The opposition has consistently said it sees Trump's outreach to #Lukashenko as a humanitarian effort [flattery or else punishment], but #EU #sanctions should stay in place.

"#US sanctions are about people. EU sanctions are about systemic change — stopping the war, enabling democratic transition, & ensuring accountability. These approaches do not contradict each other; they complement each other," exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said in a statement.

#geopolitics #democracy

I’m currently reading “Abolition Democracy: Beyond Empire, Prisons, and Torture,” by Angela Davis. If I used a highlighter in this book, about 90% of it would be yellow.

#Books #Reading #AngelaDavis #Abolition #Democracy #SystemicRacism #PrisonIndustrialComplex

"It is a the literal hijacking of our democracy. The truth of this project and its danger have been the clanging bells that could easily have been heard by those best-positioned to derail it. But it so happens that those most positioned to have headed off this moment of Constitution-defying, democracy-defying, collapse have refused to believe it."

#democracy #authoritarianism #racism #WhiteSupremacy
/5

"The white supremacist, anti-14th Amendment, post-Brown movement has the complicity or active engagement of all three branches of government as it works to undo the constitutional infrastructure of Reconstruction and the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement.

And so here we are. The agenda has been laid bare for any sentient person to see."

#democracy #authoritarianism #racism #WhiteSupremacy
/4

"We are in the midst of a full-blown effort to execute an anti-democracy project that seeks to nullify the legal, social, economic and educational apparatus designed to undergird the foundation of a multiracial democracy. …

What makes this moment particularly dangerous is that all of the stars have aligned."

#UnitedStates #Trump #democracy #authoritarianism #racism #WhiteSupremacy
/3

~ Sherrilyn Ifill

sherrilyn.substack.com/p/is-it…

Is It Too Late?

No. But We Must Better Understand the Nature of the Battle

^{Sherrilyn Ifill (Sherrilyn’s Newsletter)}

"The group cited a 'sharp deterioration of fundamental freedoms in the country … following a year of sweeping executive actions, restrictive laws and aggressive crackdowns on free speech and dissent.'”

#UnitedStates #Trump #democracy #corruption #Civicus #FreeSpeech #UnitaryExecutive
/2

"A coalition of global civil society organizations has downgraded the United States’ civic health rating from 'narrowed' to 'obstructed.'

In a report released on Tuesday, Civicus, a non-profit that monitors civic freedoms in 198 countries, placed the US in its 'obstructed' category."

~ Maya Yang

#UnitedStates #Trump #democracy #corruption #Civicus #FreeSpeech #UnitaryExecutive
/1

theguardian.com/us-news/2025/d…

US civic health rating downgraded after year of ‘restrictive‘ Trump actions

Civicus, a non-profit that monitors global civic freedoms, moved the US from the ‘narrowed’ to ‘obstructed’ category

^{Maya Yang (The Guardian)}

Noting the many ways in which the media assist Trump in representing inhumanity and indecency as the opposite of what they are, Mark Jacob says,

"Trump doesn’t know much about public policy or human decency, but he sure knows about marketing – and manipulation of the media."

#media #democracy #truth #NewYorkTimes
/6

stopthepresses.news/p/the-medi…

The media must stop helping Trump market misery

Journalists don’t have to repeat the regime’s cutesy nicknames for its corrupt campaigns

^{Mark Jacob (Stop the Presses)}

"You’re disgusted by commercial or billionaire ownership, and angry about journalism driven by corporate concerns over public mission."

Count me among the disgusted. And count me very happy to read each of the people and quite a few others who have no foothold in the traditional media world on a daily basis.

#media #democracy #truth #NewYorkTimes #HeatherCoxRichardson #PaulKrugman #JuddLegum #MarisaKabas
/5

"Many of you mentioned writers like Heather Cox Richardson, Paul Krugman, Judd Legum and Marisa Kabas, among many others. You also mentioned podcasts and individual columnists.

Many of you expressed disillusionment, or even rage, at 'Big Journalism,' or mainstream media — or whatever you want to call the big traditional institutions."

#media #democracy #truth #NewYorkTimes #HeatherCoxRichardson #PaulKrugman #JuddLegum #MarisaKabas
/4

Sullivan writes:

"Last week, I asked you, the readers of American Crisis, to tell me about your media diet. Where are you getting the news and information you find reliable and important?

Your comments were illuminating. Many of you mentioned how much you have come to rely on independent — not institutional — voices."

#media #democracy #truth #NewYorkTimes
/3

the Times printed a front-page above-the-fold headline and article trolling Biden on the immigration issue. Biden. Not Trump. When Trump is in the White House and Biden is long gone.

The New York Times is not about to redeem itself anytime soon, and many of us will keep congratulating ourselves for turning our back on that shameful media outlet and seeking good information and reporting elsewhere.

#media #democracy #truth #NewYorkTimes
/2

Margaret Sullivan retains an old-fashioned belief in the possibility that traditional media can right themselves and return to their mission of speaking truth even when it''s inconvenient and defending equality and justice for all.

I no longer have that faith, but applaud her for holding onto it. The infuriating example she gives of how the New York Times continues betraying that mission right up to yesterday —

#media #democracy #truth #NewYorkTimes
/1

margaretsullivan.substack.com/…

Trust in mainstream media is at rock bottom. Can it be fixed?

Why so many news consumers are turning to individual voices and away from institutions

^{Margaret Sullivan (American Crisis)}

Well, you know, 1984.

Under this culmination of a 60-year fascistic neoliberal project, all dissent equals "terrorism".

They may be psychopaths, but their logic is impeccable.

Our governments & labour organisations since 1971 acquiesced in this fascist takeover.

And we the people sleepwalked under its scaffolding...

See Nancy MacLean Democ in chains summary:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_CnzsSeJyU

independentaustralia.net/polit…

#EuroPol #USPol #Democracy #neoliberalism #fascism #orwell1984 #powellmemo .