Hala Arafa
@sinuhe1800.bsky.social
Retired: News Editor [Voice of America], Program Review Analyst [International Bureau of Broadcasting]
Amid the Trump administration’s attempts to undermine the election, “the law is standing strong” @mawaldman.bsky.social tells @nicollewallace.bsky.social on @deadlinewh.bsky.social He notes “the courts have been very resolute” and “voters are going to be able to vote securely as they have before.”
Bill Clinton, "Congress made a mistake not protesting turning the Rose Garden into what looks like the entrance to Liberace’s bathroom,”
In the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term, the Justice Department fired some 100 of the country’s roughly 700 immigration judges and began to replace them with what the administration called “deportation judges.” www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2026/...
Trump’s DOJ told a judge how to rule. Then it pulled her from court.
Karen Donoso Stevens offers a rare firsthand look at the administration’s campaign to rewrite the rules of the immigration court system.
washingtonpost.com
Secret Terms Oil Deal: *Designed to prevent future US pres. & Venezuelan leaders from changing or dismantling the enterprise *Some Trump administration’s partners could remain anonymous *Takes many years B4 it produces enough oil to be a significant share for US www.propublica.org/article/trum...
The Secret Terms of Trump’s Venezuelan Oil Deal
The Trump administration committed the U.S. to taking a large stake in a Venezuelan company, some of whose owners and investors are shielded from public view. The exact details of the agreement over o...
propublica.org
Putin is attempting to leverage Russia’s most strategic asset in his war on Ukraine: Trump’s weakness for corruption. The diesel Putin offered Trump will have zero net impact on the world price of diesel. But accepting it will collapse the U.S.-led sanctions regime on Russia & align Trump with Putin
Hala Arafa@sinuhe1800.bsky.social · 3w ago
Tim Snyder gives the absolute accurate analysis of the relationship between Putin & Trump. Trump sees us all as idiots. America is a scrapyard that hasn't been as thoroughly exploited as the Russian scrapyard was by Putin. www.facebook.com/reel/2041997...
facebook.com
golfweek.usatoday.com/story/sports... It’s yet one more entry in a bulging book of evidence that Trump considers public land his property to repurpose at will
Donald Trump’s plans for a public golf course expose how little he cares about the public or golf | Opinion
It’s yet one more entry in a bulging book of evidence that Trump considers public land his property to repurpose at will
golfweek.usatoday.com
‘I don’t know what I’d do without you, mister’ — American cartoon (December 1947) showing ‘Communists’ and ‘Reactionaries’ working together to fell the tree of ‘World Democracy’. Drawn for The Washington Post by Herbert Block (‘Herblock’)
“THIS COULD EXPLODE.” Retired Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling issues an alarming warning about the expanding conflict involving Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and the Red Sea. “This could explode into a regional dynamic that will quickly spiral out of control.”
Two Trump allies — Alina Habba Mildon and Richard Grenell — are locked in a raging dispute that has its roots in the battle for a share of the spoils in Venezuela. Behind a White House Feud That Is Bitter Even by Trump-Era Standards www.nytimes.com/2026/10/15/u...
A Bitter White House Feud, Even by Trump-Era Standards: Alina Mildon and Richard Grenell
Two Trump allies — Alina Habba Mildon and Richard Grenell — are locked in a raging dispute that has its roots in the battle for a share of the spoils in Venezuela.
nytimes.com
“I don't want to be a conspiracy theorist, Katie, but here's the thing. Mr. Musk has done this before.” Retired Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling tells Katie Phang that Musk previously shut down Starshield because he disagreed with Zelenskyy, then connects that allegation to Trump's latest ceasefire demands.
Someone needs to tell him: Executive orders are not laws & cannot preempt congressional legislations. Trump Signs Order Exempting Russia From Sanctions Law www.nytimes.com/2026/10/16/u...
Trump Signs Order Exempting Russia From Sanctions Law
The sanctions were part of a measure that was named after Senator Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican who died in July.
nytimes.com
Destruction & Waste! Ruining the nation's capital. Can't anyone stop him? wapo.st/4eDFwsW
Trump administration admits painting Eisenhower building would harm landmark
Officials found they could clean the building and improve its lighting without harming its character. But the White House favors covering its granite in paint.
wapo.st
Trump and Musk are doing everything they can to try and force Ukraine to surrender to Putin while Musk spends over $300 million to try and buy the midterm elections to maintain total power. The American government under Republicans are on the side of evil. Vote them out.
Like Musk himself, whose companies, pre-DOGE, extracted somewhere north of $38 billion from the federal government—the Muskrats wanted to suck on the government teat. newrepublic.com/article/2165... via @newrepublic.com
Why Did DOGE Exist? Now We Know.
Turns out, Elon Musk’s pimply minions didn’t actually want to cut government spending. They wanted to get a piece of it for themselves.
newrepublic.com
DOJ lawyers told U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes that approx 430 trees were removed Sat. & another 299 are still targeted for removal. “I am thoroughly unamused right now,” Reyes said. “I don't know how I could have made it any plainer. I did not want what happened to happen.” wapo.st/4B0AQqP
‘Furious’ judge halts tree removal, demands answers on Trump’s D.C. golf plan
The judge lambasted the Trump administration for ignoring her repeated pleas not to work on the historic East Potomac course: “There’s no excuse for this.”
wapo.st
Judge slams brakes on Trump golf course tree-cutting and demands to know who gave order www.rawstory.com/cut-down-tre...
Judge slams brakes on Trump golf course tree-cutting and demands to know who gave order
A federal judge on Monday ordered the Trump administration to stop cutting down trees at a historic Washington, D.C., golf course, and demanded to know who gave the order to start.U.S. District Judge ...
rawstory.com
USPS Hires Security Service With History of Human Rights Abuse newrepublic.com/post/216331/... via @newrepublic.com
USPS Hires Security Service With History of Human Rights Abuse
Almost 1,000 armed security officers have been sent to at least 55 post office facilities.
newrepublic.com
More recently, she was part of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, created by the UN Human Rights Council in 2021 www.bbc.com/news/live/ck...
Nobel Peace Prize live: Navi Pillay dedicates award to 'survivors of international crime'
Pillay, a former UN human rights commissioner, is recognised for her "efforts to promote peace and international law".
bbc.com