mintpressnews--2020-05-15--As US Reels From COVID-19, Trump Turns to Sanctions, War Making and Threats

Presiding over by far the worst COVID-19 outbreak in the world , the Trump administration is making it a key priority to escalate hostilities with its perceived international enemies .
Last night President Trump suggested that he might “ cut off ” all trade with the People ’ s Republic of China .
“ Now , if you did , what would happen ?
You ’ d save $ 500 billion , ” he told Fox Business , referring to the United States ’ trade deficit with the Asian nation .
Calling the action “ drastic ” would be an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ U.S. ’ largest trading partner , sending nearly three-quarters of a trillion dollars of goods and services to America yearly , according to the government ’ s own figures .
And while the U.S. would “ save ” hundreds of billions of dollars , it would also be completely without Chinese electronics , machinery , toys , textiles , plastics , and food , all of which would be nearly impossible to re-source , especially at such short notice .
The president has already imposed sanctions on Beijing and is actively looking to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has not been focused on China alone , however .
On Wednesday , the State Department released a list of states that it claims are not cooperating fully with U.S. efforts to rid the world of terror .
All of the countries on the list – Iran , the Democratic People ’ s Republic of Korea , Venezuela , Cuba , and Syria – are all currently facing U.S. sanctions , even during a pandemic .
Most of them have also been the victims of massive U.S. terror campaigns .
CIA agent Luis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up a Cuban airliner in 1976 , while the U.S. Navy shot down an Iranian passenger plane in 1989 , killing all 290 civilians onboard .
Cuba has also been the subject of countless acts of chemical and biological warfare by the superpower to its north .
Meanwhile , the U.S. government has supported at least five coup attempts in the previous 18 months in Venezuela , and in January , Trump threatened to carry out a detailed plan of war crimes against Iran .
The Trump administration has also used more covert @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the National Endowment for Democracy , the government ’ s regime change arm , has spent more than $ 30 million on activities in Mainland China and Hong Kong , while funding anti-government groups and organizations in North Korea doubled between 2018 and 2019 .
Among its strategies is to bankroll “ news ” or “ human rights ” organizations like the China Digital Times , Daily NK , and NK Watch which more established news organizations use as expert sources for stories on the countries .
On Venezuela , the NED @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is giving money to .
Sanctions , of course , are an act of war in themselves .
United Nations Rapporteur Alfred de Zayas , himself an American , estimated that Trump ’ s Venezuela sanctions have killed over 100,000 people .
“ It ’ s quite clear that these sanctions actually amount to a crime against humanity under Article 7 of the Statute of the International Criminal Court , ” he said earlier today .
Officially , humanitarian items like medicine are excluded , but in practice , this is not the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sanctioning America ’ s enemies a “ bad joke ” in the words of Phyllis Bennis , a fellow of the Institute for Policy Studies .
No country was willing to sell or even donate medical equipment to Iran to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic for fear of Trump reprisals , making the outbreak significantly worse .
In the end , the World Health Organization stepped in to supply them , one reason Washington has pulled all funding from the group .
Thus , the Trump administration has decisively chosen war over peace @ @ @ @ @ @ @ appears less able than ever to coerce the world into following its lead .
Few countries have lined up behind Trump in demonizing the WHO .
Indeed , German Foreign Minister Heiko Mass reconfirmed his country ’ s commitment to the organization , stating it is one of the best investments Germany makes .
Watching the country ’ s inept response to the virus , the direct impression given is that this is the erratic flailing of a dying empire .
“ It is almost surreal , ” said world-renowned linguist and political @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s recent actions , “ We have a freak show in Washington…the country is simply run by sociopaths , ” he added .
Feature photo | President Donald Trump meets with senior military leaders and members of his national security team in the Cabinet Room of the White House , May 9 , 2020 , in Washington .
Patrick Semansky | AP Alan MacLeod is a Staff Writer for MintPress News .
After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books : Bad News From Venezuela : Twenty Years of Fake News @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Age : Still Manufacturing Consent .
He has also contributed to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting , The Guardian , Salon , The Grayzone , Jacobin Magazine , Common Dreams the American Herald Tribune and The Canary .

Presiding over by far the worst COVID-19 outbreak in the world, the Trump administration is making it a key priority to escalate hostilities with its perceived international enemies. Last night President Trump suggested that he might “cut off” all trade with the People’s Republic of China. “Now, if you did, what would happen? You’d save $500 billion,” he told Fox Business, referring to the United States’ trade deficit with the Asian nation. Calling the action “drastic” would be an understatement; China is by far the U.S.’ largest trading partner, sending nearly three-quarters of a trillion dollars of goods and services to America yearly, according to the government’s own figures. And while the U.S. would “save” hundreds of billions of dollars, it would also be completely without Chinese electronics, machinery, toys, textiles, plastics, and food, all of which would be nearly impossible to re-source, especially at such short notice. The president has already imposed sanctions on Beijing and is actively looking to extend them.
Washington’s ire has not been focused on China alone, however. On Wednesday, the State Department released a list of states that it claims are not cooperating fully with U.S. efforts to rid the world of terror. All of the countries on the list – Iran, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Venezuela, Cuba, and Syria – are all currently facing U.S. sanctions, even during a pandemic. Most of them have also been the victims of massive U.S. terror campaigns. CIA agent Luis Posada Carriles, for example, blew up a Cuban airliner in 1976, while the U.S. Navy shot down an Iranian passenger plane in 1989, killing all 290 civilians onboard. Cuba has also been the subject of countless acts of chemical and biological warfare by the superpower to its north. Meanwhile, the U.S. government has supported at least five coup attempts in the previous 18 months in Venezuela, and in January, Trump threatened to carry out a detailed plan of war crimes against Iran.
The Trump administration has also used more covert means of regime change. Since 2016, the National Endowment for Democracy, the government’s regime change arm, has spent more than $30 million on activities in Mainland China and Hong Kong, while funding anti-government groups and organizations in North Korea doubled between 2018 and 2019. Among its strategies is to bankroll “news” or “human rights” organizations like the China Digital Times, Daily NK, and NK Watch which more established news organizations use as expert sources for stories on the countries. On Venezuela, the NED virtually never even discloses the organizations it is giving money to.
Sanctions, of course, are an act of war in themselves. United Nations Rapporteur Alfred de Zayas, himself an American, estimated that Trump’s Venezuela sanctions have killed over 100,000 people. “It’s quite clear that these sanctions actually amount to a crime against humanity under Article 7 of the Statute of the International Criminal Court,” he said earlier today. Officially, humanitarian items like medicine are excluded, but in practice, this is not the case, making the humanitarian case for sanctioning America’s enemies a “bad joke” in the words of Phyllis Bennis, a fellow of the Institute for Policy Studies. No country was willing to sell or even donate medical equipment to Iran to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic for fear of Trump reprisals, making the outbreak significantly worse. In the end, the World Health Organization stepped in to supply them, one reason Washington has pulled all funding from the group.
Thus, the Trump administration has decisively chosen war over peace and conflict over cooperation. Yet it appears less able than ever to coerce the world into following its lead. Few countries have lined up behind Trump in demonizing the WHO. Indeed, German Foreign Minister Heiko Mass reconfirmed his country’s commitment to the organization, stating it is one of the best investments Germany makes. Watching the country’s inept response to the virus, the direct impression given is that this is the erratic flailing of a dying empire. “It is almost surreal,” said world-renowned linguist and political philosopher Noam Chomsky on watching Trump’s recent actions, “We have a freak show in Washington…the country is simply run by sociopaths,” he added.
Feature photo | President Donald Trump meets with senior military leaders and members of his national security team in the Cabinet Room of the White House, May 9, 2020, in Washington. Patrick Semansky | AP
Alan MacLeod is a Staff Writer for MintPress News. After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books: Bad News From Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent. He has also contributed to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, The Guardian, Salon, The Grayzone, Jacobin Magazine, Common Dreams the American Herald Tribune and The Canary.


mintpressnews--2020-05-15--Massachusetts Contact Tracing Program Handed to Clinton-Linked NGO with Questionable Past

Last week , the State of Massachusetts began implementing a contact tracing program in partnership with a Boston-based organization with ties to the biggest names in big pharma , the George Soros ’ Open Society and the Clinton Foundation .
Those ties go back decades and include U.S. intelligence assets and regime-change operations in Haiti including Operation Uphold Democracy , in which American troops invaded the Caribbean nation to clean up after the CIA-sponsored coup against Jean-Bertrand Aristide .
In April , Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker announced the partnership , called the COVID-19 Community Tracing Collaborative , with Partners in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ organization with highly questionable patronage and an even more dubious history .
The program will be led by PIH ’ s chief medical officer , Dr. Joia Mukherjee , who described the goals of the contact tracing initiative as well as some of the authorities granted to PIH by the state of Massachusetts to NPR , such as making assessments about whether families have “ the ability , the space , the food needed , the employment , the money to safely quarantine ” and assigning social service assistants in case they fail @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disturbing implications are clear .
But , just in case it escaped any NPR listeners , Dr. Mukherjee made it abundantly clear when she tried to assuage the concerns of a Massachusetts contact tracer about parents who might be “ infecting their children.
” Mukherjee assures listeners that PIH will be there to help families who “ can not separate themselves from their children easily “ .
The Massachusetts state website has published a guide and overview of the program , containing cursory insight about the protocols contact tracers and contacted homes are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out of the 1985 dystopian sci-fi thriller “ Brazil.
” The process begins with a phone call in which you are asked for “ a list of all of the people you were within six feet of during the two days before you had symptoms.
” It then states that contacted people are free to report anyone else they believe should have a visit from the PIH , asking for their phone numbers “ so they can be called and cared for.
” But who is Partners in Health , besides a Boston-based @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by a few “ ordinary people with an extraordinary ambition ” ?
A look into its background uncovers a dark history intricately linked to the 1994 American invasion of Haiti called “ Operation Uphold Democracy , ” an operation Mintpress touched on in coverage of the attempted deportation of CIA-backed war criminal , Emmanuel “ Toto ” Constant .
In a book written by a former United States Army Military Intelligence lieutenant about the NGO ’ s origins , the author relates that then 23-year Paul Farmer – one of the five founders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ considered himself a champion of human rights.
” The telling passage describes how the young doctor-to-be challenges a U.S. Army captain about the release of a local sheriff named Nerva Juste .
Farmer wanted Juste in U.S. custody , arguing that “ preventative detention ” was necessary in a country that had “ no functioning legal system.
” As Farmer was somehow advising U.S. military personnel on proper strategy , his future co-founder was also in Haiti and barley 18 years of age .
Ophelia Dahl , the daughter of renowned British novelist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ between Churchill and FDR , had arrived in Haiti as a “ volunteer working with an ophthalmic organization with some handicapped children in Port au Prince.
” Dahl eventually met Farmer and later formed PIH with their other very “ ordinary ” founding partners : Jim Yong Kim , the twelfth president of the World Bank , Tom White , Boston ’ s “ greatest philanthropist ” and Todd McCormack , corporate VP of a “ sports , fashion and events powerhouse ” that would later be purchased by business magnate Ari Emanuel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ brothers , Rahm and Ezequiel “ Zeke ” Emanuel are , of course , intimately tied to the Clintons , with Rahm serving in the same White House as Hillary Clinton under Barack Obama and Zeke Emanuel , a medical anthropologist just like Paul Farmer , widely considered to be the “ architect ” of the Affordable Care Act ( ACA ) .
The Clinton nexus appears to be strong at PIH as evidenced by one of their most well-known board members : Chelsea Clinton .
The “ ophthalmic organization ” Dahl cites @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sixth bishop of Upper South Carolina of the ( EDUSC ) , Rev .
William A. Beckham , in partnership with local Haitian cleric , Father Fritz Lafontant .
Farmer and Dahl met at one of the NGO ’ s many healthcare-centered missions that had gotten underway just two years earlier .
The Episcopal church organized “ medical trips ” to the remote village of Cange in Haiti and began financing engineering projects in the community to provide clean water .
Later , a Clemson University program called CEDC ( Clemson Engineers For @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and continues to work in concert with them and Partners in Health after its founding in 1987 .
The relationship between Farmer and the Clinton Foundation spans decades .
PIH has “ worked with the Clinton Giustra Enterprise Partnership ( CGEP ) to stimulate entrepreneurship for smallholder farmers in Haiti , ” in addition to similar projects “ throughout Africa , from Liberia to Rwanda.
” The organization has even built clinics on the Island in partnership with the Clinton Global Initiative .
With such an intimate connection revolving around the Clinton Foundation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ come as no surprise that PIH ’ s biggest donors and partners feature some of the largest pharmaceutical corporations currently set to profit from the COVID-19 pandemic , including Eli Lilly and Co. , Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer among many more .
Also found on the list of foundation partners , both public and private , are the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation , the Inter-American Development Bank , USAID , WHO , GE , IBM and a host of others .
The George Soros ’ s Open Society Institute donated $ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ community-based program ” in Africa back in 2007 and in 2014 , Soros donated another $ 4 million to PIH to build an Ebola-treatment center in Liberia , Africa .
The Liberian project was anchored by a “ coalition ” put together by PIH-founder , Jim Yong Kim , which included Director-General of the WHO , Margaret Chan , CDC Director Tom Frieden and Francis Collins , Director of the National Institute for Health , who claimed to have been motivated to start the project by a collective dismay over “ the global @ @ @ @ @ @ @ being rolled out in Massachusetts by PIH is , logically , informed by the many years the organization has been practicing their healthcare engagement methods throughout the world , and in particular Haiti and developing African nations .
Following a pattern used when the first policing innovations were tested out by U.S. military forces in the Philippines at the turn of the twentieth century , social control mechanisms are now being imported stateside after being thoroughly tested elsewhere .
PIH , and founder Paul Farmer in particular , understand exactly how to bring @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he claims PIH has done in places like Guinea , Liberia , and Sierra Leone .
Oddly , in a post published on the Open Society website , Farmer appears to be opposed to quarantine , conceding that doing so “ slows the flow of food and labor ” and can “ touch off longer , more complex health crises.
” While he is referring here to African farmers , the same principle surely holds for even the most advanced economies like the United States .
Paul Farmer is a complex fellow .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Mountains Beyond Mountains , ” claims the Farmer not only chided a U.S. military captain about his operational choices , but also pointed out that he found it unacceptable that “ a high official of the junta ” had received training at the infamous School of the Americas .
The author never makes clear what context Farmer was speaking in .

Last week, the State of Massachusetts began implementing a contact tracing program in partnership with a Boston-based organization with ties to the biggest names in big pharma, the George Soros’ Open Society and the Clinton Foundation. Those ties go back decades and include U.S. intelligence assets and regime-change operations in Haiti including Operation Uphold Democracy, in which American troops invaded the Caribbean nation to clean up after the CIA-sponsored coup against Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
In April, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker announced the partnership, called the COVID-19 Community Tracing Collaborative, with Partners in Health (PIH), a non-profit organization with highly questionable patronage and an even more dubious history.
The program will be led by PIH’s chief medical officer, Dr. Joia Mukherjee, who described the goals of the contact tracing initiative as well as some of the authorities granted to PIH by the state of Massachusetts to NPR, such as making assessments about whether families have “the ability, the space, the food needed, the employment, the money to safely quarantine” and assigning social service assistants in case they fail to meet the necessary criteria.
The disturbing implications are clear. But, just in case it escaped any NPR listeners, Dr. Mukherjee made it abundantly clear when she tried to assuage the concerns of a Massachusetts contact tracer about parents who might be “infecting their children.” Mukherjee assures listeners that PIH will be there to help families who “cannot separate themselves from their children easily“.
The Massachusetts state website has published a guide and overview of the program, containing cursory insight about the protocols contact tracers and contacted homes are to follow and it reads like something out of the 1985 dystopian sci-fi thriller “Brazil.”
The process begins with a phone call in which you are asked for “a list of all of the people you were within six feet of during the two days before you had symptoms.” It then states that contacted people are free to report anyone else they believe should have a visit from the PIH, asking for their phone numbers “so they can be called and cared for.”
But who is Partners in Health, besides a Boston-based 501(c)3 non-profit founded by a few “ordinary people with an extraordinary ambition”? A look into its background uncovers a dark history intricately linked to the 1994 American invasion of Haiti called “Operation Uphold Democracy,” an operation Mintpress touched on in coverage of the attempted deportation of CIA-backed war criminal, Emmanuel “Toto” Constant.
Unsavory links to unsavory people
In a book written by a former United States Army Military Intelligence lieutenant about the NGO’s origins, the author relates that then 23-year Paul Farmer – one of the five founders of Partners in Health – “clearly considered himself a champion of human rights.” The telling passage describes how the young doctor-to-be challenges a U.S. Army captain about the release of a local sheriff named Nerva Juste.
Farmer wanted Juste in U.S. custody, arguing that “preventative detention” was necessary in a country that had “no functioning legal system.” As Farmer was somehow advising U.S. military personnel on proper strategy, his future co-founder was also in Haiti and barley 18 years of age.
Ophelia Dahl, the daughter of renowned British novelist and intelligence officer serving as a liaison between Churchill and FDR, had arrived in Haiti as a “volunteer working with an ophthalmic organization with some handicapped children in Port au Prince.” Dahl eventually met Farmer and later formed PIH with their other very “ordinary” founding partners: Jim Yong Kim, the twelfth president of the World Bank, Tom White, Boston’s “greatest philanthropist” and Todd McCormack, corporate VP of a “sports, fashion and events powerhouse” that would later be purchased by business magnate Ari Emanuel in 2014.
Emanuel’s two brothers, Rahm and Ezequiel “Zeke” Emanuel are, of course, intimately tied to the Clintons, with Rahm serving in the same White House as Hillary Clinton under Barack Obama and Zeke Emanuel, a medical anthropologist just like Paul Farmer, widely considered to be the “architect” of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The Clinton nexus appears to be strong at PIH as evidenced by one of their most well-known board members: Chelsea Clinton.
The “ophthalmic organization” Dahl cites was an American NGO run by the sixth bishop of Upper South Carolina of the (EDUSC), Rev. William A. Beckham, in partnership with local Haitian cleric, Father Fritz Lafontant. Farmer and Dahl met at one of the NGO’s many healthcare-centered missions that had gotten underway just two years earlier.
The Episcopal church organized “medical trips” to the remote village of Cange in Haiti and began financing engineering projects in the community to provide clean water. Later, a Clemson University program called CEDC (Clemson Engineers For Developing Countries) partnered with the EDUSC and continues to work in concert with them and Partners in Health after its founding in 1987.
Big pharma on board
The relationship between Farmer and the Clinton Foundation spans decades. PIH has “worked with the Clinton Giustra Enterprise Partnership (CGEP) to stimulate entrepreneurship for smallholder farmers in Haiti,” in addition to similar projects “throughout Africa, from Liberia to Rwanda.” The organization has even built clinics on the Island in partnership with the Clinton Global Initiative.
With such an intimate connection revolving around the Clinton Foundation’s healthcare projects, it should come as no surprise that PIH’s biggest donors and partners feature some of the largest pharmaceutical corporations currently set to profit from the COVID-19 pandemic, including Eli Lilly and Co., Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer among many more.
Also found on the list of foundation partners, both public and private, are the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Inter-American Development Bank, USAID, WHO, GE, IBM and a host of others.
The George Soros’s Open Society Institute donated $3 million to PIH for a “community-based program” in Africa back in 2007 and in 2014, Soros donated another $4 million to PIH to build an Ebola-treatment center in Liberia, Africa. The Liberian project was anchored by a “coalition” put together by PIH-founder, Jim Yong Kim, which included Director-General of the WHO, Margaret Chan, CDC Director Tom Frieden and Francis Collins, Director of the National Institute for Health, who claimed to have been motivated to start the project by a collective dismay over “the global response“.
Taking Boston Harbor
The contact tracing program being rolled out in Massachusetts by PIH is, logically, informed by the many years the organization has been practicing their healthcare engagement methods throughout the world, and in particular Haiti and developing African nations. Following a pattern used when the first policing innovations were tested out by U.S. military forces in the Philippines at the turn of the twentieth century, social control mechanisms are now being imported stateside after being thoroughly tested elsewhere.
PIH, and founder Paul Farmer in particular, understand exactly how to bring about “sustainable health systems” as he claims PIH has done in places like Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Oddly, in a post published on the Open Society website, Farmer appears to be opposed to quarantine, conceding that doing so “slows the flow of food and labor” and can “touch off longer, more complex health crises.” While he is referring here to African farmers, the same principle surely holds for even the most advanced economies like the United States.
Paul Farmer is a complex fellow. Kidder, in his PIH biopic, “Mountains Beyond Mountains,” claims the Farmer not only chided a U.S. military captain about his operational choices, but also pointed out that he found it unacceptable that “a high official of the junta” had received training at the infamous School of the Americas. The author never makes clear what context Farmer was speaking in.
Feature photo | Graphic by Antonio Cabrera
Raul Diego is a MintPress News Staff Writer, independent photojournalist, researcher, writer and documentary filmmaker.