USA -"The Trump Goebels": Meet Steve Bannon, Trump’s front man to fight all wars | Euronews

Steve Bannon

Furor and global protests over an executive order curbing immigration? Just some whiners who can’t get over the fact that Donald Trump is president. News media complaining about access and fake news? They should keep their mouth shut and “just listen for a while”. No mentioning of Jews in a statement on Holocaust Remembrance Day? No regrets.

The reactions emanating from the White House to the latest public controversies bear the fingerprints of a man who is emerging as the most important power centre inside Trump’s inner circle (with the possible exception of son-in-law Jared Kushner): Steve Bannon, top political advisor and former chairman of Breitbart News, an outlet that spreads white supremacist views and peddles racist and misogynist conspiracy theories.

Like pre-November Trump, Bannon has never been elected to office or gained governing experience. Before moving into Trump’s orbit he had been a naval officer, investment banker, minor Hollywood player, and political impresario whom Bloomberg Politics back in 2015 called “the most dangerous political operative in America”.

In the early stages of the 2016 presidential campaign, Bannon was instrumental in bringing down Jeb Bush and later Hillary Clinton by feeding information of alleged financial shenanigans to mainstream news media which gave those stories an aura of reliability – and contributed to constant negative headlines about the Clinton Foundation, for example.

After the election, Bannon’s appointment as a key Trump advisor and strategist with office space in the White House caused an uproar among Democrats and in the media. Countless Breitbart articles were quoted as proof that Bannon is anti-Semitic, anti-minority or anti-women. Bannon and Trump could not care less.

Last Friday, another outcry: Trump, reorganising the National Security Council, the top inter-agency group advising the president on national security, elevated his chief political strategist by making him a permanent NSC member.

At the same time, the director of national intelligence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff will now attend meetings only when “issues pertaining to their responsibilities and expertise are to be discussed”, according to the presidential memorandum issued Saturday.

“It is a startling elevation of a political advisor”, wrote the New York Times, “to a status alongside the secretaries of state and defense, and over the president’s top military and intelligence advisors”.

In theory, the move puts Bannon on the same level as Michael Flynn, the national security advisor, a former Pentagon intelligence chief who was Trump’s top advisor on national security issues before a series of missteps reduced his influence.

But Bannon’s elevation does not merely reflect his growing influence on national security. “It is emblematic of Trump’s trust on a range of political and ideological issues. During the campaign, the sly and provocative Bannon played a paradoxical role — calming the easily agitated candidate during his frequent rough patches and egging him on when he felt Trump needed to fire up the white working-class base,” wrote the Times.

Trump respects Bannon because he is independently wealthy and therefore does not need the job, and both men ascribe to a shoot-the-prisoners credo when put on the defensive, according to the former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski.

Trump and Bannon share the same version of “America First,” something former labour secretary Robert Reich calls outright “dangerous”. “Such a vision would only alienate America from the rest of the world, destroying our nation’s moral authority abroad and risking everything we love about our country,” Reich, who is an economist at the University of California, Berkeley, writes on his blog.

“Unsupervised by people who know what they’re doing, Trump and Bannon could also bring the world closer to a nuclear holocaust,” Reich concludes.

Reich’s assessment might be seen by many as over the top. Yet Bannon believes that the West is already at war with a “new barbarity” of Islamic terrorism that threatens to wipe out centuries of progress.

“We are in an outright war against jihadist Islamic fascism. And this war is, I think, metastasizing far quicker than governments can handle it. We’re at the very beginning stages of a global conflict, and if we do not bind together as partners with others in other countries, then this conflict is only going to metastasize,” Bannon said at a conference in Rome in 2014.

“It’s going global in scale, and today’s technology, today’s media, today’s access to weapons of mass destruction, it’s going to lead to a global conflict that I believe has to be confronted today. Every day that we refuse to look at this as what it is, and the scale of it, and really the viciousness of it, will be a day where you will rue that we didn’t act.”

Read more: Meet Steve Bannon, Trump’s front man to fight all wars | Euronews

Canada Terrorism: Trump Silent As Quebec Mosque Terrorist Is White Christian Pro-Trump Fanatic - by Colin Taylor

Canadian police have just identified the lone gunman who attacked a Quebec mosque during prayers last night, killing five praying Muslims and injuring eight. Alexandre Bissonnettte, a Quebec native, has been taken into police custody.

Not surprisingly, Bissonnette’s Facebook page  (since taken down) shows that he “likes” Donald Trump and far-right, Islamophobic French politician Marine Le Pen. He also likes the Christian site Reasonable Faith. Here’s a screenshot from Bassinet’s Facebook page, taken before it was deleted, according to Heavy.com:

Bissonnettte is ardently pro-Trump and anti-Islam, according to a former classmate of his from Université Laval, who told Heavy.com that Bissonnettte “has right-wing political ideas, pro-Israel, anti-immigration. I had many debates with him about Trump. He was obviously pro-Trump.”

Furthermore, a Facebook group called “Welcome to Refugees – Quebec City” posted that it was familiar with Bissonnettte, and that he is “unfortunately known to several activists in Quebec City for his pro-Le Pen and anti-feminist identity positions at Université Laval and on social networks.” Le Pen is an ardent anti-Muslim French politician who has been closely linked to Trump in the past.

So let’s recap: one day after Donald Trump bans Muslims from several countries because, he claims, they pose a threat to the West, one of HIS deranged followers shoots up a crowd of Muslims whose only crime was peacefully practicing their faith.

Obviously, religions do not create terrorism, only terrorists do. But will Donald Trump now ban Canadian Christians from entering the United States? This tragic incident perfectly illustrates why blaming entire religions for violence is not only hateful and bigoted, but stupid and counterproductive.

Donald Trump’s Twitter has been uncharacteristically silent since the identity of the gunman was revealed. Hypocrisy, thy name is Donald Trump!
 
Read more: Trump Silent As Quebec Mosque Terrorist Is White Christian Pro-Trump Fanatic

Terrorism and Refugees: Records show that no refugees carried out in the United States

Trump’s executive order bans travel from seven countries — Libya, Sudan, Yemen, Somalia, Syria, Iraq and Iran — but it does not ban travel from residents of Pakistan or Saudi Arabia. In addition, the K-1 fiancee program remains in place.

New York and New Jersey explosions

Ahmad Khan Rahimi faces an array of bombing, weapons and attempted murder charges in two on September 17, 2016, incidents. He is accused of detonating bombs in New Jersey and in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood. The explosion in Chelsea injured 29 people.

Rahimi was born in Afghanistan and first came to the United States in 1995, following several years after his father arrived seeking asylum. Rahimi became a naturalized US citizen in 2011. He had recently spent time in Afghanistan and Pakistan, officials said.

Neither Afghanistan nor Pakistan is on Trump’s list of banned countries.

Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting

Omar Mateen, the man who shot and killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, was an American citizen living in Fort Pierce, Florida. He was born in New York, and his parents were from Afghanistan.

His widow, Noor Salman, was arrested earlier this month on charges of obstruction of justice and aiding and abetting her husband’s material support to ISIS. She grew up in Rodeo, California, and her parents immigrated to the United States from the West Bank in 1985, according to The New York Times.

Neither Afghanistan nor the West Bank is included on the list of banned countries.

Boston Marathon bombings

Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who carried out the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013, were born in Kyrgyzstan to parents originally from war-torn Chechnya.

The Tsarnaev family arrived in the United States when Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was 8 years old, and they applied for and were granted political asylum. The process for applying for political asylum is different from the process of arriving as a refugee.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the younger brother, became a naturalized citizen in September 2012.

Chechnya and Kyrgyzstan are not included on the list of banned countries.

World Trade Center, September 11, 2001

Read more: How many terror attacks have refugees carried out in the United States? | fox13now.com

EU-US Relations: The EU is urged to "stand firm against Trump"

Europe is being urged to stand firm in the face of rhetoric coming from the new US president.

The French President says EU member states should remain steadfast whenever Donald Trump urges them to follow the UK’s decision to split with Brussels.

This, Francois Hollande says, is Trump trying to undermine the integrity of the EU.

“Whenever there are statements coming from the president of the United States on Europe and whenever he talks of Brexit as a model for other countries, I believe we should respond,” Hollande said on the sidelines of a summit in Portugal.

Note EU-Digest: Of course Europe must respond - specially following remarks by an ego-maniac like Trump

Read more: The EU is urged to "stand firm against Trump" | Euronews

EU-Digest and Almere-Digest Poll resuls show skepticism in Europe about Trump election

The combined results of the EU-Digest and Almere-Digest Poll on the question : Is the election of Donald Trump good for the EU  which ran from the day Donald Trump was declared the winner of the US Presidential Election was closed on January 27 showed skepticism in Europe about Donald Trumps election as it relates to the EU..

Only 2 % of those polled considered his election favorable for the EU, while 78 % polled considered it unfavorable,. 10 % had no opinion either way and another 10% had a variety of opinions ranging from extremely critical to neutral -"wait and see".

Almere-Digest

Mexico-US Relations: Mexican president cancels meeting with Trump (after being insulted) - by David Jackson

President Trump's proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico drove a diplomatic divide between the two countries Thursday, as Mexican counterpart Enrique Peña Nieto canceled a scheduled meeting with the new American president.

Trump, speaking to a congressional Republican retreat in Philadelphia, said he and Peña Nieto "agreed" to the cancellation; the president said he has made it clear to Mexico that it will finance the proposed wall and that the U.S. will seek changes to trade agreement with its southern neighbor.

“Unless Mexico is going to treat the United States fairly, with respect, such a meeting would be fruitless and I want to go a different route," Trump said. "We have no choice.”

Read more: Mexican president cancels meeting with Trump

Refugees - USA:- EU: Trump Blocks Syrian Refugees and Orders Mexican Border Wall to Be Built- by J.H. Davis

President Trump on Wednesday began a sweeping crackdown on illegal immigration, ordering the immediate construction of a border wall with Mexico and aggressive efforts to find and deport unauthorized immigrants. He planned additional actions to cut back on legal immigration, including barring Syrian refugees from entering the United States.

At the headquarters of the Department of Homeland Security, Mr. Trump signed a pair of executive orders that paved the way for a border wall and called for a newly expanded force to sweep up immigrants who are in the country illegally. He revived programs that allow the federal government to work with local and state law enforcement agencies to arrest and detain unauthorized immigrants with criminal records and to share information to help track and deport them.

He also planned to clamp down on legal immigration in another action expected as early as Thursday. An eight-page draft of that executive order, obtained by The New York Times, would indefinitely block Syrian refugees from entering the United States.

Also bar all refugees from the rest of the world for at least 120 days.

When the refugee program resumes, it would be much smaller, with the total number of refugees resettled in the United States this year more than halved, to 50,000 from 110,000.

t would also suspend any immigration for at least 30 days from a number of predominantly Muslim countries — Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen — while the government toughened its already stringent screening procedures to weed out potential terrorists.

White House officials declined to comment on the coming plan, but in a wide-ranging interview that aired Wednesday on ABC, Mr. Trump acknowledged that it aimed to erect formidable barriers for those seeking refuge in the United States.

He also said his administration would “absolutely do safe zones in Syria” to discourage refugees from seeking safety in other countries, and chided Europe and Germany in particular for accepting millions of immigrants. “It’s a disaster, what’s happening there,” Mr. Trump said.

Taken together, the moves would turn the full weight of the federal government to fortifying the United States border, rounding up some of the 11 million people who are in the country illegally and targeting refugees, who are often among the world’s most vulnerable people. It is an aggressive use of presidential power that follows through on the nationalistic vision Mr. Trump presented during his presidential campaign.

“A nation without borders is not a nation,” Mr. Trump said Wednesday at the Department of Homeland Security, where he signed the orders alongside the newly sworn-in secretary, John F. Kelly. “Beginning today, the United States of America gets back control of its borders.”

The plans are a sharp break with former President Barack Obama’s approach and what was once a bipartisan consensus to devise a path to citizenship for some of the nation’s illegal immigrants. Mr. Obama, however, angered many immigrant groups by deporting millions of unauthorized workers, largely during his first term.

“It’s going to be very hard to come in,” Mr. Trump said. “Right now, it’s very easy to come in.”

Note E-Digest:  Since Mr. Trump brought up his thoughts on refugees and immigrants entering the US it might also be appropriate, in that same context, to bring up Europe's refugee problems. 

So here we go again in bringing the Refugee Crises in Europe and its causes to the attention of the Public at Large, the EU Commission, the EU Parliament, EU member states government, and last but not least President Trump, who even admitted during his presidential campaign that the US. should never have started the war against Iraq, because it did so under under a false pretext. 

Fact is that the large number of Refugees we are dealing with in the EU and Turkey today, are the direct result of the US invasion of Iraq some 14 years ago. 

This war had a 'snowball' effect  on the Middle East and North Africa and turned the whole area  into a war-zone.  The result of all this today, millions of refugees fleeing to the EU and Turkey..

Hopefully Mr. Trump  will not only apologize to the victims of thye war crimes committed by his fellow Republican President  George Bush, but also compensate the EU for the costs they are incurring as a result of the large inflow of refugees from the Middle East into the EU. 

As the saying goes "if you do the crime you have to do the time." or in this case - please pay up for those costs incurred by the EU on behalf of your country's failed Middle East policies Mr. Trump..  

 Read mor4e: Trump Blocks Syrian Refugees and Orders Mexican Border Wall to Be Built - The New York Times

USA: It was always 'America First,' President Trump. What's new?

As if it has ever been anything but America First!

Either President Trump lacks the intelligence and the education needed to appreciate the dynamics of the modern world or he has cynical contempt for the intelligence and education of his voters.

In either case, the inaugural address of America’s 45th president trumpeted an obtuse self-interest, whose only moral compass is the conviction that might is right, a self-interest so near-sighted as to be self-defeating, one that panders to ill-informed prejudice at home and promises to cede more elbow room to rising powers hitherto hemmed in by overarching American presence. Hide that smirk, President Xi!

Politicians who come to power feeding and feeding off a majority’s imagined sense of victimhood have to genuflect, once in a while, to the bogey they rode but would, if they have sense, concentrate their energiesBSE 9.03 %, having assumed power, on building up an alternative, real agenda — say, development .

Some do not.

Hitler chose to persist with the Jews, pursuing their extermination to the Holocaust and associated politics by other means across the globe. Trump told Americans they were the victims of elite selfishness and grandiose altruism that saw America sacrifice its own security and prosperity for the benefit of others.

His inaugural speech promises to reverse that selfishness and altruism, to bring back to America jobs, prosperity, greatness, and, implicitly, a way of life in which men were men, brought home the bacon for the wife to cook, cheerfully looking up recipes from Good Housekeeping and other such trusted guides of the homemaker.

Lying is not a term that should be used to describe the exalted office Trump occupies. So, let us say Trump’s commitment to liberty extends to snapping the the restraining bonds of truth and mere facts.

The reality is that American policy has always put, surprise, America first

True, America funded the Marshall plan, to rebuild Europe. But that, too, furthered American prosperity and security. American entrepreneurs thrived, American factories hummed and gave Baby Boomers their day jobs as America supplied the wherewithal for rebuilding a bombed out Europe.

European nations rebuilt themselves as loyal members of the anti-Soviet alliance led by the US. Keeping the communist menace at bay was not just a virtue in itself but also a handy excuse for toppling the liberal democratic government of Iran, supporting the authoritarian governments in Arab lands, including in Israel, and imposing American hegemony over the most plentiful source of oil of those times.

True, China runs up a huge trade surplus with the US. But the bulk of the value added in the production of iPhones shipped from China to the US accrues to Apple and its investors.

 Read the complete report "It was always 'America First,' President Trump. What's new? - The Economic Times

EU-US Relations: – Will Trump matter for the EU’s policy priorities?

In Europe, as in much of the rest of the world including large parts of the United States, Donald Trump’s election conjured up a plethora of doomsday scenarios. It was quickly assumed, for example, that the US would pull out of the COP21 Paris Agreement. Bolstering EU defence capabilities was suddenly proclaimed an urgent priority in light of the uncertain continued commitment the new US administration could be expected to show towards NATO. The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) was also declared dead and parallels with Brexit were drawn. And finally there were fears that the migration crisis would be exacerbated by Trump’s pledge to block Syrian (Muslim) refugees from entering the US, including from Europe.

Now, two months after Trump’s election, it is time for Europe to recover from its initial state of shock and assess the possible implications of a Trump presidency on EU policy priorities. Trump’s election might have profound effects on the US, and indeed the world, but it is not likely to dramatically alter the EU’s international priorities (and may even, as recently argued by Daniel Gros, have a positive impact on the European Monetary Union). Looking at areas such as trade, climate change, the refugee crisis, Brexit and defence, the fact of the matter is that, at least as things now appear to stand, Trump’s election should have only a marginal impact on the EU’s policy priorities. To demonstrate why, we consider in turn each of these five important policy areas.

TTIP - Climate policy - Refugee crisis - Brexit- Security and defense 

Given the role that the EU plays on the international scene, no US presidential election will leave the EU, and indeed the world, unaffected. However, the fundamental international challenges Europe faces and thus the priorities of the EU in the areas we have analysed predated his election – and are likely to only be marginally influenced by his administration. Many of these challenges, such as climate change, trade, the refugee crisis and security, are likely to remain after his departure. 

For complete details click here: EUROPP – Will Trump matter for the EU’s policy priorities?

Europe’s new “Indispensable Nations”- by Joschka Fischer

After the shock of the United Kingdom’s Brexit referendum and Donald Trump’s election as President of the United States in 2016, this will be a decisive year for Europe. Upcoming parliamentary elections in France, Germany, the Netherlands, and possibly Italy will decide whether the European Union will hold together, or whether it will disintegrate under the neo-nationalist wave sweeping the West.

Meanwhile, the Brexit negotiations will begin in earnest, providing a glimpse of the future of the EU-UK relationship. And Trump’s inauguration on January 20 may someday be remembered as a watershed moment for Europe.

Judging by Trump’s past statements about Europe and its relationship with the US, the EU should be preparing for some profound shocks. The incoming US president, an exponent of the new nationalism, does not believe in European integration.

Here he has an ally in Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has long tried to destabilize the EU by supporting nationalist forces and movements in its member states. If the Trump administration supports or turns a blind eye to those efforts, the EU – sandwiched between Russian trolls and Breitbart News – will have to brace itself for challenging times indeed.

The consequences for the EU will be even more serious if, in addition to setting the US relationship with Russia on a new foundation, Trump continues to call into question America’s security guarantee for Europe. Such a move would be at the expense of NATO, which has institutionalized the US security umbrella for more than six decades. Europeans would suddenly find themselves standing alone against a Russia that has increasingly employed military means to challenge borders, such as in Ukraine, and to reassert its influence – or even hegemony – over Eastern Europe.

We will soon know what comes next for NATO, but much harm has already been done. Security guarantees are not just a matter of military hardware. The guarantor also must project a credible message that it is willing to defend its allies whenever necessary. Thus, such arrangements depend largely on psychology, and on a country’s trustworthiness vis-à-vis friends and foes alike. When that credibility is damaged, there is a growing risk of provocation – and, with it, the threat of escalation into larger crises, or even armed conflict.

Given this risk, the EU should now shore up what it has left with respect to NATO and focus on salvaging its own institutional, economic, and legal integration. But it should also look to its member states to provide a second security option.

The EU itself is based on soft power: it was not designed to guarantee European security, and it is not positioned in its current form to confront a hard-power challenge. This means that it will fall to its two largest and economically strongest countries, France and Germany, to bolster Europe’s defense. Other countries such as Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Spain, and Poland will also have a role to play, but France and Germany are indispensable.

Of course, living in continental Europe means having Russia as a neighbor, and neighborly relations, generally speaking, should be based on peace, cooperation, and mutual respect (especially when one’s neighbor is a nuclear power). But Europeans cannot harbor any illusions about Russia’s intent. The Kremlin approaches foreign policy as a zero-sum game, which means that it will always prioritize military strength and geopolitical power over cooperative security arrangements.

Russia does not view weakness or the lack of a threat from its neighbors as a basis for peace, but rather as an invitation to extend its own sphere of influence. So, power asymmetry in Eastern Europe will lead only to instability. If Europe wants a stable, enduring peace, it first must ensure that it is taken seriously, which is clearly not the case today. Europe can credibly strengthen its security only if France and Germany work together toward the same goal, which they will have an opportunity to do after their elections this year.

EU diplomats used to murmur off the record that Germany and France would never see eye to eye on military and financial issues, owing to their different histories and cultures. But if security conditions take a turn for the worse, that may no longer be the case. Indeed, reaching a compromise on both sides of the Rhine should not be so difficult: France undoubtedly has the experience to lead on defense; and the same goes for Germany on financial matters.

If pursuing this European security option prompts the US to renew its own security guarantee, so much the better. Meanwhile, the EU should also forge a post-Brexit cooperative strategic arrangement with the UK, whose geopolitical position and security interests will remain unchanged.The old EU developed into an economic power because it was protected beneath the US security umbrella. But without this guarantee, it can address its current geopolitical realities only by developing its own capacity to project political and military power. Six decades after the Treaty of Rome established the European Economic Community, history and current developments are pushing France and Germany to shape Europe’s future once again.

Anti-Trump Protests: Over 1 million join anti-Trump women's marches worldwide-by Nancy Benac

Anti-Trump Demonstrations around the world

In a global exclamation of defiance and solidarity, more than 1 million people rallied at women's marches in the nation's capital and cities around the world Saturday to send President Donald Trump an emphatic message on his first full day in office that they won't let his agenda go unchallenged.

"Welcome to your first day, we will not go away!" marchers in Washington chanted

Many of the women came wearing pink, pointy-eared "pussyhats" to mock the new president. Plenty of men joined in, too, contributing to surprising numbers everywhere from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and Los Angeles to Mexico City, Paris, Berlin, London, Prague and Sydney.

The Washington rally alone attracted over 500,000 people according to city officials — apparently more than Trump's inauguration drew on Friday. It was easily one of the biggest demonstrations in the city's history, and as night fell, not a single arrest was reported.

The international outpouring served to underscore the degree to which Trump has unsettled people in both hemispheres.

"We march today for the moral core of this nation, against which our new president is waging a war," actress America Ferrera told the Washington crowd. "Our dignity, our character, our rights have all been under attack, and a platform of hate and division assumed power yesterday. But the president is not America. ... We are America, and we are here to stay."

Turnout in the capital was so heavy that the designated march route alongside the National Mall was impassable. Protesters were told to make their way to the Ellipse near the White House by way of other streets, triggering a chaotic scene that snarled downtown Washington. Long after the program had ended, groups of demonstrators were still marching and chanting in different parts of the city.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer had no comment on the march except to note that there were no firm numbers for turnout.

Note EU-Digest:  As one participant noted during the Washington Rally: "This is not only just a rally, this is the beginning of a revolution to end the takeover of America by a delusional  President supported by corporate interests and a corrupt political system.
Thousands of women took to the streets of European capitals to join "sister marches" in Asia against newly installed U.S. President Trump ahead of a major rally in Washington expected to draw nearly a quarter of a million people.

Waving banners with slogans like "Special relationship, just say no" and "Nasty women unite," British demonstrators gathered outside the American embassy in Grosvenor Square before heading to a rally in central Trafalgar Square.

Worldwide some 670 marches were held, according to the organizers' website which says more than two million marchers protested against Trump, who was sworn in as the 45th U.S. president on this past Friday.

Read More: Over 1 million join anti-Trump women's marches worldwide

Donald Trump: The U.S. descends into brutality as the real-life Archie Bunker is sworn in as president: - by Neil Macdonald

The 45  th President of the USA

Taken as a photo, a moment in time, what's happened on the steps of the U.S. Capitol is concussive; a palimpsest from a rougher, crueler era that was merely painted over, rather than transformed, by the progressive advances that so many people assumed would continue, inevitably, with every passing year.

But it's not a moment. The investiture of President Donald Trump is a natural development the nation has been building toward for half a century.

A friend assigns its origin to the '70s sitcom All in the Family, which, she says, made it all right — even funny — to say out loud the things that people had been shamed into murmuring quietly, in private. You know, shamed by political correctness.

Actually, Archie Bunker's open bigotry was as a liberal fantasy, orchestrated by producer Norman Lear, the ideological ancestor of Aaron Sorkin.

Yes, there were laughs every time Archie unleashed another opinion about "your fags," or "your Jews," or "your spades," but his role was that of the racist dunce, always schooled in the end by the innocent decency of his wife Edith, or an actual encounter with one of the minorities he casually belittled.

But All in the Family did, for the first time, shine a light on the deaf slanging between conservatives – Archie – and liberals, represented by Archie's educated, progressive son-in-law Michael Stivic.

The show petered out after eight years, its novelty gone. It was surpassed by reality – a polity that just kept getting more vicious, eventually leaving its banks and flooding the U.S. with the hatred-soaked, nearly murderous discourse that buoyed Trump and floated him into the White House.
Real-life Archie

As of today, the real-life Archie is president, the most powerful man in the world, immune to shaming or schooling. He actually feeds on it.

In retrospect, it's easy to pick out events that deepened the national odium: the emergence of Fox News, the 9/11 attacks, the 2008 economic catastrophe.

"Nearly murderous," incidentally, is not meant as hyperbole. Violent conflict becomes possible when two sides begin to dehumanize each other, and it's not even controversial to suggest that has happened in the U.S.

Fake news on the internet, which used to be called conspiracy theories, is most often framed to accomplish exactly that. Falsely suggesting Barack Obama was born elsewhere (Africa) and is likely the enemy (a Muslim) was the theory pushed by so long by Trump, a clear effort to dehumanize.

In fact, Trump explicitly declared in one of his most elegant tweets from 2014 that the other side, the "haters and losers" who oppose him, are genetically inferior, or as he put it: "They cannot help the fact that they were born fucked up!"

The man from North Carolina who opened fire at Comet Ping Pong Pizza here in D.C. did so because he believed a conspiracy theory — "Pizzagate" — about Hillary Clinton running a child sex ring out of the restaurant. He was not crazy — just stupid, armed and nurtured on a bunkered ideology.

Conservatives reading this will at this point have already stopped reading, having decided that this is just more lying by the dishonest elite media, which is in the thrall of the elite radical left.

Actually, if the media is in thrall, it's to the status quo and the establishment, and, judging by some of the fawning at his recent events, to Trump.

But it is true that urban liberals regard Trump-nation conservatives as coarse, offensive, mildly defective mouth-breathers.

In Bethesda, Md., where I once lived, I cannot remember having met a single social conservative or gun advocate. The Tea Party was regarded as aliens. Those people lived in Virginia, across the Potomac River from Bethesda, where they shun liberals in exactly the same manner, avoiding any social contact, despising from afar.

And this is their moment.

They're not just ascendant, they've beaten the living daylights out of liberals, urinated on their bruised bodies, sliced off their ears and poured sugar into their gas tanks.

They're crowding wolfishly into comments sections on news sites, proclaiming the end of political correctness, saying that minorities need to learn to live like minorities, demanding an end to "negative news" and elitist fact-checking.

They want to know why the dishonest, lying media can't get it through their heads that YOU LOST.

DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND? THE ELITES LOST! YOU. LOST. AND MERYL STREEP IS OVERRATED.

Even Obama has stopped declaring that "there is no blue America and red America. There is only the United States of America." That was aspirational drivel. Inspiring, perhaps, but unmoored from reality.

Such Obama-type voices as still exist are talking rapprochement, telling liberals that they must at least listen to the people who voted Trump.

That's not going to happen. It's impossible to know how Trump and Congressional Republicans are going to govern, but what matters most to Trump nation is that the beat down continues.

Do whatever you want, just give us more tweets about losers and haters and dishonest lying liars.

Nominally, a presidential inauguration is a moment for the nation to come together and celebrate the peaceful handover of power to a democratically elected leader.

Nowadays, that's just a fantasy gurgled by unctuous television anchors. More than 60 Congressional Democrats are boycotting the ceremony.

Liberals will turn away from Trump's inaugural speech, holding onto the fact that Clinton harvested close to three million more votes than the new president, imagining a day four or eight years from now when someone like Senator Elizabeth Warren takes the oath, and payback can begin.

And as long as there is still any comity out there to pulverize, the American descent into brutality will continue.

Read more: The U.S. descends into brutality as the real-life Archie Bunker is sworn in as president: Neil Macdonald - CBC News | Opinion

EU: "Our Love Affair With The US Is Over": European hackles - more than hopes - are up as Trump takes office

"Don't mess with the EU Mr. Trump"

Europe has spent the period between the shock election of Donald Trump and his ascension to the White House biting its nails. But the new president's recent disparagement of the future of the European Union -- basically that it may not have one at all -- has leaders finally sounding less worried and more assertive.

In the European Parliament's plenary session Wednesday, the head of the ALDE group, Guy Verhofstadt, raged against the remarks, demanding a formal EU response.  "It's insane!" he said. "We should be very conscious this will be a turning point on the 20th of January."

Verhofstadt also suggested to fellow lawmakers the "American ambassador" should be summoned to "explain Trump's statements".

The problem with that is that there is no "American ambassador" to the EU anymore. As of January 20, Anthony Gardner will no longer be in his office in Brussels as President Trump takes over his in Washington. Gardner, along with his counterparts at NATO and the EU, is among those the new president told in no uncertain terms to vacate their premises by inauguration.

It is likely to be many months before Trump-appointed ambassadors arrive in Brussels. One US diplomat explained that usually during presidential campaigns, there is a shadow administration -- with skeleton cabinets already assembled -- which can move into place the minute the keys are handed over after inauguration. The Trump campaign, this diplomat said, had no such system in place on election day.

Gardner, an unabashed EU admirer who spent his three-year tenure campaigning for the Transatlantic Free Trade and Investment Partnership [TTIP] and other forms of closer cooperation, said he'd decided he would rather go out "in a ball of flames" than be seen to acquiesce with the new administration's views on Europe.

"It's critically important," Gardner said in his last roundtable with journalists, "that while being loyal to the new team -- which is absolute right and appropriate in a democratic system -- that people speak truth to power and don't be shy in sometimes saying what [they] believe in."

Gardner said he had received no communication from incoming officials asking him for guidance on EU relations -- only a single phone call asking if he needed logistical help moving out by the deadline. He had, however, heard from EU contacts that the new  president's team had made some calls to EU leaders -- with the priority being to inquire which country was most likely to leave the bloc, he said.

Gardner made no secret of his views. "The EU, despite all of the issues that we see everyday living and being here," Gardner insisted, "is not about to fall apart!" But he confirmed that the prevailing view at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave from Friday forward appears to be that "2017 is the year" in which the EU disintegrates.


Across town at NATO headquarters, officials are equally concerned about what's to come, especially after the same interview that suggested multiple EU mutinies also reiterated the disparagement of NATO as "obsolete". One NATO diplomat said he'd been asked by a European colleague whether "obsolete" could possibly have more than one meaning in American English, but that he'd had no euphemistic alternatives to offer.

Top military officials in the alliance for the most part dismiss such characterizations, as do Trump's own cabinet nominees. Vice President-elect Mike Pence has also done his share to buff the rough edges of Trump rhetoric, saying NATO "will go on".

Note EU-Digest: We can only hope that EU member state governments finally realize that the "love affair" between Europe and the US  has come to an end. 

There always will be a Europe, but we can not be so sure about the USA, which in reality is more divided than ever under the presidency of Donald Trump.  It is high time for the EU to level the playing field and move on.

More than hopes - are up as Trump takes office | Europe | DW.COM | 19.01.2017

The Netherlands: Lobbying to house EU Drug center

The Netherlands is lobbying hard in Bruxelles to house the EU Drug Center in the Netherlands'

EU-Digest - For the complete report click here

Turkey: Erdogan plotted Turkey purge before coup, say Brussels spies - by Runo Waterfield

 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan planned to purge opposition forces in the military before July’s attempted coup, according to a secret EU intelligence report.

The European intelligence contradicts the Turkish government’s claim that exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen was behind the plot to overthrow the Turkish government. Ankara is seeking Mr Gulen’s extradition from the US.

The report by the EU intelligence centre Intcen found the coup was mounted by a range of opponents to Mr Erdogan and his ruling AK Party.

“The decision to launch the coup resulted from the fears of an incoming purge. It is likely that a group of officers comprising Gulenists, Kemalists (secularists), opponents of the AKP and opportunists was behind the coup. It is unlikely that Gulen himself played a role in the attempt,” said the report, dated August 24.

“The coup was just a catalyst for the crackdown prepared in ­advance.”

Mr Gulen’s followers spent decades placing their supporters in senior positions in the police, judiciary and other institutions, building a network that enabled him to “influence the situation in the country and control the activities of President Erdogan”, according to EU intelligence sources

That situation “changed” after Mr Erdogan began purges of the police and state administration in 2014, weakening the Gulenists as well as targeting other opposition tendencies such as Kemalists and civil activists.

In a blow to Turkey’s claims that Mr Gulen masterminded the coup, the European intelligence report noted that his Islamist followers were weak in the Turkish army, which until last July remained a bastion of secularism.

EU: ‘Fantasy’ to think others will follow Brexit, Moscovici tells Trump

It’s fantasy to think other European countries will follow Britain in deciding to leave the European Union, Pierre Moscovici said on Monday (16 January), after US President-elect Donald Trump said he believed it would be the case.

Asked about Trump’s comments in an interview with The Times of London newspaper, European Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said the cost of Brexit would be “considerable” and that it would deter other countries from following suit.

“I’m not worried, I think this idea that Brexit is going to be contagious is a fantasy, a bad fantasy,” Moscovici told reporters in Paris.
   
European leaders react to Trump bombshells

Europe should face Donald Trump with “confidence”, German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel said Monday (16 January), after the US president-elect had predicted that more EU members would leave the bloc and charged that NATO was “obsolete”.

“Brexit is not a great thing,” he said and warned Trump that comments advocating a break-up of the European Union would not get the trans-Atlantic relationship off to the best start.

Europe’s best response until Trump’s inauguration would be to remain in “wait-and-see” mode and watch the first steps of its new administration.

But asked about Trump’s comments on slapping tariffs on German carmakers such as BMW, which sought to import cars to the US from plants in Mexico, Moscovici said:

“We must be extremely vigilant, mobilised and, when the time comes, reactive, if a certain spirit is confirmed.”

“Europe must not be naive and Europe must be able to react,” he said.

 Read more: ‘Fantasy’ to think others will follow Brexit, Moscovici tells Trump – EurActiv.com

Germany: Donald Trump slams Angela Merkel′s refugee policy - contradicting his campaign statements about Iraq war

US President-elect Donald Trump labeled German Chancellor Angela Merkel's stance on refugees  (or illegals as he called them) a "catastrophic mistake." He said the policy would lead to even more countries leaving the European Union after Britain.

President-elect Trump heavily criticized Chancellor Merkel's open-door policy on refugees in a joint interview published on Sunday with German tabloid newspaper "Bild" and British newspaper "The Times of London."

"I think she made one very catastrophic mistake and that was taking all of these illegals, you know, taking all of the people from wherever they come from,” he said.

In 2015 about 900,000 migrants, many coming from Syria, entered Germany after Merkel opened the country's doors, famously saying "we can do this."

Note EU-Digest: Instead of blaming Angela Merkel for her refugee policy, which is one of the most humane in the EU, Donald Trump should have  put the blame on the US  (as he did during his presidential campaign) and specifically on the former Bush Administration which started the Iraq war under the pretense of "the treat of weapons of mass destruction", which proved to be a total hoax.

Unfortunately the Bush war in Iraq  unleashed a disastrous chain of other wars in the Middle East creating a massive refugee problem for Turkey and the EU.

When will the EU Commission, or any European politician,  for that matter,  finally open their mouth on the subject and request the US to pay the countries which have been picking up the tab for housing and feeding the millions of refugees, some compensation for the costs incurred as a result of the US Iraq war? 

Also most amazing was that the journalists interviewing Trump never related the Bush Iraq war to the refugee problem Europe is facing or corrected him when he used the word illegals to describe the refugees?  

If a Donald Trump presidency wants European Nations to pay their fair share in NATO, he better also pay the Europeans compensation for housing the millions of refugees as a result of the Bush Iraq war.  
 
Read more: Donald Trump slams Angela Merkel′s refugee policy | News | DW.COM | 15.01.2017

EU: Trump staff asked EU officials which countries will leave the EU next – by Catherine Stupp

Aides to US President-elect Donald Trump recently asked EU officials over the phone which countries will be next to leave the bloc after Britain, outgoing US ambassador to the EU Anthony Gardner said. Gardner was told about the conversations by EU institution staff members, but was not in on the calls.

Trump has expressed support for the UK’s vote to leave the EU and suggested that former UKIP leader Nigel Farage should be made the UK’s new ambassador to the United States. Farage, one of the most outspoken supporters of Brexit, was photographed smiling with Trump in his New York flagship hotel days after he won the US election.

It would be the “height of folly” for the US to express support for Brexit, Gardner told reporters today (13 January), one week before he leaves his post in Brussels.

Despite their differences on Brexit, Farage recently requested to meet with Gardner, who became US ambassador to the EU in 2014.

“I take huge exception to some of the things he’s done,” Gardner said. The US diplomat said he has never met Farage, who he called “off the political reservation”, and has responded to his request but not yet arranged a meeting.

Read more: Trump staff asked EU officials which countries will leave the EU next – EurActiv.com

Europe Needs Franco-German Action To Project Power

After the shock of the United Kingdom’s Brexit referendum and Donald Trump’s election as President of the United States in 2016, this will be a decisive year for Europe. Upcoming parliamentary elections in France, Germany, the Netherlands, and possibly Italy will decide whether the European Union will hold together, or whether it will disintegrate under the neo-nationalist wave sweeping the West.

Meanwhile, the Brexit negotiations will begin in earnest, providing a glimpse of the future of the EU-UK relationship. And Trump’s inauguration on January 20 may someday be remembered as a watershed moment for Europe.

Judging by Trump’s past statements about Europe and its relationship with the US, the EU should be preparing for some profound shocks. The incoming US president, an exponent of the new nationalism, does not believe in European integration.

Here he has an ally in Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has long tried to destabilize the EU by supporting nationalist forces and movements in its member states. If the Trump administration supports or turns a blind eye to those efforts, the EU – sandwiched between Russian trolls and Breitbart News – will have to brace itself for challenging times indeed.

Read moeEurope Needs Franco-German Action To Project Power

Netherlands: Alternative Energy Railways: Dutch electric trains become 100% powered by wind energy

Dutch Trains -Alternative Energy - Wind Power

All Dutch electric trains are now powered by wind energy, the national railway company NS has said .

“Since 1 January, 100% of our trains are running on wind energy,” said NS spokesman, Ton Boon.

“So we in fact reached our goal a year earlier than planned,” said Boon, adding that an increase in the number of wind farms across the country and off the coast of the Netherlands had helped NS achieve its aim.

Eneco and NS said on a joint website that around 600,000 passengers daily are “the first in the world” to travel thanks to wind energy. NS operates about 5,500 train trips a day.

One windmill running for an hour can power a train for 120 miles, the companies said. They hope to reduce the energy used per passenger by a further 35% by 2020 compared with 2005.

Read more: Dutch electric trains become 100% powered by wind energy | World news | The Guardian

USA: President Obama's farewell speech

Click on the link below for an unedited transcript of President Obama’s prepared remarks during his farewell address in Chicago, as provided by the White House. 

 

Read the full transcript of President Obama's farewell speech - LA Times

Israel: Netanyahu questioned for second time in graft probe

Police were questioning Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Thursday for a second time as part of a probe into whether he illegally accepted gifts from wealthy supporters, media reports said.

Police declined to comment on the reports.

Read more: Flash - Netanyahu questioned for second time in graft probe: reports - France 24

The Netherlands: Far-right party still leading in Dutch polls, despite leader’s criminal guilt

Volendam is a village of clogs, canals, cheese – and anger. A former fishing village-turned-tourist-haven north-east of Amsterdam on the Markermeer lake, it offered one of the country’s strongest turnouts for far-right populist Geert Wilders the last time the country went to the polls.

Wilders was found guilty of inciting discrimination at a rally where he called for “fewer Moroccans”. His supporters in this overwhelmingly white, conservative town see the trial and verdict as political persecution of a maverick anti-establishment champion.

“We don’t like what the government does so we support him,” said Wim Keizer, curator of the Volendam museum, a small building filled with tableaux of families and fishermen in traditional dress, including a dog-drawn cart and the cabin of a North Sea fishing skiff.

Wilders’ Freedom party (PVV) has risen from being a rightwing gadfly of the Dutch establishment to one of the most powerful forces in national politics, remaking the image of a nation once regarded as a beacon of liberal values. It is currently leading in polls ahead of national elections next year.

Read more: Far-right party still leading in Dutch polls, despite leader’s criminal guilt | World news | The Guardian

EU decoupling from US? Asia, Europe must not give into protectionism: Former Italian PM Letta

Even as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump practices economic patriotism, Asia and the European Union (EU) must not respond with protectionist policies of their own, former Italian prime minister Enrico Letta warned on Friday.

"I strongly believe protectionism is the wrong answer, we need to manage the social consequences of globalization but we have to continue with progress as well," he told CNBC on the sidelines of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy Conference in Singapore.

As the current dean of the Paris School of International Affairs at Sciences Po, Letta said Europe and Asia must continue inking bilateral trade agreements, such as the EU-Vietnam and EU-Indonesia deals currently underway, to strengthen their relationship amid expectations for the U.S. to isolate itself from global trade.

"The big problem of globalization today is how to manage the subsequent social and demographic transitions, it is a welfare problem."

In regards to the future of his home country, Letta said Italy's outlook depended on the EU's unity.
"When European integration is weak, Italy suffers. Italy is a country that needs the euro and a strong commitment to completion of the EU."

With elections due in France and Germany, as well as greater detail on Brexit, 2017 will mark "a turning point" for Europe, he continued. If these events confirm Europe's ability to stick together, Italy will do well, he said.

Read more: Asia, Europe must not give into protectionism: Former Italian PM Letta

Banking Industry: still free wheeling

The book:The U.S." Government and the Major Banks:Justice for Sale at the Bazaar-By Frank Vogl "

notes:

"To date, not a single top banker has been put on trial, let alone sent to prison, for the frauds perpetrated by the institutions they lead".

Obviously the question is Who is kidding whom ?-  

Bottom-Line: Hanky - Panky Capitalism still alive and well.

EU-DIGEST

Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Belgium begin joint air policing - by Nicholas Fiorenza

 Two Belgian Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter aircraft began the joint air policing of the airspace of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg (Benelux) on 1 January.

The Belgian fighters will be on 15-minute quick reaction alert (QRA) for the first four months of 2017, after which two Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) F-16s will take over.

The arrangement was agreed by the Benelux in March 2015. Until the end of 2016, two Belgian F-16s were on QRA for Belgium and Luxembourg and two Dutch F-16s for the Netherlands.

Belgian Defence Minister Steven Vandeput described the arrangement as "ground breaking". Similarly, his Dutch counterpart, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, called it a "milestone", adding, "The pilots and fighter aircraft we thereby free up can be deployed elsewhere, for example in the UN, EU or whatever other context." The agreement will also allow more flight training, Vandeput pointed out.

Vandeput said no other countries trust each other to deal with air threats within each other's' borders. The authorities of the country over which an air threat emerges can now give instructions to the fighters on QRA, whether Belgian or Dutch. The Belgian defence minister would do so through the control and reporting centre in Glons, Belgium, while the Dutch minister for security and justice would do the same through the air operations control station in Nieuw Milligen, the Netherlands. The defence minister of Luxembourg is the responsible authority of the Grand Duchy.

The technical agreement on Benelux air policing was signed on 21 December 2016 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, by the commander of the Belgian Air Component, Major General Frederik Vansina, his RNLAF counterpart, Lieutenant General Dennis Luyt, and Luxembourg's ambassador to the Netherlands, Pierre-Louis Lorenz.The two Belgian F-16s currently on QRA are bas

Read more: Netherlands and Belgium begin joint air policing | IHS Jane's 360

Weapon dealers: ISIL ramps up fight with weaponised drones-weapns dealers should be arrested not protected

Why aren't the weapon dealers who sell terrorists weapons arrested?

As fighting raged in eastern Mosul on a recent afternoon, a black Humvee arrived at an Iraqi army command post with a collection of plastics, electronics and rotor blades lashed to its back.

Soldiers leaped to unload the cargo, which comprised the remnants of the latest tool in ISIL's armoury: drones.

The haul included a number of small devices of the kind favoured by filmmakers and hobbyists, costing a few hundred dollars apiece. But there were also larger, fixed-wing craft fashioned out of corrugated plastic and duct tape, apparently made by the fighters themselves.

Since mid-2014, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group has held Mosul, after sweeping through northern Iraq in a shock offensive.

It is now their last urban stronghold in the country, and for more than two months, the Iraqi army's operation to retake the city has met fierce resistance, including snipers, ambushes and suicide attacks using explosive-laden trucks. Drones have been used for reconnaissance and to relay instructions to suicide bombers, said General Abdul Wahab al-Saadi, a commander with the elite counterterrorism service in eastern Mosul.

"They use them to give directions to suicide car bombs coming towards us, as well as to take pictures of our forces," Saadi told Al Jazeera.

In the past, ISIL has used drones in Iraq and Syria for general intelligence-gathering, as spotters for mortar firing, and even for filming propaganda videos. Soldiers have regularly spotted these drones over army positions on the outskirts of Mosul, prompting bursts of gunfire skywards.

But there is a fresh threat, Saadi said: ISIL has begun to use the drones themselves as weapons. "They also use a new tactic, where the drone itself has a bomb attached to it," he explained.total of 37,910 organs from living and deceased persons were donated in 2015.

Note EU-Digest:The question that must be asked - who sold the drones to ISIS? Why are they not persecuted or are the weapons sold by the same people who say they are "fighting" ISIS  so they can perpetuate the wars against terrorism forever?

Read more: ISIL ramps up fight with weaponised drones | ISIS | Al Jazeera

US Economy: Re-Energized Dollar Looms Over the Rest of the World - by Ira Iosebashvili

On Wall Street, the rising dollar has been one of the most visible signals of growing optimism in the U.S. economy. For many other countries, it spells trouble.

Most analysts expect the U.S. currency to strengthen in 2017, extending a gain  that has boosted the value of US Dollarby more than one third since the US credit downgrade in 2011.

Note EU-Digest: the strength of the US economy could also be a Wall Street Fata Morgana created by Wall Street and the corporate controlled press - time will tell.

Read more: Re-Energized Dollar Looms Over the Rest of the World - WSJ

Turkey: People from over 10 countries among Istanbul nightclub attack victims by terrorist pig

Terrorism Inc sick minds

Fifteen or 16 non-Turkish citizens were killed in a gun attack on an Istanbul night club on Sunday, Turkish officials announced.

The attack during the New Year celebrations claimed the lives of at least 39 people and injured nearly 70. According to Turkey’s interior minister, Suleyman Soylu, “15 or 16” of those killed were foreigners. Just over 20 bodies have been identified so far, the minister said, adding that 69 people have been hospitalized, of whom at least four are in critical condition. Read People from over 10 countries among Istanbul nightclub attack victims.

Jordan has confirmed the death of at least three of its citizens, Petra news agency reported, citing its foreign ministry in Amman, adding that four other Jordanians were wounded, some of whom are in critical condition. Two Tunisian citizens were among those killed, according to the country’s foreign ministry. An American citizen has been injured as result of the attack, State Department spokesman Michael Tran confirmed, without giving any details on the identity of the person or their condition, CNN reports.

 On Sunday, the Russian Consulate General in Istanbul confirmed the death of a Russian woman in the attack. A consulate official told RIA Novosti that the woman was initially thought to be an Azeri citizen, but documents confirmed her Russian citizenship.

"There were no other Russian citizens among those killed or wounded in the terrorist attack," the consulate official said, adding that the identification procedure for the deceased woman has been scheduled for Tuesday. France has confirmed that one of its citizens, a woman with dual French-Tunisian citizenship, was killed in the attack at the night club. “Her husband, who was a Tunisian citizen, also died,” France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said. Three French citizens were wounded.

The Belgian Foreign Ministry reported on Twitter that it feared one of the deceased may be from Belgium. Two Lebanese nationals have been confirmed dead. Lebanese authorities said five of the country’s citizens were injured in the attack, including the daughter of an MP. Israel confirmed that one of its citizens, a 19-year-old girl, was among the dead.

Three Moroccans were injured, the Moroccan foreign ministry said. Kuwait has lost one of its citizens in the attack, Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Suleiman al-Jarallah told the Kuwait News Agency on Sunday. Four Kuwaiti citizens are being treated for injuries suffered in the attack, while another one has been released from the hospital.

Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj confirmed that two Indian nationals, including the son of a former MP, have died in the shooting. “I have bad news from Turkey. We have lost 2 Indian nationals in the Istanbul attack,” she wrote in a Twitter post, adding that the Indian ambassador in Turkey is heading to Istanbul to assist the families of the deceased Indians who are to fly there from India.

 Up to 600 people are believed to have been inside the club at the time of the attack. Located in the Ortakoy neighborhood on the shores of Istanbul’s Bosphorus waterway, the venue is a popular spot with many nightclubs, art galleries, and restaurants that attract foreigners. Turkey’s Anadolu state news agency has reported that at least 27 foreigners were among the victims of the nightclub attack, citing anonymous sources in the Justice Ministry. "I have been living in Ortakoy for the past [few] months and this particular area has a [high] expat population.

So, one of the main reasons behind this attack could be because [its organizers] wanted to scare the expat community. This is also a very famous tourist area, and the club that was attacked is very famous not only among expats, but also among local celebrities," a woman in Istanbul told RT. Those behind the attack "are targeting a certain kind of people, a certain way of life," another man said, while a third local man told RT he thought the attackers "wanted to scare the international people who come here for fun."

Read More3 at RT News