The Arms Trade Is Intensifying Under Trump

Wednesday, February 20, 2019 [| Keep truth alive: Support Truthout! |]( [The Arms Trade Is Intensifying Under Trump]( Peter Castagno, Truthout The global arms trade is experiencing its greatest boom since the Cold War, fueled by horrific wars in the Middle East and revitalized power rivalries among China, Russia and the United States. The Trump administration’s commitment to advancing arms sales is apparent in a cabinet rife with conflicts of interest, as well as its directives in official arms export policy. To fight back, we need to initiate a real public debate on the arms trade. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Bernie Sanders Campaign Says It Raised $6 Million in First 24 Hours]( Jon Queally, Common Dreams In the 24 hours since Sen. Bernie Sanders announced his 2020 run for president, his campaign reports that it was able to raise nearly $6 million from 225,000 individual donors across all 50 states. The fundraising figure exceeds anything other Democrats in the already crowded primary field were able to generate in their opening day and speaks to the advantage Sanders has. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Trojan Horse Legislation Could Derail Single-Payer in Massachusetts]( Michael Corcoran, Truthout A devious piece of legislation introduced in Massachusetts appears on its surface to usher forward the fight for single-payer health care in the state. In reality, the special commission to study single-payer implementation places health industry lobbyists in charge -- the very people who profit tremendously from the current multi-payer system. This death-by-task-force tactic is yet another way the powerful health industry can undermine single-payer health care. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Missing Pieces: The Human Impact of Drone Strikes]( T.J. Coles, Truthout It is typical of mainstream media that reports on the statistics of drone strikes seldom detail the horrific physical and mental damage done to civilians. If people were made aware of the graphic and heartrending details of what happens to "the collateral damage" when a missile fired from a drone hits them, it's quite likely that most people would not be accepting of this method of warfare. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [GOP Leaders Knew FBI Was Probing Trump. They Didn't Complain.]( Heather Digby Parton, Salon The biggest revelation in former acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe's new book is that after Donald Trump fired James Comey, McCabe opened a counterintelligence investigation and an obstruction of justice investigation into the president because of his suspicious behavior during the campaign and in the White House. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- The future of the country and the planet are in jeopardy, and publications like Truthout have a significant role to play in what happens next. In order to continue publishing critical journalism, we need your help. Can we count on your support? [Donate Now →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [It's Possible to Face Climate Horrors and Still Find Hope]( Margaret Klein Salamon, Truthout For decades, the climate movement suffered from a self-imposed "lead by hope, not fear" dictum, which hindered a real understanding of the crisis. Author David Wallace-Wells broke through that barrier with his New York Magazine article, "The Uninhabitable Earth." In his new book of that name, Wallace-Wells expands the conversation by examining likely outcomes of the climate crisis but fails to discuss a major source of hope: the sudden surge in climate activism, which his article helped catalyze. [Read the Review →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [White House Plan to Sell Saudis Nuclear Technology May Be Illegal]( Amy Goodman and Juan González, Democracy Now! House Democrats are accusing the Trump administration of moving toward transferring highly sensitive nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia in potential violation of U.S. law. Saudi Arabia is considering building as many as 16 nuclear power plants by 2030, but many critics fear the kingdom could use the technology to develop nuclear weapons and trigger a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. [Watch the Video and Read the Transcript →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [To End the HIV Crisis, We Must Address Poverty]( Maria De Jesus, The Conversation Inequities exist at every step in the HIV care continuum and individuals are being lost at each step. These inequities span HIV testing and diagnosis, linkage to appropriate HIV care, support while in care, access to antiretroviral treatment and support while on treatment and are primarily the result of barriers, such as poor access to services, poverty, food insecurity and homelessness, as also stigma and discrimination. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Effort to Streamline Free Lunch Programs Muddles Student Poverty Stats]( Jill Barshay, The Hechinger Report Guidelines introduced in 2014 allowed school districts to give every student free food if at least 40 percent of the student population was already on other forms of public assistance. But counting kids who qualify for free or reduced-price lunches had also been the way the U.S. tracked student poverty, and some worry that the rules could affect how state and federal aid is distributed. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- In Case You Missed It --------------------------------------------------------------- [My Mother Has Been Homeless for 45 Years. Why Isn't Housing a Right?]( Lacino Hamilton, Truthout My mother recently wrote to me in prison to say that she was homeless yet again. She has been denied the basic human right of housing since she was 12 years old. She wrote that letter because it is nearly impossible to survive deep poverty on one's own and although I have been incarcerated for decades, she views my release from prison as her best hope of finding stable housing. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Rahm Emanuel Wants You to Forget He's a Corrupt Failure]( Kelly Hayes, Truthout As his tenure as Chicago's mayor comes to a close, Rahm Emanuel is attempting a public relations metamorphosis into a cable news pundit and strategist for the Democratic Party ahead of the 2020 presidential elections. In a society where well-connected white men are often allowed to fail upward, we should not be surprised if his past scandals, including a cover-up of murder, are erased in the process. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- We need 81 people to make a monthly donation to Truthout. Will you be one? Just choose 'monthly' on our 30-second form. [Donate Now →]( Connect With Us [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [Donate]( Truthout is a reader-supported, nonprofit organization; donations are tax-deductible. 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