Suicide Homicide Evaluation: Fill & Download for Free

Social science theory and methods are compatible with studies of the sociology of social problems—as pioneered by Emile David Durkheim’s study of “Suicide” 1897. Today, the clear need is for an Interdisciplinary team approach with sociologists, social psychologists, and professional epidemiologists -statisticians…contrasting Durkheimian vs. Marxian theoretical propositions. See my paper below:Durkheimian Interdisciplinary Approach to Violence EpidemiologyJohn S. Rankin09/03/2014IntroductionPublic health, social service, community action, and criminal justice practitioners work with many of the same victims and, or offenders involved in violent criminal, fanatical, or totalitarian assaults in various global locations. Offenders and victims often live within the same marginalized communities, in different disorganized communities in conflict, or in disadvantaged communities or more socially advantaged communities at odds with one another. In this time of ambitious evidence-based government reforms and innovations, a paradigm is needed that links the theoretical and methodological tools guiding medical, social, and behavioral science, policy decisions-makers, and practitioners, e.g., as with the “epidemiological criminology” approach.1 High incidence of violentvictimization in certain historical periods, locations, and populations 2, 3, 4 spreads experiences of “psychic impairment”, similar to the effects of the much less prevalent but symbolically charged hate crimes that have a broad impact on victim's home communities which experience feelings ofvulnerability and secondary victimization of those “indirectly exposed” 5to the emotional effects of “victim blaming”, and other consequences of having actually been assaulted, 6 and on offender's communities that are stigmatized by association. Such difficult structural complexity is rendered far more problematic by the contesting and conflation of variously accurate statistics and unsubstantiated fork or ideological presumptions.PurposeThe intent of this article is to broadly argue the need for an interdisciplinary public health approach to violence that includes a historic and ongoing mapping of the epidemiology of extreme acts of violence such as sadistic homicide/rape, regardless of predator, victim, situation, culture, or location—matched with similar epidemiologies of phantasmal images in mass media and of symbolic representations of past, current, or future states of the larger societies of different times, places, and peoples. As a contribution to the ongoing project of providing a common frame for violence prevention policies and programs, public health epidemiologists should take the lead in developing a violence paradigm, bysystematically defining, describing, and modeling the global historical, ongoing, and projected statistical realities of violence as the dependent variables; to be placed in the social context of environmental as understood through climate, ecological, demographic, economic, and other materialconditions; and of collective consciousness as reflected in images and symbolic representations developed, at a minimum, form psychiatric, art history, and sociological theory and analysis—as the intervening variable in the relationship of environmental conditions and violence epidemiology.A broadly sketched Durkheimian theoretical model of macro violence escalation is suggested as a contribution to the called for violence framing project. Durkheimian Violence Epidemiology Public health epidemiologists can, with the realism of unmatched diagnostic and statistical precision and consistency, and responsive mobilization inherent in the public health model, provide a basis for reference for: public health, criminological, sociological, psychiatric, law enforcement, journalists, authors of official policies and programs, and other analysts, as well as the broad range of frontline practitioners and, especially the at risk public.Durkheim's theory of societal conditions linked to broad epidemiological patterns of violence is uniquely relevant to violence as a problem not currently approached within a cohesive paradigm. His focus on the subjectivity of a collective consciousness composed of collective representations that are “sacred” because they symbolize the physical and moral power of the larger society which define a people's identity as such, provides an unmatched though incomplete theoretical foundation foraddressing collective violence which, joined with systematic modern public health monitoring of exigent violence, can contribute to the framing of planning, implementation, and evaluation of public policy and intervention programs focused on violence reduction. As a violence paradigm, Durkheim's concept/analysis of collective consciousness is incomplete, in not completely/explicitly incorporating collective unconsciousness and psychopathology, e.g., psychopathy, neurosis, psychosis, and not addressing the effects of specific antisocial behavioral norms, e.g., dueling, lynching, rioting, on actual forms and levels of violence, e.g., minimal, callous, sadistic.Violence EpidemiologyAs a contribution to Durkheim's paradigm, the major advantages of the public health epidemiological approach include the sophisticated conceptual, statistical, and procedural protocols and tools, and process oriented analysis, that serve to help identify the median of realism between “moral panics” 7 that might victimize suspected offenders and uninformed or misinformed complacency that leaves victims vulnerable. Both extremes are common in the history, currency, and possible future ofcollective violence. Although Durkheim is widely recognized as a major figure in violence epidemiology, the present day emphasis on rates of violence does not systematically and consistently monitor less frequent but more dynamic and socially damaging or even catastrophic forms of violence such as an epidemics and pandemics, (i.e., epidemics of epidemics), which are central to hisepidemiological typology and his theory of social integration/disintegration. Durkheim's theory matches different epidemiological patterns with distinct social dynamics, assummarized in his “social types” of societies in his work on suicide, i.e., addressing endemic rates and epidemics. Later, his study of ecstatic varieties of religious experience through participation in a “collective effervescence”, addresses upsurges such as The French Revolution, perhaps best understood as a mass pandemic coalescing into a collective consciousness capable of driving a social movement.While Durkheim avoids the pitfall of arbitrarily contributing to a “moral panic” by sensationalizing homicide and suicide patterns and contributing conditions, the epidemics and “collective effervescences” he cites as most likely increasing the likelihood of violence in a society, often involve just the kind of mass hysteria and collective delusions attributed to moral panics. 11 Durkheim's work contributes to epidemiological realism by providing a taxonomical and theoretical basis for an integrative policy oriented framework focused on macro patterns of violence andvulnerability. This is an increasingly important epidemiological approach in the context of genocidal trends, especially with the added depth provided by his concept of patterns of symbolic collectiverepresentations of constituting public consciousness of the larger society context 10 for community, group, and individual perceptions of violent offenses and victimizations, e.g. antisocial symbolic representations constituting prejudice that contributes to racism, sexism, and other forms of prejudice and discrimination; but also representations shaping positive religious, patriotic, or occupational consciousness. The power of Durkheim's frame for violence research and policy stems from hiscombination of forms of social integration summarized in his social types, epidemiological patterns, and collective consciousness of the larger society and its violence that cannot be directly perceived 1 See “Durkheim's Taxonomy of Collective Violence” and “Durkheimian Theory of Violence epdiemiology” , by the author, in the NCJRS libarary.directly—as the moral framework for direct existential individual, group, community, and institutional experience of local society and violence. For Durkheim it is the collective representations of moral values and moral imbued through folkish, religious, or ideological systems of symbolic collective representations (i.e., images with connotations or concepts that evoke images) portraying the historical, current, and future state of a people's shared life, that shapes collective violence by their presence in anintact society—or through their absence under anomic conditions—and that might emerge in times of social ferment. This emphasis originates with his insight that society is a moral being, combining acollective consciousness composed of symbolic collective representations of the larger society, with the combined physical, emotional, and intellectual power of the cooperative human collective when mobilized through that collective consciousness.Durkheim's taxonomy of collective violence epidemiology 11 ranges from endemic rates, to epidemics, to paneemcis or collective effervescences, of suicidogenic or homicidogenic and suicidal or homicidal behaviors, and actual suicides or homicides; with subtypes of mass, contagious, and social (roleoriented) diffusion; or, implicitly, complex subtypes with more or less sequenced and complete phases of such diffusion patterns; with attention to rising, peaking, and declining stages of such patterns of violence. Leading epidemiologists describe stages of mass violence compatible with Durkheim's types of volatility based on accounts of genocide, 12, on “temporal associations and time lines” 12, 13and“early indicators” and “epidemiologic tools 2 (120) for describing and understanding the historical and spatial organization of organized violence.” In addition, Durkheim's theory of violence epidemiology centers on states of collective consciousness formed from symbolic collective representations of the origins, living conditions, collective consciousness/conscience, and violence endemicity or epidenicity believed and felt by citizens to be characteristic of their larger society. Hispathological “social types” of societies, include the stable but chronically elevated altruism or egoism, and fatalistic or anomic consciousness/conscience with elevated endemic rates of violence. Suchconsciousness provides the macro social context intervening in the relationship between individual, group, and community level patterns of collective violence and consciousness/conscience on the one hand, and objective contributing living conditions on the other hand. His theory was informed and vetted through evidence-based analysis of “moral statistics”, and can better be done today; with close attention to the correlation of the multiple epidemiologies of violence, of contributing living conditions, and of “symbolic collective representations” reflecting and shapingcollective consciousness of the “upstream” larger society 8 (843); and especially public awareness of collective violence as a consequence of and influence on the quality of modern life in the United States, or other countries. Durkheim’s epidemiology, social type theory, and historic examples, suggest a violence process that is, or might be refined to be, an extreme case useful as a reference for policy analysis, decision, implementation, and argumentation. The nature of this escalation process is that a people's commitment to a way of life producing high endemic rates of violence, likely predisposes them to epidemic violence when stressed by mass anomie which in turn evokes an effervescent fanatical idealism prone to violence while attempting to restore order. However, the regressive natureof anomie consciousness is such that a people with a history of low endemic rates of violence might experience a violent effervescence of ominously traumatic proportions. Similarly, the rise of a new social order might institutionalize violence at high and, or brutal levels; or evolve into a pacifist commitment to nonviolent norms. Policy implications should focus on prevention of violence through monitoring and reducing endemic violence, avoiding anomic epidemic violence, and moderating ecstatic-idealist movements attempting to restore or reform the anomic social order.Symbolic Collective RepresentationsGenerally, Durkheim reduces the significance of symbols and their meaning/emotional connotations to reflections of strong “altruistic” social solidarity associated with values that prioritize community needsand rights over those of individuals thereby increasing suicidal/homicidal tendencies, e.g., the ancient Celtic warrior code of honor. In contrast, he sees modern pragmatic “egoistic” weakly integrated solidarity based on understanding and commitment to the exaggerated individuality of roles and consciousness required for advanced civilizations, versus “anomic” conditions reducing a population to a mass of competing amoral instinct driven wills. Durkheim's associates the altruistic Catholicemphasis on community and tolerance with lower suicide rates, and some individualistic Protestant expectations of personal behavior and responsibility with higher suicide rates, despite both rejecting suicide as unacceptable, albeit with recognition of mitigating circumstances. With the decline of traditional cultures faced with the rise of industrial-urban society in the 19th Century, it had been obvious that overt ideological proclamations and subtle or covert ideological representations embeddedin religious, legal, educational, entertainment products, political, “scientific”, regulatory, “news”, medical, and virtually any other mass venue do or can indirectly or directly have violent consequences,e.g., when sadistic violence is demanded, glorified, tolerated, rationalized, or officially/popularly denied or minimized. Ideological representations can directly motivate and enable violence through appealing to real or imagined deprivations, injustices, frustrations, and anger, of marginal cultures, classes, or to psychopathological individuals found in every population. Ideologies can also contribute to violence indirectly by promoting attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors that increase or continue marginalization from generation to generation, or among peoples—or among groups able to marginalize others through exploitation or enthrallment, e.g., as with racial, cast, religious, class, or nationalistic prejudice and discrimination.Collective UnconsciousnessDurkheim's generalization of neurasthenia and erethism, his reference to suicidal tendencies provoked by sight of a hook used by a person to hang himself, and particularly his analysis of mass anomie consciousness in his study of suicide and his analysis of altered states of consciousness and the genesis of symbolic collective representations—implicitly assume collective states of unconsciousness, but are far short of incorporating the theory and research on phantasmal mental images and psychologicaldissociation already prominent in the 19th and early 20th Centuries, and still central concepts in modern psychiatric diagnosis and theories of abnormal psychology. This unconscious element of collective consciousness is partially composed of phantasmal images of extreme malevolence or immorality—or of benign innocence, e.g., as seen in spontaneous mental images, and in antisocial or social artistic presentations of scenes and characters. Such images constitute a third order of collective representations completing Durkheim's basic paradigm, alongside those representations that officially signify violence and those that that are folkish or ideological symbolizations of the state of society. Ifreligious, racist, nationalistic, or other symbolic collective representations incorporate phantasmal images, e.g., portraying opponents as demonic or subhuman, then such belief systems can contribute to the contamination of consciousness with such images and to materialization in atrocities. Analysis of such complexity requires the combined power of violence epidemiology, psychiatric epidemiology, and sociological or social epidemiology, and their associated theoretical and analytical methods.SummaryThis paper proposes a focus on the individual trauma and loss of social solidarity consequences of high endemic rates, epidemics, or effervescences of sadistic violence, to communities of victims and to victim's communities. Durkheim's epidemiology and theory is applied to develop a general model of macro patterns of violence escalation, as a frame for violence prevention policy related research, analysis, planning, implementation, and evaluation. With this approach, the natural groupings for relevant data analysis are the historical endemic, epidemic, and effervescent periods of violence.This approach will help avoid mixing violence statistics from epidemiologically distinct episodes, in different times, places, and population, 21; e.g., to construct “...time intervals between first events and first reports, and between first reports and first responses in major genocides...” 12 (148). This is especially true of the forensics of sadistic actual or near homicide/rape acts common to serial killings, gang assaults, human trafficking, fanatical honor attacks, and atrocities occurring during wars or periods of anarchy. The fundamentally inhuman quality and similarity of such acts across varied social contexts, indicates a common underlying psychosocial psychopathology produced/released under stressful circumstances, e.g., degradation of individual life, anomic derangement, paranoid fanaticism. In addition, application of the “Precautionary Principle”22 suggest that the epidemiology of antisocialphantasmal images and symbolic collective representations that may or do match modes and targets of actual violence, should receive a high priority as possible bellwethers of rising violence. “A study of metaphors and images that are prevalent in current times should provide a deeper understanding of anomie and patterns of counter-culture that reflect the state of society...For instance, six million viewers watched AMC's season finale of “The Walking Dead...”23 It is recommended that violence, psychiatric disorders, phantasmal media images, and ideological representations of the state of society, be mapped and tracked epidemiologically; and be collaboratively studied by, at a minimum, public health epidemiologists, art-historian, and sociologists. For example, character disorders involving “psychopathy, anti-social behavior, drug abuse/dependence or anger” and personality disorders with a history of “aggressions...rejection of treatment...alcohol or drug abuse...psychopathic traits...family and social withdrawal and environment stressants …especially delusional ideas of persecution and hallucinations that imply orders to act violently.” 24 This proposed emphasis on the diffusion ofcollective representations of violence or violence prone behavior and attitudes is perhaps the least considered element of Durkeim's theory of violence epidemiology. 25References1.Akers TA, Lanier, MM. Epidemiological Criminology: Coming Full Circle. Am J Public Health.2009. 99(3): 397–402.2.Lindert JU. The Impact of Organized Violence on Childrens Mental Health. Epidemiology.2003; 14.3.Lindert JU. Exposure to Violence – Health Impact on Different Age Groups. Epidemiology.2005; 16: 22.4.Lindert J, Von Ehrenstein O, Priebe S. Methods to Analyze Indicators of Intentional MassViolence. Epidemiology. 2006; 17: 119-120.5.Vlahov D, Galea S. War and Anxiety Disorders. Epidemiology. 2004; 15: 129-130.6.Akers TA, Potter RH, Hill, Carl V. Epidemiological Criminology: A Public Health Approach toCrime and Violence. New York NY: John Wiley & Sons, 2012.7.Goode E, Ben-Yehuda N. Moral Panics: The Social Construction of Deviance. New York, NY:John Wiley & Sons, 2010.8.Syme TS, Leonard F, Katherine L. The Contribution of Social Epidemiology: Ten New Books.Epidemiology. 2002; 13: 110-112.9. Berkman LF., Glass T, Brissette I, Seeman TE. From social integration to health: Durkheim inthe new millennium. Social Science & Medicine. 2000; 51: 843-857.10.Farr RM. Heidec Harre and Helmlich on Health and Illness: Some Observations on theStructure of ‘Representations Collectives’. European Journal of Social Psychology. 1977; 4: 491-504.11.Rankin JS. Durkheim's Taxonomy of Collective Violence. International Journal of Crime,Criminal Justice, and Law. 2012; 7. NCJRS Library, 2014.12.Berman T, Richter ED. Epidemiology, Environment, Genocidal War and Genocide: TimeLines of Upstream Determinants, Predictors and Prevention: the Need for Surveillance and EarlyWarning Systems. Epidemiology. 2005; 16: 146.13.Durkheim, É. Rules of Sociological Method. New York NY: Simon and Schuster; 1982, Lukes,Steven.14.Durkheim, É. The Division of Labor in Society. English translation by George Simpson; NewYork NY: Free Press; 1933.15. Durkheim, É. The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. New York NY: The Free Press,Translation and Introduction copyright, Karen E. Fields; 1912.16. Durkheim É. German Above All: The German mental attitude and the war. Studies andDocuments on the War. Publishing Committee; 1915.17.Kossoff P. Valiant Heart: A Biography of Heinrich Heine. Associated University Presses; 1983.18.Rosenberg DJ. Towards a Cosmopolitanism of Self-difference: Heinrich Heine and Madamede Stael Between France and Germany. ProQuest; 2007.19.Durkheim, É. Suicide: A Study of Sociology. Translated by John S. Spaulding and GeorgeSimpson. Edited with an Introduction; Glencoe, Ill.:The Free Press; 1951.20.Durkheim É. Sociology and Philosophy (Routage Revivals). trans. D. F. Popcok, into. J. G.Peristiany, Cohen & West, London: Taylor & Francis; 2009.21.Richter ED, Berman T. Terror, Democide, Mass Violence: Epidemiologic Approaches toCausation, Early Warning Systems and Prevention. Epidemiology. 2004; 15:124-125.22.Richter E, Blum R, Lindert J, Soskolne C, Stanton G. The Precautionary Principle:Environmental Epidemiology's Gift to Genocide Prevention. Epidemiology. 2006;17: 340-341.23.Rankin AE. The Anomic Effect of Globalization: Modern Day Guilds as the Solution. FirstAnnual Public Sociology Graduate Conference, George Mason University. 2011.24.Esbec E, Echeburúa E. Violence and personality disorders: clinical and forensic implications.“Juzgado de Instruccion” (Instruction Courts) of Madridhttp://www.ehu.es/echeburua/pdfs/Violence%20and%20PD.pdf. Accessed May 5, 2014.25. Rankin, JS. Durkheimian Theory of Violence epdiemiology. NCJRS Libarary, 2014.

I’m answering this question just a day after Joe Biden has been elected to become the 46th President of the United States of America (I am not American, but deeply interested in global politics). I’m going to answer in terms of how he wasn’t only a bad president, but bad human being.Now that it’s all over, well nearly over, we’ve clearly seen what President Trump has done in four years of hell — I mean presidency. Let’s take a look back, so America doesn’t make the same mistakes again.There are many reasons why I personally dislike Trump. Most stem from instances of what he’s done or said, before, during and after the elections. I’ll evaluate Trump’s character and his impact on America and the world.It starts with his perversion and peculiarity, which was a big red flag for me:In a 1996 interview, Trump creepily talked about his daughter’s legs and even referred to her breasts when Tiffany was just a 1-year-old. Here’s the clip:In the 1997, Miss Teen USA contest, Vermont, Trump was reported to have walked in on contestants while they were changing. At another interview he joked about his obligation to sleep with them.In 2004, Trump was recorded saying “grab her by the pussy, they let you do that”. Sorry to say, but a presidential candidate who’s bragged about sexual assault and still thinks what he said was okay, is just unfit. The people who defend those comments are just as sick!Some may argue that he isn’t bragging about sexual assault, because he says “and when you’re a star, they let you do it - You can do anything.”, though he still admits to his celebrity privilege of being able to prey on younger women without any repercussions.He also infamously said, “If Ivanka weren’t my daughter, I’d be dating her”. Nice, so you’ve got an incestuous candidate too. But let’s look at other possibilities. Maybe he’s just trying to win the Alabama vote? (No offense to any Alabamans here)Putting the humour aside, we must remind remind ourselves that older men abusing their power to prey on younger women is nothing new in America, and in fact much of the modern-world today. Sad indeed.His immaturity, lies and offensive remarks or gestures:Constant interruptions at the 2020 Debate, where his opponent, Biden also resorted to slander. Watching Reagan debate with Carter was such a refreshment.He lied on Twitter saying Ginsburg’s death wish was fabricated by Democrats. How distasteful must one be to have that sort of indecency to a woman who just died. And he put a former-evangelical cult member in the place of a women’s rights champion. Just great!In 2015, he mocked a disabled New York Times reporter. Clip:In a conversation with senior staff members on the morning of the scheduled visit, Trump said, “Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers.” In a separate conversation on the same trip, Trump referred to the more than 1,800 marines who lost their lives at Belleau Wood as “suckers”, for getting killed.Today, Trump has refused defeat, saying “this is far from over”. I hate to break it to him. The election is over. Someone please tell the Donald that that’s how democracy works.His COVID-19 policy:He lied about COVID-19 and said it would “go away”. Fact check: It didn’t and America is breaking records nearly every few days. Just yesterday, over 125,000 cases were reported, yet another record.He called COVID-19 “God’s blessing”. Over 300,000 Americans would disagree with him, don’t ya think?He constantly downplayed the pandemic. He followed only half of the pandemic playbook. What do I mean by that you may ask?As a populous, superpower country, there are two main steps America should have taken to keep infection rates (and hence deaths) low:1. Ban foreign travel in and out of the country. Why? Because no one wants more infected people importing the virus into the country. That only complicates it and makes it harder for health officials to track its origins.2. Bring an internal lockdown and shut down all businesses and public places? Why? Because it was obvious from the start that being a country of 330 million people, at least one person had COVID-19 in America. China gave the WHO a three weeks heads up before the first case appeared in America. Three weeks! But during those three weeks, infected Americans transmitted COVID-19 from state to state to state, and the numbers kept multiplying, all because politicians were afraid an internal lockdown would disrupt the economy. It turns out, delaying the internal lockdown lead to more infections and more deaths, and longer lockdowns, so the economy is doing much more poorly than it would have been if the Trump Administration put a nationwide lockdown earlier!In other words Trump banned foreign travel, but intentionally failed to bring a national lockdown because it would disrupt the US economy. If he put a lockdown earlier there would be an x number of deaths and x number of economic losses. Due to the lack of action and fatal delay in the US pandemic response, it was too late and that x became an x+y.All America needed was a patient leader, but how could you expect that from someone so selfish and immature? He was just as impatient as his entertainment magnates, real estate tycoon and fossil fuel friends were and are!In comparison, the rival superpower, China, had a look at the numbers and they used their brains. They wanted to save their economy this year, so instead of refusing lockdown which would only temporarily disrupt businesses, they brought one of the most strict lockdown policies and tested entire cities within days. It was worth it at the end, because China is the only economy that saw growth in the third quarter of 2020 with +5%, and the only major economy that has experienced economic growth this entire year.His racism, Islamophobia and ignorance to ICE’s human rights abuses (linked to his anti-immigration and refugee policy):He said Mexico was bringing in their “bad guys, not their good guys”, and referred to Mexican migrants as “rapists” and “drug dealers”. The reality is, the overwhelming majority of Mexicans who come into America have never dealt with drugs, ever, even those who entered illegally. Trump is generalizing Mexican immigrants into such a narrow, subjective and horrible stereotype. Don’t worry, Mexico is bringing their “good” more than they are bringing their “bad”.Trump has refused hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing from violence in Central and South America. He justified it to his supporters by lying saying “they’re criminals” or “aliens” at many of his rallies. They’re not criminals. Those are innocent human beings.Deportations decreased under the Trump Admin, because fewer people are crossing the US border, majority of whom are again, refugees.But it’s not just Central America. Trump banned Muslim refugees from 7 Muslim countries, most of them war-torn, and suggested Muslims have a special register as US citizens and he also wanted to introduce the surveillance of mosques, the Islamic place of worship.He insulted the squad telling them to go back to the “shithole countries they came from”. Imagine if a US president said this two decades ago. It’s really sad what America has come too. A xenophobic cyberbully is president.In 2017, Trump protected and defended ICE from being subject to criminal investigations after new reports of human rights violations emerged. US: New Report Shines Spotlight on Abuses and Growth in Immigrant Detention Under Trump | Human Rights Watch (hrw.org)Later in 2018, the US government separated 1,030 children from the border when Trump ordered a crackdown on illegal migrants crossing the US border under the “zero-tolerance” policy. As of 2020, 545 of the children have still not found their parents. Parents of 545 children still not found three years after Trump separation policy | US news | The Guardian That same year, at the South Texas border, dozens of children were put in cages; one cage held 20 children Separation at the border: children wait in cages at south Texas warehouse | US news | The GuardianIn 2020, a whistle-blower nurse alleged ICE had been performing forced hysterectomies on detainees. After speaking out about the inhumane practices at a Georgia detention centre, Nurse Dawn Wooten says she was demoted and reprimanded. Ice detainees faced medical neglect and hysterectomies, whistleblower alleges | US news | The GuardianTrump ordered ICE to deport specifically asylum seekers from Africa, 4 days after Biden won the election, attracting widespread condemnation from human rights advocates.His stupid choices which led to many states flipping:Why did Wisconsin flip? 🔵The trade war with China caused many farmers in the state to lose their livelihoods and hence their jobs. China fought back with even more tariffs, until America ultimately withdrew and surrendered, losing the trade war.On a different, yet similar note, not only Trump, but Americans and in fact the entire world, needs to understand that the CCP is like one big business. They’re aggressive and ruthless with the aim of increasing their gross domestic product and overall wealth as a nation. They will devour anything that stands in their path. They only want money, and will get that no matter what they have to do, ranging from populating faster to monopolizing resource-rich lower income countries across Africa, South Asia and South America, or forcing nearly half a million Uighur detainees to pick cotton (Xinjiang: more than half a million forced to pick cotton, report suggests | World news | The Guardian). The US, Europe and China are all responsible for leaving these poorer countries drowning in debt and forcing their economies to stay based on resource extraction, while they manufacture them into goods and charge much higher prices. The West has been doing this for hundreds of years. Back then, it was called mercantilism. China has only recently joined and is crushing the competition. They’re unstoppable at this pointYou’re not winning a trade war with Winnie the Pooh any time soon!Cha-Ching dynasty!Biden was able to flip Arizona 🔵 mainly because of Trump’s failures, the violence of the far-right and the increased turnout of young and POC voters.Many more young voters showed up at the polls this year and young people, particularly millennials in Arizona are not happy with the fact that they’re financially oppressed since income gaps are widening at fast rates under Trump, which I’ll get onto in more detail later.Additionally, the state has received newcomers from California, Washington and Colorado, which are liberal safe havens.More Latino voters also showed up at the polls, and Pew Research surveys showed that around 60% of Latinos in the country dislike Trump.It was also due to Trump’s feud with John McCain who served in the US Navy (fought in Vietnam), and served as the US Senator for Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. Mr Trump sparked anger by attacking the military record of Senator McCain, a former prisoner of war, saying: "I like people who weren't captured."The senatorial candidate for Arizona was Mark Kelly, the husband of Gabrielle Giffords, a Democrat Rep. who was wounded in a mass shooting in Tucson 2011, where a far-right terrorist killed 6 and injured 14 others including a federal district judge and 9-year-old child in the name of “killing Democrats”.But tragedies no longer bring Americans together. They only drag them apart. Where did it all go wrong?Biden also flipped Michigan 🔵, again due to Trump and the GOP’s lack of action:Detroit is over 75% black, and Pew Research public opinion surveys suggested that nearly 90% of African Americans had a negative view of Donald Trump, so Biden was bound to get tons of support from Detroit, its suburbs and Grand Rapids, because African-Americans are simply the most likely to vote against Donald Trump out of any other racial group.Voter turnout reached a record of 5 million state-wide. Clinton won the Democratic-leaning region 55.8%-39.9% for Trump four years ago. Biden won it 58.6%-40.1%.Here's how Joe Biden beat Trump in Michigan — and it wasn't corruption (freep.com)It was also due to Trump’s failure to condemn the plot to kidnap and assassinate the governor of Michigan which the FBI foiled, and instead Trump seemed to victim-blame while his supporters praised the would-be domestic terrorists widely online. He’s literally empowering the radicals. Sigh.Biden flipped Pennsylvania 🔵 mainly due to:His success in Philadelphia and the suburbs nears Philly. Again, the urban-rural divide.Trump called the city of Philadelphia, which is the largest city in the state by the way, “one of the most corrupt places on earth”, losing popularity amongst many voters. At least now we know that what not to do as a presidential candidate in an election: Don’t insult one of America’s biggest cities.(Edit) Georgia 🔵, the home of civil rights titans, also turned blue:Biden seemed to win major cities in the state with 72.6% of the vote in Atlanta (where nearly half the population are blacks) and 67.9% in Augusta, as well as emerging victorious in the suburbs around these cities.Like in much of the country, the voter turnout of African Americans increased significantly compared to 2016, contributing to the flip.Stacey Abrams. You either know her or you don’t. Abrams nearly became the first black female governor in the US. She lost by just 55,000 votes two years ago and has never conceded the election, arguing an “erosion of our democracy” deprived supporters of their right to vote.Unlike, Trump, she actually had evidence to back up her allegations on what she says was a rigged election 2 years ago: her opponent, Brian Kemp, used his position as Georgia’s secretary of state to remove more than 300,000 people from the voters roll, excluding eligible citizens who had not voted in 3 years, most of whom were African Americans and those living in urban areas. This is voter suppression at it’s finest and has become a hallmark of some Republican-run states.Georgia’s Republican senators are ravenous, selfish and yeah, you guessed it, corrupt: Georgia's millionaire senators won't drain the swamp. They are the swamp | Moira Donegan | Opinion | The GuardianThe pure negligence, incompetence and utter discrimination by Trump and the Republican Party gave Biden an upper-hand in five swing states, causing him to lose big time!⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️Statistically, more educated cities and counties voted for Joe Biden:Why? Biden is a moderate who leans towards the left, but in reality is called a centrist or some would say he even leans right, anywhere outside of America, whereas Trump would be a far-rightist outside of America.Younger counties were also more likely to vote blue, exposing the generation gap.Why? Younger people tend to be more progressive and liberal. Not to mention the increasing student debt problem (disaster!) and how Trump appointed a clueless, corrupt, yacht-owning imbecile, lobbyist, Betsy DeVos, as the US Secretary of Education. Betsy DeVos is also the sister of Erik Prince (friend of Trump), who founded Blackwater.Biden also seemed to be more popular in urban areas, with over 93% of voters in Washington DC going blue, whereas Trump appealed to rural, less densely populated regions in America.It’s most likely because the populations in cities tend to be more diverse and filled with immigrants, making them less likely to vote for Trump who is making it harder for immigrants to come to the country. He knows this very well. He’s from New York City, which overwhelmingly voted for Biden.His foreign policy:Before I start on this topic, let me just say that Donald Trump is often idolized as one of the most peaceful president in modern-US history, because “he didn’t intervene in the Middle East”, a baseless lie, often spread by conservative critics of Obama’s intervention in Libya in 2011. This view is prevalent among the Muslim community and has led many of the people in my community to support Trump over Biden. I find it completely ignorant. Do your research people. Every American president since 9/11 has some sort of human rights violations record in the Middle East, capisce?Trump put illegal sanctions on Iran. The sanctions target innocent civilians more than the Iranian government. Medicine, food and even birth rates have been negatively affected with depopulation, economic decline and inflation. A truly inhumane decision made by Pompeo and Trump. With or without war, America, Democrat or Republicans will always find ways to disrupt peace in the Middle East, because they want the GCC to buy their weapons, with the US being the largest manufacturer of arms. Make it stop, and maybe then you’ll earn the respect of the world. Luckily, Biden has already criticized Saudi Arabia many times in the past. Hopefully he speaks up against the oppressive Saudi monarchy, which many Muslims despise, and that number is growing.In Trump’s first “counterterrorism” operation was the Raid on Yakla, he had killed 14 civilians, 9 of whom were children, in a US commando raid in Yemen in 2017. It was alleged that Al-Qaeda was operating in the targeted location, but no evidence was provided by any federal intelligence agency. An 8 year-old US citizen of Yemeni descent was also killed.He also betrayed the Kurds in Syria. Although they never formed a formal alliance with a treaty, the US and Kurdish rebels had a sense of friendship and that trust was broken. The Kurds lost US funding (thanks to Trump) so they had to abandon IS prisons. The earliest instance of ISIS prisoners escaping was in late 2019 with hundreds estimated to have escaped. The latest was just three weeks ago with over 240 ISIS prisoners let loose. As a result, ISIS still operates and carried out two deadly attacks in Kabul and Vienna last week, killing over 39 people in total.Trump sold over $110bn in arms to Saudi Arabia as part of a 10 year contract worth over $300bn, the largest arms deal in human history with the UK and Canada also involved. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has used the arms in the war in Yemen where reports of airstrikes on civilians and prison torture have emerged. They have bombed school buses, funerals and UNESCO heritage sites, all with US-made weapons.His lack of economic transparencyTrump reportedly bankrupted his casino in Atlanta City, NJ leaving it a ‘ghost town’. Managers and employees were unpaid for months, until eventually hundreds were made jobless. The 1992 U.S. Senate Subcommittee 218-page report entitled "Asian Organized Crime: the New International Criminal", linked Trump's businesses to Asian organized crime. Specifically the Senate subcommittee named Danny Sau Keung Leung, who had been Trump Taj Mahal's VP Foreign Marketing since 2000, as an associate of the Hong Kong-based organized crime group 14K Triad linked to "murders, extortions and heroin smuggling". Leung worked at Trump Taj Mahal from 1990 to 1995. He was "known by law enforcement to be linked to organized crime syndicates".(Above stands the colossal Taj Mahal Casino in front of abandoned cottages)A bombshell report embedded with evidence and documents obtained over the course of over a decade revealed that Pres. Trump has paid just $750 in taxes in the last few years in the US, but paid nearly $200,000 ($188,561) in local taxes to the Chinese government.A lawyer for the Trump Organization told the Times that the account was opened to pay taxes after opening an office in China to “explore the potential for hotel deals in Asia.”“Tax records reviewed by the New York Times showed a previously unreported bank account in China controlled by Trump International Hotels Management. The account paid $188,561 in taxes in China between 2013 and 2015 in connection to potential licensing deals…”Tax returns of Donald Trump - WikipediaTrump still has a bank account in China. This was confirmed by a spokesperson for the Trump Admin, who said that although Trump has a company account, his they had ultimately “failed to pursue their interests in China”. Phew! Even the Chinese knew that allowing a foreign president to do business in their country just didn’t align with the interests of the US Department of Homeland Security, so thank goodness the Chinese refused, but still, the POTUS having a bank account in the rival, genocidal, totalitarian, superpower country is not a good sign at all, even if it is legal. And imagine that this hypocrite has the audacity to call Biden communist and pro-China. Trump’s been kissing China’s ass longer than any Democrat has.Link: Trump Records Shed New Light on Chinese Business Pursuits - The New York Times (nytimes.com)Takeaways:The recent tax records also showed Trump invested at least $192,000 in five companies charged with pursuing business deals in China. Those companies claimed $97,400 in business expenses, including payments as recently as 2018, the Times reported.”As part of a pandemic aid package the government sent $600bn in aid to businesses, but Trump nor his Administration nor the GOP, didn’t specify which businesses it would go to. Trump is the first president to have failed to disclose the information on the stimulus which is required by US constitution to be made public. It’s safe to assume some of his billionaire friends got the money that was meant for small businesses for the working-class folk in both, red and blue states. Orange is sus. Thank you for voting him out.His downplaying of domestic terrorism by the right wing:1 American has been killed in leftist attacks in 2020. Antifa was the culprit.Trump constantly focuses on condemning leftist/Antifa/BLM “terrorists”.One could try (but not necessarily succeed in) arguing that the George Floyd riots/protests were motivated by the left:But most casualties were protestors themselves.93% of Black Lives Matter protests were peaceful. Of the 7% that escalated, the brutal response by the police was the reason.And looters and gangsters can’t be classified as terrorists, because they have a financial agenda, but may take advantage of political situations, but they couldn’t care less about politics. An example was the shooting at a Walmart in Philadelphia last month which was caused by a dispute over sneakers. 1 was killed and 13 injured.Whereas a terrorist, obviously has a political agenda.Over 33 have died in rightist attacks this year.In the last 25 years, 549 Americans have been killed in rightist attacks:Oklahoma (1995) where an evangelical cultist thought killing over 160 innocent people would be retaliation against the FBI’s raid against his Dravidian Christian cult’s stronghold in Utah.Centennial Park (1996) where a strict anti-abortionist bombed the Olympic Games, killing 2 and injuring over 111.Tucson (2011) where a mass shooting was carried out by a far-right, anti-Democrat who ended up killing 5 and injuring 14 in an attempt to assassinate Gabrielle Gibsons as I stated earlier.Wisconsin (2012): a white supremacist killed 7 Sikhs and injured 3, falsely associating them with Taliban members for their turbans. For the record, turbans are worn all across North Africa, the Middle East and parts of South Asia.Pittsburgh (2017): another white supremacist killed 11 at a synagogue. These people are acting like Nazis at this point.El Paso (2019): 23 killed, 23 injured when a radical white supremacist tied to far-right groups on Facebook carried out a massacre at a Walmart location, in the name of quote “killing Mexicans”.The problem of white supremacy and far-right terrorism is not unique to just America, e.g. Oslo Attacks, Quebec Mosque Shootings, Christchurch Mosque shootings. The domestic threat shared by Muslim countries are Islamist extremists, while the West’s domestic threat are white supremacists and political (left/right) radicals. Both seem to stem from a lack of education.But we’re talking about America. In the last 25 years, there hasn’t been any major leftist terrorist attack in America. Most left-wing terrorist groups that had operated in the 1970s and 1980s disappeared by the mid-1990s. I tried digging deep while ignoring any anti-right bias, but failed to find any notable leftist attacks. Most domestic terrorist attacks seem to be motivated by the far far right.Trump was or is openly supported by white supremacist groups as well as hate-groups and terrorist organizations like the Boogaloo Boys, the Proud Boys and former Ku Klux Klan wizards, most notably, David Duke.Trump had said there were “very fine people” on both sides, referring to scuffles between far-right, white supremacist rioters and anti-racism protestors in Charlottesville in 2017, sparking outrage and condemnation. Why?Many Trumpists dispute the context of Trump’s phrase, “You also had people that were very fine people, on both sides." Here is the context of what he said at the press conference: PolitiFact | In Context: Donald Trump’s ‘very fine people on both sides’ remarks (transcript)According to Trump, you had good anti-racism protestors and bad anti-racism protestors. But according to Trump you also had good Neo-Nazis and bad Neo-Nazis. But there were no “fine people” on the white supremacist side. They shouted anti-Semitic slogans like “Jews will not replace us”, held up posters with conspiracy theories like “The Great Replacement”, “White Genocide”, etc. and turned outright violent. A far-right terrorist had ploughed through a crowd of anti-racism protestors, killing 1 and injuring 27. There were not fine people on both sides. One side are made up of, racists, rioters and terrorists. The others counter-protested the racism and became victims that day.Here’s the link to another video of the attack. The comments section showed exactly what’s wrong with many Americans.Many right-wingers and imbeciles took to social media to support the terrorist, glorify violence, and victim-blame protestors for “blocking traffic”.It comes to show how desensitized and even supportive some Americans can be towards radical violence. This is the face of radicalism. No condolences nor empathy nor admittance to any wrongdoing, but instead victim-blaming, sick mentalities and pure hatred.A wise president would condemn all extremists, the far-left and far-right, and put an end to it once and for all.His failure to distribute wealth and stop income gaps from widening:It wouldn’t be fair to judge Trump for the current employment and economic situation in America, because every country’s economy has been negatively affected, so we can’t blame him on the pandemic. Instead, let’s analyse and see what economic improvements Trump made in the first three years of his presidency.Here’s a graph of GDP growth in America from 2012–2019:The graph covers Obama from 2012–2016, and Trump from 2016–2019.Did Trump really reduce unemployment and create jobs in his first three years? Yup. And so did Obama according to this graph on unemployment rates.Under Trump, middle class continued to disappear, meaning the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. Income gaps widened by over 6% under Trump. Most GDP growth under Trump accounted for middle-upper class, upper-class and top class, same with the previous four years under Obama. It’s not a left-caused problem, nor it is right-caused. It’s not just an American problem either. Income gaps are a global problem.So why am I attacking Trump for this when the other Presidents also let income gaps widen? Because he falsely presented himself as some sort of hero or saviour to the American working class, but did absolutely nothing praise-worthy for the working-class people of America. He’s an utter liar, as are many other politicians. He only lowered taxes for the rich.Trump’s tax cuts helped billionaires pay less than the working class for first time6 Ways the Trump Administration Is Rigging an Already Unfair Tax Code - Center for American ProgressEconomists calculate richest 400 families in US paid an average tax rate of 23% while the bottom half of households paid a rate of 24.2%Don’t listen to what they say. Look at what they do.His stance on the gun problem in the US also bothered me:102 Americans are shot everyday, half are suicides, the rest mostly homicides. America has failed to regulate arms distribution and the mentally ill, political radicals, religious extremists and former-convicts have easily obtained these arms. Weapons in America are in such abundance it’s insane. America’s homicide rate is higher than Nigeria’s! It’s so much worse than people think, especially the gun violence.Australia had the Port Arthur shooting in 1996. They brought stricter gun laws in response. No mass shootings since then!Switzerland had a mass shooting in 2002. They brought better regulations on firearm ownership. No mass shootings since then!New Zealand had its worst mass shooting in 2019 in Christchurch. They banned semi-automatic firearms and magazines that could be used to assemble illegal weapons. No mass shootings since then!Canada had its worst mass shooting in 2020 in Enfield, N.S. The sale, transportation, importation, or use of assault-style firearms in Canada was banned effective immediately. No mass shootings since then!Trump took zero steps to better gun control. What would it take for America to follow in the steps of their Western allies? Why aren’t they taking notes? What’s stopping them from solving this gun problem? The GOP, the Constitution and the Arms Industry.Unlike Trump, Obama had announced a plan for reducing gun violence in four parts: closing background check loopholes; banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines; making schools safer; and increasing access to mental health services. The plan, for the most part, has been ignored and instead reversed by the GOP which is clearly allied with the NRA.Though, Trump seemed concerned about what was happening externally, outside of America. He was worried about the export of US arms in general: in early September 2020, Trump attacked America’s military contractors and defence contractors for “profiting from global wars”. Some of these are private intelligence agencies (CSIS, Ravo Int.), private defence agencies (AEGIS), and also include the largest arms manufacturers in the world (Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin), many of which have ties to both, Democrats and Republicans, and consist of gun running organizations, war-criminals and mercenary leaders.Wait, so maybe Trump’s not so bad now that you hear he’s against America’s militaristic monopoly?Oh wait, he’s accusing them of exactly what he did: Trump ordered the assassination of Qasem Soleimani, which lead to an influx in US weapons sales to the GCC, (who are Iran’s enemies in the Gulf region), because the heightened regional tensions pressured the panicked Arab leaders to buy more US weapons in case Iran retaliates.And remember how he signed that arms deal with Saudi Arabia, which is the largest in human history?Yeah, no one’s buying it Trump. He’s presenting a false version of himself. Understand that pacifism is non-existent in him. Don’t fall for a hypocrite.On a similar note. You’ll notice that the arms industry seems to control both sides of American politics. They are corrupt to the core, unethical in every standard and operate similarly to a bipartisan cult. They lobby and bribe, extort and assassinate. They are responsible for the deaths of millions globally and profit from wars all over the world, whether the Drug War in Mexico, the War on Terror in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Invasion of Iraq, the Intervention in Libya, the Intervention in Syria, and now they are supporting and providing (selling) arms to the GCC’s military efforts in Yemen.There are >2 million registered guns in America. Over 393,000,000 firearms are estimated to be unregistered (honestly, what the hell is that!?) if we were to take a look at national sales broken down state by state, county by county over the last few decades.After Sandy Hooks, America uttered two words: Never Again. The victims of Sandy Hooks would be in 9th grade if they were alive today, which is exactly the same grade as me right now. All that had to happen for me to get slaughtered by an armed maniac was happen to live just a few hundred kilometres southeast of Toronto, in the town of Newton, Connecticut and attend Sandy Hooks Elementary. Think of all the places that have never seemed the same since mass shootings. Parkland. Newton. Columbine. When Americans hear the names of those places, “mass shootings” are the first thing that come to mind.America woke up in 2012, but nothing changed and over two thousand more mass shootings have occurred nationwide whether at malls, concerts or schools. These atrocities can’t be normalized. They need to be dealt with intelligently. Restrict gun ownership. It will save lives as we’ve seen in the latter countries I provided as case study examples.His climate-change policy and stance towards the environmentHe didn’t really have one. Trump is a climate-sceptic for starters.He withdrew from the Paris Agreement which aimed to reduce the CO2 emissions of countries worldwide, making the US the only country to withdraw from the global agreement. Shame on the Trump Administration.He lied to Utahns saying he would “protect their natural monuments”. By February 2020, he had finalized plans to open Utah’s natural monuments for mining(Above: Bears Ears Monument in Utah. Photograph: AP)He’s also advocated for Texas to increase oil production and intensify fracking (a method used to force natural gas out of the ground) operations. Both, natural gas and oil, are fossil fuels that release greenhouse gases in the atmosphere causing the greenhouse effect, leading to global warming which causes climate change. Corporate America is divided: Republicans are backed by the Fossil Fuel Giants, while Democrats tend to be backed by the Tech Giants.Here in Canada, it just takes one scandal to shake a Head of Government and get their approval ratings halved (i.e. Justin Trudeau). But in America, Trump gets accused of sexual misconduct, not paying taxes, having an illegal bank account, paedophilia, racism and sexism, yet people still vote for him and find excuses to support him and his hypocritic, Islamophobic, racist, anti-refugee and white nationalist rhetoric? Americans are really at another level of stupid.Is this what a democratic leader looks like?Americans mustn’t let that man bask in any position of power anymore. That sad excuse for a president was not a leader and will never be a leader.This is a leader:I have every right to call Trump voters failures just as they have every right to vote for Trump as their president. I’d say my suspicion and hatred towards Trump is well justified considering all that I’ve provided. What do you think?Trump is an embarrassment to to the Republican Party and America. A minority of conservatives have already disassociated with him, but it stands clear that most of the right-wing in America are still backing Trump.The only people that scare me more than Donald Trump are the people who support him after knowing everything he’s done. It puzzles me that >70,000,000 people still voted for him. They’re just like him. They’re closed minded and refuse to think outside their bubbles. These are the same people that think public healthcare is “socialist” and believe in conspiracy theories like ‘Qanon’ and ‘The Great Replacement’, which have been debunked. And to think that they call themselves “free thinkers”. Oh the irony!I don’t discriminate between left and right. I just distinguish between what’s wrong and what’s right, so I’ll agree and disagree with both Republicans and Democrats on their ideas. I had an “anyone but Trump” approach to this election, to be quite frankly honest.Please remember, America is not just red and blue. It’s complex and unique. It’s a fragile yet diverse place. Overall, the nation is a melting pot of hundreds of different cultures who unify under the common identity of American citizens.Biden’s win felt more like a relief than a celebration. For now, let’s see whether or not Biden will show, deliver and be a great leader, but this will be a tad more difficult; Biden will be handed over a split America in January. The Republicans are fuming while the Democrats need to prove themselves worthy of the power they’ve been handed over in these times of hardship worldwide. The world is seeking peace and prosperity.The question remains:Will America heal? Can it even heal at this point? What damage can Trump do between his election loss and Biden’s inauguration?(EDIT) Damages by Trump after his election loss (list being updated frequently):(EDIT 2) Gosh, the fact that this list is getting so long… dang you Trump!From Nov. 7, 2020 - ongoing today, Trump and his administration have filed lawsuits and sued multiple states, particularly swing states, accusing them of having carried out “voter fraud”. Over 17 of the cases have been thrown out by judges, so far, mainly due to a lack of evidence.On Nov. 10, 2020, Trump fired his defence secretary, Mark Esper, from his role as Pentagon Chief, for contradicting him on the election.On Nov. 17, 2020, four US officials revealed that Trump considered an attack on Iran’s nuclear sites in what appears to be a temper tantrum, a fit of rage often experienced by sore losers.In Nov. 17, 2020, the Trump Administration has rushed plans to drill in Alaska’s Arctic refuge, the country’s last untouched wilderness. By Dec. 3, 2020, oil-drilling licenses were being sold and millions of acres of land are at risk of exploitation, countless arctic habitats are at the risk of being destroyed and endangered species may be pushed to the brink of extinction.(Above: Caribou on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Photograph: AP)On Nov. 18, 2020, Trump fired the director of a US cybersecurity agency and election security official, Christopher Krebs, because Krebs had concluded that the election was fair and refuted Trump’s baseless claims of voter fraud.On Nov. 21, 2020, the US sent squadrons of B-52 bombers to the Persian Gulf, under the orders of Trump. B-52’s are known for being capable of carrying nuclear weapons. A clear warning to Iran: don’t build nuclear weapons. It was most presumably a back-up for what was to happen next.On Nov. 27, 2020, top Iranian nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was assassinated. Previously in 2018, the PM of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, a staunch ally of Trump, highlighted the threat that Fakhrizadeh posed to Israel and explained how the scientist was the mastermind behind Iran’s nuclear programme. One could infer that, considering the advancement of the remote-device technology used to kill the scientist, Mossad may have perpetrated the assassination, though we mustn’t jump to conclusions without any evidence. The Israeli intelligence agency is considered one of the most well-equipped, prepared and professional in the world; it is known to cooperate with the Five Eyes alliance and has contributed intel to the C.I.A. many times before. So far, nearly every US politician has remained silent on the topic of the assassination, including Trump and Biden, with Israel denying responsibility, so it remains mostly unclear, though it is highly unlikely that the PMOI (People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran), an exiled opposition party, paid mercenaries to kill their country’s own nuclear scientist, unless they were paid by foreign powers/third parties whose interests would be aligned with the assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizaden, i.e. the US, Israel, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. So what do you think? A coincidence or a US-Israel-Arab cooperative plot against the Iranian theocratic regime? Will it escalate into war or will tensions cool down? Update: It appears Iran is showing incredible restraint. Imagine how severe the backlash and retaliation would have been if Iran had murdered a foreign scientist from America or Israel!As of Dec. 6, 2020, a survey carried out by The Washington Post revealed that only 27 out of 249 Republicans were willing to admit Trump had lost. It appears the majority of the party is rotten; it’s reaching an all time low, deliberately.Dec. 10, 2020, Texas has filed a lawsuit backed by Trump and 17 other states against Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, claiming election fraud. The Supreme Court rejected it: "Texas has not demonstrated a judicially cognizable interest in the manner in which another State conducts its elections," the court wrote in an unsigned ruling Friday evening. “Texas lacked standing to bring it.”.As of Dec. 10, 2020, Trump is rushing federal executions. Five Americans awaited execution. Brandon Bernard, an African American, 40 was the first to be executed at 9:27PM, the youngest offender to be executed by the government in 70 years, and the first time it has happened amid a presidential transition in 130 years. Brandon was 18 when he was convicted of his crime. He was one of five teenagers accused of robbing and killing a couple in June 1999, though he did not shoot the couple dead. One of the accomplices was responsible for shooting the couple while Brandon had burnt the car after their bodies were put in the vehicle, but the four others were juveniles meaning they couldn’t be executed, that is except for Brandon since he was above the legal when the crime occurred. In 2000, an all-white jury found Brandon guilty and he was handed over a death sentence. Now don’t get me wrong, decimating dead bodies is a grave crime, but punishable by a death sentence? Really?Not a fan of her or anything, but a particular celebrity was not at all pleased:Though the other four pretty much deserve the executions, and you’ll understand that after understanding their crimes (Alfred Bourgeois: Second death row inmate executed in two days - BBC News)Four of the five are African American and all five have committed heinous crimes, (though Brandon was probably least deserving since there is no evidence he actually killed them, because independent researchers concluded the couple had already been dead before the car was set alight), so if Lisa Montgomery’s (the only white person on the list, who strangled a pregnant woman to death and slashed her stomach only to kidnap her baby) execution is not rushed, then it will be clear that there is some sort of racial bias.On Dec. 10, 2020, over 3,100 Americans died from COVID-19, marking the highest daily death toll. That same day, Trump was busy celebrating Hanukah with 200 guests at a party where there was a clear lack of social distancing.As of Dec. 11, 2020, Trump has continued to allow Mitch McConnel to delay another stimulus package, this time worth $908 billion. The delay has been going on for six months and it appears Mitch is withholding the money that is supposed to go to millions of suffering Americans.On Dec. 13, 2020, pro-Trump supporters rioted in Washington DC. Far-rightists clashed with far-leftists, leaving 4 injured in stabbings and 23 arrested. Trump has backed his supporters who have continued rallies against what they call “election-fraud”.On Dec. 17 2020, the US records another COVID-19 death record at 3,500. The US government suffers its worst-ever cyber-attack with at least 6 US departments and some US corporations targeted. Key federal agencies, from the Department of Homeland Security to the agency that oversees America’s nuclear weapons arsenal, were reportedly targeted, as were powerful tech and security companies including Microsoft. While most affected by the attack were in the US, Microsoft said it had identified victims in Canada, Mexico, Belgium, Spain, the United Kingdom, Israel and the United Arab Emirates. Trump has stayed silent, and Mike Pompeo accused Russia of being the perpetrators, while also downplaying it.On Dec. 23, 2020, Donald Trump pardoned 15 people (mostly ex-campaign aides, Russia cronies and corrupt lawmakers) + 4 Blackwater contractors:The Blackwater contractors were imprisoned for war crimes in Iraq. For those who don’t know, Blackwater is a notorious mercenary group or “private army” that operated in Iraq after the second war broke out when Al-Qaeda rose as a result of the US invasion in 2003. The founder of Blackwater, Erik Prince, has ties to the Donald Trump through the election campaign. Erik Prince also hired ex-spies to infiltrate liberal parties and organizations in the US months before the election. Erik Prince was not one of the pardoned, because he was never convicted of his war crimes in Iraq, nor his illegal espionage campaigns. He’s walking freely, as a warlord, on American soil. Should we be surprised? No. Erik Prince is also the brother of Betsy DeVos, the corrupt Secretary of Education I mentioned earlier. She only got appointed thanks to Trump, so I guess they’re bringing back nepotism to American politics. So who exactly were pardoned?Nicholas SlattenPaul SloughEvan LibertyDustin HeardIn 2007, 4 Blackwater guards (mercenaries) fired upon a crowd of Iraqi civilians, killing 14 and injuring 20 prompting widespread condemnation of the privatization of wars. A U.S. judge's decision to dismiss all charges against Blackwater on January 1, 2010, sparked outrage in the Arab world, but then they were ultimately sentenced to 30 years, except for Slatten, who received a life sentence.Trump said the sentences were “too harsh”, so he apparently pardoned the four war criminals.The pardoning also included:George Papadopoulos, a former campaign aide who pleaded guilty to lying to federal officials as part of the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential electionAlex van der Zwaan, who was sentenced to 30 days in prison and fined $20,000 for lying to investigators in Robert Mueller’s investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia about his conversations with the former Trump aide Rick Gates; he is also the son-in-law of the Russian billionaire German Khan.Chris Collins (NY): Collins, 70, had been the first sitting member of Congress to endorse Trump’s candidacy in 2016 and was a strong defender of the president. He pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit securities fraud and making false statements to the FBI and received a full pardon.Duncan Hunter (CA): Hunter, 44, pleaded guilty in 2019 to conspiring to convert campaign funds for personal use and received a full pardon.Steve Stockman (TX): Stockman, 64, was convicted in 2018 of misuse of charitable funds and had his sentence commuted after serving two of 10 years.Additional pardons and commutations include:Alfonso Costa, a former dentist from Pittsburgh who pleaded guilty in 2007 to healthcare fraud, was also pardoned.Crystal Munoz, who was convicted of conspiracy to distribute marijuana. Trump commuted her remaining sentence.Tynice Nichole Hall, who served nearly 15 years in prison on drug related charges. Trump commuted her remaining sentence.Judith Negron, who was convicted in a major Medicare fraud case. Trump commuted her remaining sentence.Alfred Lee Crum, 89, who had pleaded guilty in 1952 to helping a relative illegally distill moonshine in Oklahoma. Trump granted a full pardon.Philip Esformes, who was imprisoned on charges in a Medicare fraud scheme, described by the justice department as the largest ever charged. Trump commuted his remaining prison sentence.Otis Gordon, who had been convicted of possession with intent to distribute. Trump granted him a full pardon.Philip Lyman, who was a county commissioner in Utah when he was prosecuted for protesting the Bureau of Land Management’s closure of a canyon to ATV riders. Trump granted a full pardon.Weldon Angelos, who had been sentenced in 2002 to 55 years’ imprisonment for selling marijuana and carrying a handgun and was released by judicial order after serving 13 years in prison. Trump granted a full pardon.Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, former border patrol agents who were convicted of assault after Ramos in 2005 shot a suspect trafficking marijuana who subsequently fled across the border. Their prison sentences were commuted by the former president George W Bush. Trump granted a full pardon.On Dec. 24, 2020, Trump carried out a second round of pardoning, this time pardoning 26 people and commuting the sentences of 3. I’ll go over the four main figures:Paul Manafort, 71, was sentenced for convictions including unregistered lobbying, tax fraud, bank fraud and money laundering. Stone, 68, was convicted of lying to Congress and obstructing a congressional investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to win the 2016 election. “Mr President, my family & I humbly thank you for the Presidential Pardon you bestowed on me. Words cannot fully convey how grateful we are,” Manafort tweeted on Wednesday night.Roger Stone, 68 a lobbyist and political consultant who was convicted in federal court last year for making false statements, witness tampering and trying to impede a congressional investigation into Russian election interference, and was sentenced to 40 months in prison.Charles Kushner, 66, the father of Jared Kushner (Ivanka Trump’s husband), his son-in-law. He pleaded guilty to tax evasion and lying to the Federal Election Commission. He also pleaded guilty to witness tampering, after he retaliated against his brother-in-law William Schulder, who was cooperating with federal investigators. Kushner was accused of hiring a sex worker to seduce Schulder, videotaping the encounter and sending the tape to Schulder’s wife – Kushner’s sister.Margaret Hunter, the wife of Duncan Hunter, the former Republican representative of California, who was pardoned yesterday.At this point, the real question shouldn’t be whether or not Biden should revoke this mass pardoning once he assumes office, but whether he’d even be powerful enough.—————————————————————————————————(2021)On January 4, 2021, after the Trump Administration reopened the case of Julian Assange earlier in 2019, a UK judge has finally ruled that Assange will not be extradited to the US, citing mental health reasons. Assange is the founder of Wikileaks who exposed US war crimes in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, both of which were led by George Bush. Thank you for defending free speech.On January 6., 2021, Democrats had won two Senate seats in Georgia that tipped control of the Senate their way.On January 6, 2020 (EST), radical pro-Trump mobsters stormed through the Capitol Building and laid siege in what many are calling “an assault on democracy”. The last time the Capitol Building was stormed was during the War of 1812.Earlier, Trump told his supporters to “walk up to Capitol”, while repeating baseless voter-fraud claims.Rioters trespassed onto Senate grounds, offices and other areas restricted to the public, while swarming the building.Congress members and Senators took cover and barricaded themselvesGuns were drawn by guards and police. One woman was shot dead and three others died of “medical emergencies”. At least 50 policemen were injured, and a total of 52 arrests were made; two bombs were also found. Update: Another policeman died of injuries after rioters bashed his head with a fire extinguisher. Update 2: Over 250 arrests made, and two policemen committed suicide after the incident.Events such as these are actually not unique. Far-rightists have tried storming into government buildings in the past, in Germany and the Netherlands, except they were less numerous and weren’t armed rioters.A few days earlier, the mayor of DC warned Trump supporters and told them not to show up armed in the capital, and 500 National Guards were to be deployed; they weren’t. It took security 4 hours to secure the building. There should have been a quicker response, and they should have been prepared for this. Many knew this would happen. Why didn’t the police and NG treat it as seriously as they treated BLM? Maga v BLM: how police handled the Capitol mob and George Floyd activists – in pictures | US news | The GuardianGlobal media and press were quick to cover the incident as world leaders condemned the attempted coup.Trump released a video on Twitter, ordering his supporters to “go home”, and telling them “I love you”.Twitter banned Trump for 12 hours, and Facebook banned him for 24 hours. Update: Trump’s account has been suspended from Twitter and Facebook is looking into banning him.Ivanka Trump posted a tweet calling the rioters, “patriots”, but later deleted it.Mike Pence has accepted Biden’s electoral victory and called an end to the violence, along with other prominent US Republicans like Lindsey Graham and Mitch McConnel.Congress has certified Biden’s victory, and now, US lawmakers are rushing to impeach Trump.According to a survey conducted by YouGov, 45% of Republicans supported the Capitol Siege, revealing the deep divide along party lines.It seems that during this bumpy presidential transition, China has been thriving. The US dollar has hit a three-year low, while:China continues to construct factories in Xinjiang, where over half a million Uighur detainees are being forced to pick cotton and work in textile factories. The province produces a fifth of the world’s cotton.They’ve also started a multi-billion project in the EU after their investment campaigns across Africa, Southeast Asia, Central America and South Asia. America is losing popularity among its allies. China is spreading its influence faster and faster.The CCP cracked down on pro-democracy lawmakers and figures in Hong Kong, rushing the annexation.Wait a minute, isn’t this hypocrisy? Nope.Beijing accused the US of “double standards”. At a daily press briefing in Beijing on Thursday afternoon, China’s foreign affairs spokeswoman Hua Chunying claimed the deaths in Washington showed that US police were more brutal than their Hong Kong counterparts. “While the degree of violence and destruction in Washington is not as serious as what happened in Hong Kong, four people have died,” she said.Hua, the Global Times and China’s Communist Youth League (hmm… doesn’t this sound… familiar from another chapter in our history?) referenced comments by Nancy Pelosi that the Hong Kong protests were “a beautiful sight to behold”, but erroneously linked them to protesters storming the legislative council, when in fact Pelosi had said it a few days after a non-violent march of 2 million people on 16 June 2019 on the streets of Hong Kong.Let me tell you one thing. The Hong Kong protests are nothing like the pro-Trump riots. In Hong Kong, protesters did damage their legislative building, spray graffiti and deface the Hong Kong emblem, resulting in HK$39 million ($5m; £3m) worth of damage, however, the chamber was empty before the protesters broke into the building – and no one was armed. The storming of the Legislative Council also won public sympathy. One widely-quoted piece of graffiti from that night had the slogan: “It was you who taught me that peaceful marches are useless”, referring to the government’s disregard of the two earlier peaceful marches that were attended by up to two million people. Protesters also set up a sign telling others not to destroy the library, and left money for drinks they took. But the most important difference is that Hong Kong is not a democracy – its Legislative Council is designed in a way that makes it almost impossible for the pro-democracy camp to win a majority, and those protesters were demanding democratic reform, rather than the overturning of an election result. Now, any organised attempt by the pro-democracy camp to win a majority may be an offence under the National Security Law recently imposed by Beijing – as shown on Wednesday, when more than 50 activists who organised and participated in pro-democracy primaries were arrested!The pro-democracy protests that have happened in Hong Kong, Iran and Russia are completely justifiable as the latter are authoritarian and fascist. The moronic MAGA riots in America cannot be justified; they were violent and pro-totalitarian; they carried pro-slavery flags and weapons like bats, pipe-bombs and rifles. Don’t try to equate the MAGA riots with legit democratic movements around the world. If any thing, the Siege of Capitol Hill was undemocratic.Personally, I think the US needs to get itself back together, before fighting for “democracy” in other nations and launching bloody coups (e.g. Egypt, Libya, Iraq, etc.). Americans may want to take a look at the swamp they have at home. This isn’t the America I recognized: you have a lot to clean up: the war crimes, domestic terrorism, the gun problem, the opioid epidemic, public transport issues, IPS corruption, prison privatization, corporate lobbying, abuse of philanthropy, rising far-right nationalism, the gang problem, the pandemic, unemployment, police brutality, arms industry lobbying, obesity epidemic, reliance on fossil fuels , tech giant corruption, etc., the list goes on and on and on, and you’re not alone, obviously, other countries have their struggles.What we’re witnessing is a transition of superpowers. Time will tell.On February 5, Trump was acquitted on both counts by the Senate, as neither count received 67 votes to convict. On Article I, abuse of power, the vote was 48 for conviction, 52 for acquittal. It’s worrying how an ex-president can get away with an attempted coup for the record.But one thing remains clear. This is a major turning point in American history where things will either get much better or much worse. Stay tuned!SOURCES (for those in doubt):Interviews at talk shows (videos already provided above):1994 episode of "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous"March 6, 2006 episode of “The View”Video evidence of his other scandals (also provided above)Donald Trump Access Hollywood Tape from 2004Donald Trump Mocks Disabled Reporter at rallySexual assault and rape allegations:The 26 women who have accused Trump of sexual misconduct - Business InsiderLies and half-truths:PolitiFact | Donald Trump (includes hundreds of statements and claims made by the Pres. which were fact-checked)Fact check: Trump baselessly claims Democratic politicians wrote Ruth Bader Ginsburg's dying wish - CNNPoliticsCOVID-19 policy:Timeline of Trump’s Coronavirus Responses | Congressman Lloyd Doggett (house.gov)Racism and discrimination:Trump’s long history of racism, from the 1970s to 2020 - VoxTimeline of the Muslim Ban | ACLU of Washington (aclu-wa.org)President Trump: Persecuted Christian refugees to get priority - BBC NewsForeign policy:United States sanctions against Iran - WikipediaRaid on Yakla - Wikipedia2017 United States–Saudi Arabia arms deal - Wikipedia2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria - WikipediaThe killing of Qassem Soleimani: Analysis from MEI experts | Middle East InstituteTax returns and business scandals:How Donald Trump Bankrupted His Atlantic City Casinos, but Still Earned Millions - The New York Times (nytimes.com)Tax returns of Donald Trump - WikipediaTrump Records Shed New Light on Chinese Business Pursuits - The New York Times (nytimes.com)Trump's taxes: What you need to know - BBC NewsAtlantic City to auction off demolition of former Trump casino - BBC NewsUndisputed events (mostly used for death toll, time of event, and motive):Nisour Square massacre - WikipediaKilling of George Floyd - WikipediaKilling of Ahmaud Arbery - Wikipedia2020 United States racial unrest - WikipediaCharleston church shooting - WikipediaVirginia Tech shooting - WikipediaOklahoma City bombing - WikipediaCentennial Olympic Park bombing - Wikipedia2011 Tucson shooting - WikipediaWisconsin Sikh temple shooting - WikipediaPittsburgh synagogue shooting - WikipediaCharlottesville car attack - Wikipedia2019 El Paso shooting - WikipediaEconomy:Gross Domestic Product | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)Civilian unemployment rate (bls.gov)Guns:Mass shootings since Sandy Hook, in one map (vox.com)Gun ownership - Wikipedia8 facts about gun control in the US | What you need to know | DW | 20.01.2020Climate Change and the Environment:United States withdrawal from the Paris Agreement - WikipediaTrump finalizes plans to open Utah monuments for mining and drilling | Environment | The GuardianTrump seeks out loyal donors in West Texas fracking fields, Energy News, ET EnergyWorld (indiatimes.com)Donald Trump and Joe Biden debate Texas energy industry, global warming | The Texas TribunePost-election:List of Trump administration dismissals and resignations - WikipediaMohsen Fakhrizadeh - WikipediaUpcoming Executions | Death Penalty Information CenterTrump Sets Up Sale Of Oil Drilling Rights In Arctic Wildlife Refuge : NPRTrump pardons Blackwater contractors jailed for massacre of Iraq civilians | World news | The GuardianPardons Granted by President Donald Trump (justice.gov)A look at the 29 people Trump pardoned or gave commutations - WHYYCapitol under siege: The images that will haunt the United States | Evening StandardElection updates (includes live coverage and recent major events in US politics):U.S. Election 2020 | ReutersElection 2020 (apnews.com)We kept warning you. He’s Donald Trump. Too much and never enough.