Politics

New legislation is being introduced in the US House of Representatives which, if passed, will create a real life “Ministry of Truth” as depicted in George Orwell’s 1984 novel.  The H.R. 5181 bill aims to create a department responsible for creating U.S. propaganda in order to counter efforts by Russia and China’s spread of disinformation. H.R. 5181, or the Countering Information Warfare Act of 2016, is sponsored by Representative Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) who co-authored the bill with Congressman Ted Lieu (D-CA).

Via The Hayride,

HB 1035, a bill by Rep. Valarie Hodges that would have mandated that schoolchildren in Louisiana be taught the Declaration of Independence, sailed through the House Education Committee with a 6-2 vote. But Wednesday, when the bill reached the floor of the House, it had a different fate – amid a torrent of squabbling, Hodges returned the bill to the calendar and it’s likely finished for the session.

Turkey have sent its troops across the Syrian border and advanced 700 meters towards Aleppo, increasing chances of a war with Russia.  Russia have previously pledged to defend Kurdish militia in Syria in the event of a Turkish invasion, and so the military advancement by Turkish soldiers into Syria may trigger a larger war between the two countries. “Russia will respond to the invasion. It goes about not only the Kurds – Russia will defend the territorial integrity of Syria,” the head of the Syrian Kurdistan in Moscow, Rodi Osman, told Bloomberg back in February.

Tony Blair has issued a scathing counter-attack on those who are calling for his arrest and demanding that he face a war crimes trial for the war in Iraq.  The former British Prime Minister told the BBC that he might reject the finding of the Chilcot inquiry if it attempts to suggest he lied to the British public in the build-up to the 2003 Iraq war. Independent.co.uk reports: Claiming he hasn’t seen a copy of the report the former Prime Minister added that he “looks forward” to participating in a debate about its findings. “Make no mistake about that,” Mr Blair said.

Donald Trump has privately admitted that his campaign have completely run out of money, and has called an urgent meeting with Senate Republicans to ask for additional funding.  Stunned Republican officials have been asked by the Trump campaign for additional finance in order to fight attacks from Hillary Clinton in the next couple of months, saying that they have no money to be able to run television ads.