With two days of grueling confirmation hearings in the books, it's time for Retired Marine General James "Mad Dog" Mattis, Trump's pick for Secretary of Defense, to field some questions. In his prepared remarks, Mattis is expected to emphasize the importance of international alliances and bringing "business reforms to the Department of Defense by instilling budget discipline." Per The Hill:
The leader of the French National Front Marine Le Pen, who according to a recent poll, has regained the lead in the first round vote of this year's French presidential election as the momentum of her main challenger Fillon has fizzled, is in New York on an unannounced visit less than four months before the election, according to a senior campaign official cited by Bloomberg. "Le Pen, who leads in the latest opinion poll for the presidency, is making a private visit to New York, her campaign chief of staff, David Rachline, said in a text-message exchange.
A bipartisan group of US senators have introduced legislation to impose sweeping new sanctions against Russia over its alleged attempts to interfere in the 2016 US presidential election. Among the bill’s co-sponsors are warmongering Republican Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham, both critics of the President-elect Donald Trump. Five Democrats and five Republicans unveiled the new sanctions this week just days after the intelligence community released a declassified version of a report accusing Russia of meddling in the election.
Submitted by Glenn Greenwald via The Intercept,
Submitted by Nick Bernabe via TheAntiMedia.org,
Long-simmering social tensions in Mexico are threatening to boil over as failing neoliberal reforms to the country’s formerly nationalized gas sector are compounded by open corruption, stagnant standards of living, and rampant inflation.