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Chinese media lauds Trump after Xi phone call - New president could mark a "reshaping" of Sino-American relations

trump
© Mike Segar / Reuters
Chinese state-run media lauded Donald Trump Tuesday after a phone call between him and President Xi Jinping, saying that the president-elect's emergence could mark a "reshaping" of Sino-American relations.

The pair spoke Monday, when Xi said that the two powers needed to co-operate and Trump's office said the leaders "established a clear sense of mutual respect for one another".

On the campaign trail Trump frequently demonised Beijing, but questions have been asked whether his conduct in the White House will match his promises as a candidate.

Monday's conversation was "diplomatically impeccable and has bolstered optimism over bilateral relations in the next four years", China's frequently nationalistic Global Times newspaper said in an editorial.

Dominoes

Election of Trump represents backlash against liberal establishment that refused to recognize millions of alienated Americans

trump
© Mike Segar / Reuters
The protests that have erupted across the US in response to Donald Trump becoming the country's 45th president are unprecedented and could well be a harbinger of a society irretrievably split and polarized as a result of his election.

The label 'fascist' was firmly attached to Donald Trump by his detractors throughout a campaign for the White House during which nativism, bigotry and xenophobia was unleashed. His pledge to place a moratorium on Muslims coming into the United States, to deport millions of illegal Mexican immigrants, and to build a giant wall on the US border with its southern neighbor in order to control immigration was the equivalent of a political hand grenade being let off in a society proud of its respect for freedom of religion, tolerance, and its racial and ethnic diversity.

In less than a year of his participating in the country's political process, Trump has, his critics believe, succeeded in rolling back the progress made by previous generations in a hard-fought struggle against racial, gender, and religious discrimination. He has legitimized white supremacy and succeeded in sowing the kind of social divisions that are consonant with a society teetering on the edge of implosion.

But surely then the question needs to be asked: if one candidate in one election year is capable of ripping up cultural values considered so entrenched and universal, that Washington decided the rest of the world should also live by those values, up to the point of forcing the issue with cruise missiles, F-15s, and Apache helicopter gunships, how strongly entrenched were they in America in the first place?

HAL9000

Kremlin: Bulgarian election results unlikely to change prospects for resuming nuclear and gas projects

Bulgarian President Ruman Radev
© Nikolay Doychinov / AFPBulgarian President Ruman Radev
The Bulgarian election results are unlikely to revive talks on the Belene nuclear power plant (NPP) and South Stream gas pipeline projects, according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.

"As it looks now, the prospects are minimal," he said, commenting on the results of the presidential elections in Bulgaria.

Sunday's runoff saw former air force officer Rumen Radev, who is reportedly interested in improving ties with Russia; win the presidency with 59 percent of the vote.

Bulgaria cancelled plans with Russia's Rosatom to construct the Belene NPP in 2013. The following year, under pressure from the European Commission, Sofia shelved the South Stream gas pipeline project with Russia's Gazprom.

Che Guevara

Flashback: Trump promises to defend gay rights in 2000 interview

Donald Trump
© AP Photo/Charlie NeibergallDonald Trump
Back in 2000 Donald Trump was interviewed by the gay Advocate magazine. This was after eight years of Bill and Hillary Clinton in the White House.

Donald Trump in 2000 defended gays from the Clintons.

Here is the Advocate interview from 2000, via Prntly:
Last fall Donald Trump shook up the political world by announcing he was joining the Reform Party, a major step in exploring a run for president. The pundits laughed, claiming that the real estate mogul knew more about glamour than politics, but Trump made a number of television and personal appearances that showed his proposed candidacy was no joke. Privately, friends speculated he was bored with the real estate business. In January Trump published The America We Deserve, which outlines his vision for the nation. Anyone who thinks his candidacy is a joke, he says, should read the book. For moderates in the Reform Party, Trump has emerged as their best hope of stopping Pat Buchanan from winning the party's presidential nomination. With his name recognition and record in business, Trump could prove a wild card in the presidential race, appealing to people tired of politics as usual. Recently I put a wide-ranging set of questions to Trump concerning gay issues, to which Trump responded in writing. His answers might surprise some pundits, both for their thoroughness and for their bluntness.

Clock

British hacker Lauri Love will be extradited to face US charges despite health concerns

Lauri Love
© Peter Nicholls/ReutersLauri Love poses for media as he arrives for his extradition hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London, Britain September 16, 2016.
British citizen Lauri Love will be sent to the US for prosecution over hacking allegations after Tory Home Secretary Amber Rudd signed an extradition order, despite concerns over his mental and physical health.

The Home Office said the order was signed on Monday after Rudd "carefully considered all relevant matters." Love has 14 days to appeal against the decision.

The 31-year-old activist, who has Asperger's syndrome and suffers from depression, lost his legal challenge to avoid extradition in September.

If extradited, Love will face up to 99 years in prison for illegally accessing US government networks and will be the first UK-based computer hacker to be sent to the US for prosecution.

Rudd said Love faces "extremely serious charges" and, while she acknowledged he suffers from "both physical and mental health issues," she believed US prison medical facilities would offer adequate support.

The Home Office said Love "has been charged with various computer hacking offences which included targeting US military and federal government agencies."


Chess

If Trump lets neocons infiltrate his Foreign Policy Team they will undermine his entire agenda

John R. Bolton
© Gage Skidmore / WikimediaJohn R. Bolton
John Bolton for secretary of state?

Even before the Iraq War, John Bolton was a leading brain behind the neoconservatives' war-and-conquest agenda. Long ago I wrote about him, in "John Bolton and U.S. Lawlessness," "The Bush administration's international lawlessness did not come from nowhere. Its intellectual foundations were laid long before 9/11 by neoconservatives." I quoted Bolton, "It is a big mistake to for us to grant any validity to international law ... because over the long term, the goal of those who think that it really means anything are those who want to constrict the United States." In fact I set up a web page, the John Bolton File, containing various links about him and the neocons.

Nearly all of Donald Trump's appointments to his transition team are very encouraging. Indeed, I have known many of them for years. But he could undermine his whole agenda by allowing neocons back into their former staffing and leadership role over Republican foreign policy. The New York Times reported how many are now scrambling to get back into their old dominant positions. And now National Review, which supported all the disasters in Iraq, has come out to promote Bolton for secretary of state.

I have written about the neocons for many years. Their originators were former leftists who later became anti-communists. After the collapse of communism, they provided the intellectual firepower for hawks and imperialists who wanted an aggressive American foreign policy. Having lived and done business for many years in the Third World, I thought they would only bring about disasters for America. What especially interested me was their almost total lack of experience in and knowledge about the outside world, particularly Asia and Latin America. I even set up a web page called War Party Neoconservative Biographies as I researched their education and experience.

HAL9000

Citing 'terrorism', FBI gains access to tweet-mining app Dataminr; despite Twitter snooping ban

Twitter
© Dado Ruvic/Reuters
The FBI has gained access to Twitter-linked analytics tool Dataminr, citing the use of Twitter by terrorist organizations. But that appears to violate Twitter's fine print, which forbids its data from being used to "investigate, track, or surveil" users.

The bureau hired Dataminr last week to provide an "advanced alerting tool" to over 200 users, The Verge reported.

In a contracting document, the bureau noted that Twitter - which owns a five percent stake in Dataminr - is used "extensively by terrorist organizations and other criminals to communicate, recruit, and raise funds for illegal activity."

"With increased use of Twitter by subjects of FBI investigations, it is critical to obtain a service which will allow the FBI to identify relevant information from Twitter in a timely fashion," the bureau said. Dataminr agreed to provide the FBI with such information by allowing it to "search the complete Twitter firehose, in near-real time, with customizable filters."

Info

Obama tours Europe to soothe fears over Trump's stance on NATO and TTIP deal

Barack Obama
© Kevin Lamarque / Reuters
Barack Obama has arrived in Greece on the first stop of his farewell foreign tour as president. As the trip comes days after the surprise election of Donald Trump, Obama hopes to reassure the US' allies that their existing strategic relationships are safe.

US Air Force One touched down in Athens on Tuesday morning after an overnight flight from Washington, DC. On his first day in Greece, Obama is to meet with President Prokopis Pavlopoulos and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

A joint news conference with Tsipras is scheduled for later in the day. On Wednesday, he is to tour the Acropolis and give a public speech on democracy and globalization before flying to his next destination, Berlin, where he will meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other European leaders.

Info

Obama promises foreign policy continuity and commitment to NATO under Trump

Barack Obama
© Carlos Barria / Reuters
President Barack Obama answered questions and sought to reassure Americans that the transition between his administration and President-elect Donald Trump's would be smooth and that Republicans wouldn't be able to destroy his legacy and initiatives.

In his first press conference since the election, Obama covered a wide range of foreign and domestic issues before heading out on his last international trip while in office. Before taking questions, he discussed the transition, the global economy and the news of PBS news anchor Gwen Ifill's death.

"When we turn over the keys, the car's in pretty good shape," he said.

Blackbox

Outrage mounts over Trump's 'chief strategist' pick Stephen K. Bannon

Stephen K. Bannon
© Carlo Allegri / ReutersStephen K. Bannon, President-elect Donald Trump's chief strategist, previously served as CEO of Trump's campaign
President-elect Donald Trump's pick for White House chief strategist, Stephen K. Bannon, is facing a social media backlash from Democrats and civil rights groups. They are now urging Trump to dump his "racist" campaign chief.

Bannon, the chief executive of Breitbart News, became CEO of Trump's campaign in August, replacing Paul Manafort. Trump named Bannon his "chief strategist" on Sunday, while making Republican Party chairman Reince Priebus his chief of staff.

On Monday, leading Democrats denounced Bannon as a divisive pick and proof that Trump's campaign was based on bigotry. Two major civil rights organizations also denounced Bannon, accusing him of racism and anti-Semitism.

Comment: The lefties and MSM are just creating hysteria. It's too early to tell what Trump's plans are. As they say "the proof is in the pudding".