simple, black-and-white answer.

Update (Jan. 31): Trump's immigration disruption continues to make waves:

Microsoft working with Washington State on suit against Trump immigration order

Microsoft Corp said it has been cooperating with the Washington State Attorney General's Office, which is suing in federal court to stop President Donald Trump's order restricting immigration from several Muslim countries.

Microsoft said it was providing information about the order's impact "in order to be supportive. And we'd be happy to testify further if needed," spokesman Pete Wootton said in a statement.

Goldman CEO takes lead on Wall Street in slamming Trump travel ban

Goldman Sachs Group Inc Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein became the first major Wall Street leader to speak out against President Donald Trump's order to halt arrivals from several Muslim-majority countries.

In a voicemail to employees on Sunday, Blankfein said diversity was a hallmark of Goldman's success, and if the temporary freeze became permanent, it could create "disruption" for the bank and its staff.

"This is not a policy we support, and I would note that it has already been challenged in federal court, and some of the order has been enjoined at least temporarily," Blankfein said, according to a transcript seen by Reuters.

In Silicon Valley, the heads of companies such as Apple and Facebook swiftly denounced Trump's immigration ban. But the rest of corporate America has been more circumspect in speaking out, underscoring the sensitivities around opposing policies that could provoke a backlash from the White House.

Tepid responses from many of Blankfein's peers made his comments all the more potent, especially because Goldman has gotten attention for the number of its alumni who have joined Trump's administration.

Amazon Is Working With Lawmakers to Counter Trump's Immigration Order

Amazon.com Inc. Chief Executive Jeff Bezos said the e-commerce giant is working with lawmakers and state officials to explore legal options to counter President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration.

Google employees walk out in protest over Trump's travel ban

Thousands of Google workers staged protests at the company's campuses over President Donald Trump's executive order banning travel into the US from seven Muslim-majority countries.

The ban was introduced with much warning. In addition to those who were in transit at the time the ban was implemented, 872 refugee waivers were granted for this week, as they too were considered "in transit" and had already been cleared:

Exclusive: Trump administration to allow 872 refugees into U.S. this week: document

The U.S. government has granted waivers to let 872 refugees into the country this week, despite President Donald Trump's executive order on Friday temporarily banning entry of refugees from any country, according to an internal Department of Homeland Security document seen by Reuters.
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Refugees preparing for resettlement typically have severed personal ties and relinquished their possessions, leaving them particularly vulnerable if their plans to depart are suddenly canceled.

The waivers, granted by the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), came amid international protests against Trump's rushed executive order. Critics said the order in some cases was not clearly communicated to the agencies responsible for implementing it.

It was not known if additional waivers would be granted, the official said. The document did not give the nationalities of the refugees who will be admitted into the United States.
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The internal DHS document said that between late Friday and early Monday 348 visa holders were prevented from boarding U.S.-bound flights. In addition, more than 200 people landed in the United States but were denied entry, the document showed.

More than 735 people were pulled aside for questioning by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in airports, including 394 legal permanent U.S. residents holding green cards, over the same time period.
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The 872 refugees to be admitted this week, under the waivers, were screened using Obama administration procedures, which typically take two years and include several interviews and a background check.

The DHS said on Sunday night that green card holders would be allowed to board U.S.-bound flights, but would be subjected to additional scrutiny upon arrival.

The public guidance from DHS also said some people from the seven majority-Muslim countries could be allowed entry to the United States on a case-by-case basis.

Comment: The polls also said Hillary would win by a landslide. The elite are going full-strength in their information war against Trump. He's challenged the US hegemonic position by seeking relations with Russia and by pulling out of TTP. All this business about the wall, healthcare, and the so-called 'Muslim ban' are not even secondary issues to why the elite are going through the roof.

Comment: Iran's first vice president says US President Donald Trump's executive order to ban entry into the country from the Islamic Republic and six other Muslim states is "illegal, inhumane and in violation of human rights", adding Tehran will take reciprocal measures.

"We will take a reciprocal measure regarding visa issuance for American citizens who want to travel to Iran," Es'haq Jahangiri said on Monday.

"We will support our nationals throughout the world with all means at our disposal," he added.

He emphasized that Iran would definitely pursue the issue at international organizations and once again dissect and lay bare before the world the human rights advocated and practiced by the US.

Tehran plans to ditch the use of the American currency in financial reporting after US President Donald Trump issued a travel ban on seven countries, including Iran.

According to the local news agency PressTV, the Central Bank of Iran is seeking to replace the dollar with a new common foreign currency or use a basket of currencies in all official financial and foreign exchange reports.

The governor Valiollah Seif said it would come into force in the new financial year starting March 21, 2017.

The agency quotes Seif recommending using currencies with a "high degree of stability."

The decision comes after President Trump temporarily banned citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen from entering the US.

Comment: Also see: Thierry Meyssan on Trump's mission: Take back the power stolen by traitors on 9/11

Comment: This eight-year-old girl is one of many thousands of innocent civilians killed and suffering from the war Yemen. An illegal war that began at the beginning of Obama's first term.

• HRW's annual report on Yemen war: Over 4,000 civilians killed, aid blocked, zero accountability
• As Saudi-led, US backed war on Yemen rages on, children continue to starve and die
• Sad reality: Six months of conflict in Yemen leaves over 500 children dead
• Fruits of Western imperialism: Images of starving children show the horrors of US/Saudi war against Yemen
• Yemen conflict has killed & injured over 1,000 children while 10 million more require 'urgent humanitarian aid'
• 'Heart-breaking' plight of Yemen's starving children: UN urges end to conflict amid ongoing Saudi strikes