[thettctransitfanatic]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1974566163893071942

https://twitter.com/x/status/1974785284123545942

https://twitter.com/x/status/1974706610120405378

https://twitter.com/x/status/1974475427482943887

https://twitter.com/x/status/1974606405446598960

 

[thettctransitfanatic]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1974643176943374443

https://twitter.com/x/status/1974621795560169722

https://twitter.com/x/status/1974639836696109308

 

[Monarch Butterfly]

The world is watching.

See https://monitor.civicus.org/watchlist-july-2025/

USA'S CIVIC SPACE RATING: NARROWED​

The USA remains on the Watchlist as the assault on civic freedoms continues. The first six months of President Donald Trump’s second term exhibited clear signs of democratic backsliding: power consolidated in the executive, loyalists installed across institutions, independent media stifled, dissent criminalised and marginalised groups targeted.

Amid an environment of intense political polarisation, tensions escalated following an incident of political violence against lawmakers from the Democratic Party. On 14 June 2025, an armed assailant in Minnesota shot and killed House Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, both of whom had been outspoken supporters of social justice and reproductive rights. In a separate but closely connected incident, the same armed man stalked and shot State Senator John Hoffman and his wife and attempted to shoot their daughter. According to the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), politically motivated attacks against officials have surged, nearly tripling over the past five years compared to the previous 25 years combined.

The crackdown on peaceful assembly has intensified. Since early June 2025, large-scale peaceful protests have taken place across the country in response to sweeping Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) unlawful tactics, including raids, on undocumented immigrants. Between 6 and 10 June, over 350 protesters have reportedly been arrested in five cities (Los Angeles, San Francisco, Austin, New York, Dallas).

On 7 June, President Trump ordered the deployment of 700 Marines and 2,000 National Guard personnel in Los Angeles, representing an alarming escalation of militarisation and federal overreach against migrant communities and peaceful protesters. The 40-day deployment raised concerns over the use of military forces to police protests and to support ICE operations. It also reflects the deepening conflicts between federal immigration policy and practice and sanctuary jurisdictions seeking to shield migrant communities from aggressive deportation tactics. The level of confrontation between protesters and law enforcement is the most severe since the peak of the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020.

Journalists covering protests have been targeted. On 9 June, police officers in Los Angeles shot journalist Lauren Tomasi with a rubber bullet while she reported on anti-ICE protests in the city. Tomasi, a US correspondent for Australia’s 9News, sustained an injury to her leg. Similar cases of physical attacks against journalists covering protests in Los Angeles have also been recorded.

On 14 June, Doraville police arrested Mario Guevara, a Salvadoran journalist, during “No Kings” massive and peaceful protests against President Donald Trump in Georgia. Guevara, identified as a member of the press, was livestreaming the demonstration. Authorities charged him with obstruction, unlawful assembly, and walking on a roadway. Following his arrest, Guevara was transferred to ICE custody, despite holding legal residence status. At the time of writing, he remains detained.

Press freedom faces mounting pressure under the Trump administration, with judicial harassment and drastic funding cuts targeting independent media. For example, on 18 July 2025, Congress voted to cut nearly USD 1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, threatening PBS, NPR and, critically, local stations. The move, the first successful presidentia request to cancel pre-approved funding in nearly three decades, signals serious concerns over media pluralism.

The bill also includes rolling back billions of dollars in previously approved foreign aid, slashing humanitarian, development and global health programmes, as well as support for the United Nations and its agencies.

Further curtailing freedom of association, recent state legislation would threaten the operational capacity of civil society. Since April 2025, Florida, Nebraska, and Arkansas have passed laws aimed at perceived foreign influence—particularly from China—targeting nonprofits. According to the International Centre for Not-For-Profit Law (ICNL), the new wave of state bills introduces broader provisions, including “foreign influence registration schemes and restrictions on charitable solicitation, which could have significant—and often unintended—impacts on charitable activity.”For example, Nebraska’s Foreign Agent And Terrorist Agent Registration Act (Legislative Bill 644), enacted in June 2025 and effective in October 2025, imposes sweeping registration requirements for any “agent” of a “foreign principal” from designated foreign adversaries under U.S. federal code (China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela).

Additionally, on 4 July, President Donald Trump officially signed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (H.R.1), a 900-page tax package legislation with implications for the nonprofit sector. According to the National Council of Nonprofits, some provisions are projected to reduce nonprofit funding by an estimated USD 81 billion over the next decade, impeding the ability of civil society organisations to deliver essential services, particularly in underserved communities.

Authorities have intensified crackdowns on those expressing solidarity with Palestinian rights. Foreign-born students and activists continue to face disproportionate reprisals, with cases such as the ongoing prosecution of Mahmoud Khalil, a student activist recently released on bail, illustrating the growing criminalisation of solidarity actions. The targeting of Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories since 1967, through illegitimate sanctions further underscores a broader attempt to silence international voices exposing the genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

The USA scores 62/100 or "NARROWED". Canada scores 82/100 or "OPEN".

 

[Cobra]

Trump returns to ‘51st state’ rhetoric in speech to U.S. military officials
https://archive.ph/sfS7Z#selection-3737.26-3737.101

"Trump told the assembly that “Canada called” a few weeks ago to ask to be part of the missile defence shield.
Trump said he replied that Canada should join the United States to get it for free.
Trump also claimed Canada is having a hard time because tariffs are bringing business to the United States."

Anyone else fed up with Trump insulting, taunting and threatening Canada on an almost daily basis without seeing any rebuttal from our Prime Minister. Mark Carney has been PM for over six months now and not once has he pushed back against Trumps nonsense. Trump keeps saying "Canada wants to be part of my Golden Dome". There is no way this can be true. We would be total idiots to commit to Trumps fantasy project. Why hasn't Carney spoken out and said thanks but no thanks - we will take a pass on the Golden Dome.

I have come to the conclusion that Carney is every bit as useless as Trudeau. He's Justin Trudeau with a Harvard degree. Trump boasted that "Canada is having a hard time because tariffs are bringing business to the United States". Trump is making no secret that his plan is to destroy our economy, and Carney just remains tightlipped as Canada bleeds out. This is not normal. Meanwhile Trump pledged $20 billion to bail out Argentina a country that is insignificant in importance to the United States compared to Canada.

He's serious and the sooner we wake up to this and stop acting that it's all a giant act the better we can prepared to counter that. That Golden Dome gets built with our without our approval, they'll settle in the north and extract resources whether we like it or not. I'm supportive of the massive defense spending as long as it's aimed to defend our territory, not helping NATO or the US to project power overseas.

It will be telling if we buy the F35 and keep buying American - that will be a clue that the dinosaurs in power will have utterly failed us.

 

[Admiral Beez]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1974643176943374443

https://twitter.com/x/status/1974621795560169722

https://twitter.com/x/status/1974639836696109308

To be fair, if you’re a totalitarian state, you fish where the fish are. I wonder how many people illegally residing in Canada use in our shelters? I guess we’ll never know.

 

[Monarch Butterfly]

Why experts say Trump is unlikely to win the Nobel Peace Prize this year​

From https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/why-experts-say-trump-is-unlikely-to-win-the-nobel-peace-prize-this-year

U.S. President Donald Trump’s bid to win the Nobel Peace Prize has drawn added attention to the annual guessing game over who its next laureate will be.

Longtime Nobel watchers say Trump’s prospects remain remote despite a flurry of high-profile nominations and some notable foreign policy interventions for which he has taken personal credit.

Experts say the Norwegian Nobel Committee typically focuses on the durability of peace, the promotion of international fraternity and the quiet work of institutions that strengthen those goals. Trump’s own record might even work against him, they said, citing his apparent disdain for multilateral institutions and his disregard for global climate change concerns.

Still, the U.S. leader has repeatedly sought the Nobel spotlight since his first term, most recently telling United Nations delegates late last month “everyone says that I should get the Nobel Peace Prize.”

A person cannot nominate themselves.

Trump’s boasts and previous high-profile nominations make him the blockbuster name on the list of bookmakers’ favorites. But it’s unclear whether his name comes up in conversation when the five-member Nobel committee, appointed by Norway’s parliament, meets behind closed doors.

Trump has been nominated several times by people within the U.S. as well as politicians abroad since 2018. His name also was put forth in December by U.S. Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY), her office said in a statement, for his brokering of the Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel and several Arab states in 2020.

Nominations made this year from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Pakistan’s government occurred after the Feb. 1 deadline for the 2025 award.

Trump has said repeatedly that he “deserves” the prize and claims to have “ended seven wars.” On Tuesday, he teased the possibility of ending an eighth war if Israel and Hamas agree to his peace plan aimed at concluding the nearly two-year war in Gaza.

“Nobody’s ever done that,” he told a gathering of military leaders at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia. “Will you get the Nobel Prize? Absolutely not. They’ll give it to some guy that didn’t do a damn thing.”

Nobel veterans say the committee prioritizes sustained, multilateral efforts over quick diplomatic wins. Theo Zenou, a historian and research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, said Trump’s efforts have not yet been proven to be long-lasting.

“There’s a huge difference between getting fighting to stop in the short-term and resolving the root causes of the conflict,” Zenou said.

Zenou also highlighted Trump’s dismissive stance on climate change as out-of-step with what many, including the Nobel committee, see as the planet’s greatest long-term peace challenge.

“I don’t think they would award the most prestigious prize in the world to someone who does not believe in climate change,” Zenou said. “When you look at previous winners who have been bridge-builders, embodied international cooperation and reconciliation: These are not words we associate with Donald Trump.”

The Nobel committee was met with fierce criticism in 2009 for giving then-U.S. President Barack Obama the prize barely nine months into his first term. Many argued Obama had not been in office long enough to have an impact worthy of the Nobel.

And Trump’s own outspokenness about possibly winning the award might work against him: The committee won’t want to be seen as caving in to political pressure, said Nina Græger, director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo.

Trump’s prospects for the prize this year are “a long shot,” she said. “His rhetoric does not point in a peaceful perspective.”

The Nobel announcements begin Monday with the medicine prize. They continue with the physics prize on Tuesday, chemistry on Wednesday and literature on Thursday. The Nobel Peace Prize will be announced Friday and the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences on Oct. 13.

 

[PinkLucy]

It takes experts to explain why a guy who has fishing boats blown up and sends troops in to peaceful cities in his own country won’t get a peace prize?

 

[Monarch Butterfly]

It takes experts to explain why a guy who has fishing boats blown up and sends troops in to peaceful cities in his own country won’t get a peace prize?

That's more like "legalize". However, you are correct, for Donald Trump, we have to explain to him in Grade 8 (or lower) American English. However, he'll still not comprehend.

 

[Monarch Butterfly]

Occupy Democrats

BREAKING: Pope Leo XIV throws MAGA world into a Sunday rage by urging every Catholic in the world to help and care for immigrants just days after slamming Donald Trump's cruel policies. This pope...

www.facebook.com

BREAKING: Pope Leo XIV throws MAGA world into a Sunday rage by urging every Catholic in the world to help and care for immigrants just days after slamming Donald Trump's cruel policies.
This pope REALLY doesn't care about ruffling right-wing feathers...
Leo called on Catholics to "open our arms and hearts to them, welcoming them as brothers and sisters, and being for them a presence of consolation and hope."
The remarks were delivered to a crowd of thousands who were inside St. Peter's Square at the Vatican for Sunday Mass. It was part of event organized for migrants which attracted some 10,000 pilgrims from 95 countries. The Church’s message on immigration is clearly resounding around the world.
The pope stated that migrants cannot be treated with "the coldness of indifference or the stigma of discrimination."
Leo went on to call for "a new missionary age" in which the church will offer "hospitality and welcome, compassion and solidarity" to all of those migrants who are fleeing from violence or searching for a safe new home for themselves or the families.
"In the communities of ancient Christian tradition, such as those of the West, the presence of many brothers and sisters from the world's South should be welcomed as an opportunity, through an exchange that renews the face of the Church," he said.
While he didn’t mention the United States or Donald Trump specifically, taken in the context of his past remarks it’s clear who and what he was pushing back against today. Last week, he enraged MAGA supporters by espousing the true teachings of Jesus Christ.
“Someone who says, ‘I’m against abortion,’ but says ‘I’m in favor of the death penalty,’ is not really pro-life,” the pope told reporters. “Someone who says that, ‘I’m against abortion but I’m in agreement with the inhuman treatment of immigrants who are in the United States,’ I don’t know if that’s pro-life."
Republicans have quickly come to despise Pope Leo because he dispels the lie that they tell themselves: They are not “Christian” in any meaningful sense of the word. They have draped themselves in Christian aesthetics and signifiers while adopting a cruel, fascist worldview that is antithetical to the love, compassion, and selflessness taught by Christ. Pope Leo sees right through them.
Please like and share!

 

[Full Metal Junkie]

This is insane. The cancer is spreading.

 

[Monarch Butterfly]

This is insane. The cancer is spreading.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1974871209985638597

Leo called on Catholics to "open our arms and hearts to them, welcoming them as brothers and sisters, and being for them a presence of consolation and hope."

The remarks were delivered to a crowd of thousands who were inside St. Peter's Square at the Vatican for Sunday Mass. It was part of event organized for migrants which attracted some 10,000 pilgrims from 95 countries. The Church’s message on immigration is clearly resounding around the world.

The pope stated that migrants cannot be treated with "the coldness of indifference or the stigma of discrimination."

Leo went on to call for "a new missionary age" in which the church will offer "hospitality and welcome, compassion and solidarity" to all of those migrants who are fleeing from violence or searching for a safe new home for themselves or the families.

"In the communities of ancient Christian tradition, such as those of the West, the presence of many brothers and sisters from the world's South should be welcomed as an opportunity, through an exchange that renews the face of the Church," he said.

While he didn’t mention the United States or Donald Trump specifically, taken in the context of his past remarks it’s clear who and what he was pushing back against today. Last week, he enraged MAGA supporters by espousing the true teachings of Jesus Christ.

“Someone who says, ‘I’m against abortion,’ but says ‘I’m in favor of the death penalty,’ is not really pro-life,” the pope told reporters. “Someone who says that, ‘I’m against abortion but I’m in agreement with the inhuman treatment of immigrants who are in the United States,’ I don’t know if that’s pro-life."

Republicans have quickly come to despise Pope Leo because he dispels the lie that they tell themselves: They are not “Christian” in any meaningful sense of the word. They have draped themselves in Christian aesthetics and signifiers while adopting a cruel, fascist worldview that is antithetical to the love, compassion, and selflessness taught by Christ. Pope Leo sees right through them.

 

[lenaitch]

This is insane. The cancer is spreading.

How is that "insane"; and what is spreading (in spite of the Youtuber's statement)? We have the right of peaceful expression, and that looked about as peaceful as they come. Those type of quiet, sidewalk sign holding demonstrations have been going on for years.

A lot of people are anti-abortion, and good for them for having their opinion. I don't think it should be a matter for the State; they apparently do.

 

[Full Metal Junkie]

How is that "insane"; and what is spreading (in spite of the Youtuber's statement)? We have the right of peaceful expression, and that looked about as peaceful as they come. Those type of quiet, sidewalk sign holding demonstrations have been going on for years.

A lot of people are anti-abortion, and good for them for having their opinion. I don't think it should be a matter for the State; they apparently do.

So these peaceful protestors looked at the Trump-stuffed US Supreme Court banning abortions, looked at teenage rape victims being forced to carry their pregnancies to term, looked at women dying of complications because doctors refused to perform an emergency life-saving abortion, they looked at all that and said: "Yes, we want some of that in Canada."

This is the insane part. Not the fact theat there is a peaceful rally.

 

[adma]

So these peaceful protestors looked at the Trump-stuffed US Supreme Court banning abortions, looked at teenage rape victims being forced to carry their pregnancies to term, looked at women dying of complications because doctors refused to perform an emergency life-saving abortion, they looked at all that and said: "Yes, we want some of that in Canada."

This is the insane part. Not the fact theat there is a peaceful rally.

Except that this is nothing new; and nobody should or would expect the aborted-fetus-placard-wielders to change their tune out of repulsion at Trump's policies.

Incidently, re Pope Leo: ideology aside, it seems that through being against the grain of the tinpot regime of the land from which he came, he's becoming to the USA what JPII was to Poland.

 

[UtakataNoAnnex]

How is that "insane"; and what is spreading (in spite of the Youtuber's statement)? We have the right of peaceful expression, and that looked about as peaceful as they come. Those type of quiet, sidewalk sign holding demonstrations have been going on for years.

A lot of people are anti-abortion, and good for them for having their opinion. I don't think it should be a matter for the State; they apparently do.

...as long as their views do not become public policy. Again, I'll point to State side as an example of why that's a bad thing...as well as, to bring this back on subject.