DOGE employee accidentally set his Google Calendar to 'public' — here’s what’s on it

Elon Musk reacts on the day of U.S. President Donald Trump's speech to a joint session of Congress, in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 4, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein


Carl Gibson

March 07, 2025
ALTERNET


he people behind centibillionaire Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are largely unknown to the public. But two journalists recently found a public Google Calendar for one DOGE staffer that sheds light on how the quasi-agency operates.

Business Insider's Jack Newsham and Alice Tecotzky recently discovered that 26 year-old Riley Sennott, who is listed as a "senior advisor" at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), had set his Google Calendar to "public" despite deleting his LinkedIn account and setting his X account to private. Newsham and Tecotzky noted that Sennott's affiliation with DOGE has not been previously reported, and the outlet noted that all of Sennott's appointments dating back to 2016 were publicly visible. After Business Insider contacted Sennott for comment, his Google Calendar was reportedly set to private within an hour.

In January, Sennott attended a 15-minute meeting on DOGE recruiting. Less than two weeks later, he attended a meeting instructing "special government employees" (Musk's official designation) about the federal ethics rules that applied to them. In addition to Sennott, other DOGE employees were on that meeting, including Derek Geissler and Brooks Morgan, who are at the General Services Administration and the Department of Education, respectively.

Before he joined DOGE, Sennott may have worked at Tesla, as his X account contains references to it and his calendar showed meetings with various Tesla employees. He also worked for a crypto-related company in 2022 that created blockchain software, and had meetings with various defense contractors and tech companies during a period of 2024 that Business Insider reported was likely part of a job hunt.

The outlet also reported that Sennott was "working with a non-profit team in Ukraine to efficiently deliver aid and support evacuations" in 2023, and may have had an internship at the consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton (the same firm that hired Edward Snowden in 2013). In college, he reportedly studied symbolic systems and environmental studies. Newsham and Tecotzky added that while they knew Sennott was at NASA as a part of DOGE, his precise role remains unclear.

The New York Times is keeping tabs on DOGE employees who have been publicly identified and the agencies where they've been placed. There are so far more than 50 people who have been linked to Musk's initiative to carry out mass layoffs of federal workers and slash federal budgets, including many people who worked at Musk-led companies like Tesla, SpaceX and Neuralink, among others. DOGE is not yet an official federal agency authorized by Congress.

Click here to read Business Insider's full report (subscription required).

Bernie Sanders draws 10,000 supporters Michigan rally

(Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance)
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks at a stop on his “Fighting Oligarchy: Where We Go From Here” tour in Warren, Mich., on March 8, 2025.

Andrew Roth, 

Michigan Advance

March 09, 2025

More than 10,000 people turned out for a rally with U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt), in Warren as part of his national “Fighting Oligarchy” tour.

The audience filled the main event space – the gym at Lincoln High School – and two overflow rooms, and still left hundreds more outside.

Wayne County Health Director Abdul El-Sayed, who ran for governor in 2018 and is exploring a run for U.S. Senate in 2026, said the size of the crowd is a sign of progressives’ resilience.

“They want us to step back, and today, all of you have said that we are not stepping back, we are stepping forward,” El-Sayed said. “We are recognizing that in one another, we have all we need to build that government for the people and by the people.”

Sanders compared the current political moment to various movements throughout history, including the American Revolution and the abolition movement.

“The change that we have experienced over hundreds of years of our nationhood only occurs when ordinary people stand up against oppression and injustice and fight back,” Sanders said.

But he said that the current landscape is unlike anything the country has experienced before because voters can no longer agree on a shared set of facts, which he said hampers the country’s ability to debate important issues.

“We’re up against a phenomenon that we have never seen, and that is the Big Lie,” Sanders said. “The Big Lie is not just stretching the truth; the Big Lie is not just fibbing. The Big Lie is creating a parallel universe, a set of ideas that have no basis in reality.”


Sanders said the tour is focused on areas where Republicans narrowly won seats in Congress. He called on U.S. Rep. John James (R-Shelby Twp.), to hold an in-person town hall with constituents.

“He has the right to make his case, to speak, you have the right to ask him questions,” Sanders said.

Sanders started his speech warning that “we have an administration that is leading us to oligarchy, an administration that is leading us to an authoritarian form of society, an administration that is leading us towards kleptocracy.”

He pointed to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg being seated in the front row at Trump’s inauguration as evidence.

“Instead of a government of the people, by the people and for the people, we have now become a government of the billionaire class, for the billionaire class,” Sanders said.

United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain spoke at the rally wearing a shirt that read “eat the rich,” which he said he had not worn since the Big Three automakers went on strike in 2023.

“Billionaires don’t have a right to exist,” Fain told the crowd.


El-Sayed said that the administration of President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance “want to move fast and break things.”

“But what they’re breaking is the government that our hard earned tax dollars have been funding,” El-Sayed said. “And we’re here to say that that is our money, that is our government, take your damn billionaire hands off of it.”


Michigan Advance is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Michigan Advance maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor for questions: info@michiganadvance.com.

New Report Shows Working-Class Americans Live 7 Years Less Than  The Rich

"The massive income and wealth inequality that exists in America today is not just an economic issue, it is literally a matter of life and death," said Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.


U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) speaks during a press conference with other Senate Democrats on President [Donald] Trump's proposal to eliminate the Department of Education, in Washington, D.C. on March 6, 2025.
(Photo: Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Eloise Goldsmith
Mar 07, 2025
COMMON DREAMS

People living in the top 1% of U.S. counties ranked by median household income live on average seven years longer than their counterparts in the bottom 50% of counties, according to a Friday report from Sen. Bernie Sanders, an Independent representing Vermont and the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

"The massive income and wealth inequality that exists in America today is not just an economic issue, it is literally a matter of life and death," said Sanders in a Friday statement announcing the report.

What's more, the stress of living paycheck to paycheck "also leads to higher levels of anxiety, depression, cardiovascular disease and poor health," Sanders argued, in a nod to some of the survey responses included in the analysis.

The analysis echoes findings by other researchers that higher income is associated with greater longevity. According to a Congressional Research Service report from 2021, life expectancy has generally increased over time in the United States—with the exception of during Covid-19 pandemic—but "researchers have long documented that it is lower for individuals with lower socioeconomic status compared with individuals with higher socioeconomic status. Recent studies provide evidence that this gap has widened in recent decades."

The findings in Sanders' report relied on county-level data in the United States between 2015 and 2019, the five years prior to the pandemic. For that time period, Sanders' staff matched each U.S. county with both median household income data from the U.S. Census Bureau and average life expectancy data from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, according to the report.

The life expectancy gap was greater when comparing higher-earning urban and suburban communities with lower-earning rural communities. "Urban and suburban counties with a median household income of $100,000 have an average life expectancy of 81.6 years, while small rural counties with a median household income of $30,000 have an average life expectancy of 71.7 years—a 10-year gap," according to the report.

A boost in earnings also translated into a boost in life expectancy. For example, "among rural counties, a $10,000 increase in median annual household income is associated with an additional 2.6 years of life expectancy," according to the report.

The analysis also includes qualitative data collected by Sanders, who asked working people via social media survey how stress impacts their lives. The outreach generated over 1,000 responses from people around the country.

According to the report, Caitlin from Colorado said: "Stress isn't just an inconvenience for me—it's a direct threat to my heart. Living with a congenital heart defect and multiple mechanical valves means that every surge of anxiety, every sleepless night worrying about bills, isn't just mentally exhausting—it physically wears on my heart."

"Living paycheck to paycheck while supporting a family stresses me out. We are always just one financial emergency from being homeless," said Patrick from Missouri.

One person also reported having to go without preventative healthcare because they are between jobs and can't afford the care without insurance.

The report offers a number of policy solutions to address the key findings of the analysis, including raising the minimum wage to at least $17 an hour, guaranteeing paid family and medical leave, and passing Medicare for All, which would enact a single-payer health insurance program.

In Support of Alien,104-Year-Old, Transgender Mice

The U.S. government's $8-million transgender mouse
Image from Reddit

Abby Zimet
Mar 06, 2025
COMMON DREAMS


if you've understandably been under a rock, know that our great leader just hurled a long weird bilious speech to what's left of Congress. He vowed to forge "the freest (and) most dominant civilization ever to exist on the face of this earth” by lying about everything, making up amazing achievements and reviling Democrats, veterans, migrants, workers, Canada, Mexico, health care, safety nets, Stacey Abrams and a woke government that spent $8 million "making mice transgender." "This is real," he said. Uh huh.

During his hallucinatory litany of boasts, shams and grievances - after humbly declaring he was "saved by God to make America great again" - the lies came fast and brazen. He lied about migrants, "asylums," autism, Panama, tariffs, Jan. 6, military recruitment, fictional dead 100-year-olds getting Social Security, eggs, Stacey Abrams, the "Green New Scam," "weaponized government," "illegal alien hotel rooms," the "billions" DOGE is illegally "saving," along with its devastation. No more "waste fraud and abuse - the days of rule by unelected bureaucrats are over." Dems: "LOL." Biden "didn't just open our borders, he flew illegal aliens over them" until "beautiful" Aurora/ Springfield "buckled under the weight of migrant occupation LIKE NOBODYS EVER SEEN." Now, he and an unelected bureaucrat are ushering in "the great liberation of America." Behind him, two smarmy, smirking, Christo-fascist ghouls ate it up. Before him, a gilded room of lickspittles cheered, stood, shouted in grateful excitement. Natalie Portman in Revenge of the Sith: "So this is how liberty dies...with thunderous applause."

Still, little King Donnie had sads: Seeing mean Democrats before him, he realized there is "nothing I can say to make (them) smile or applaud these astronomical achievements." Instead, they sought an apt response to the horror. Many didn't attend; some wore pink in solidarity, held signs that read "False" and "Musk Steals"; New Mexico Rep. Melanie Stansbury stood holding a sign that read, “This Is Not Normal” until some GOP creep ripped it from her and tore it up. Several Dems turned their backs and/or walked out, backs of shirts reading, "No Kings Live Here." Asked what she'd say to Trump, Jasmine Crockett offered, "Stop being Putin’s ho." Most visibly, Texas Rep. Al Green, who "understood the assignment," shook his furious cane and yelled "No Mandate" until he was forcibly removed - exquisitely just as Trump brayed he'd restored free speech, thank God almighty, free at last. The world, aghast, took note: A French Senator: "Washington has become Nero’s court, with an incendiary emperor (and) submissive courtiers... We are at war with a dictator backed by a traitor."

Tariffs, one of Trump's fave words, among the seven he knows, often came up for the alleged "trillions and trillions" they'll bring in from China, Brazil, India, the EU, everyone, "making America rich again and great again - it's happening." Also happening: stocks are plunging, a "little disturbance" the six-time-bankrupt financial wizard is "ok with" as we the paycheck-to-paycheck people ride it out. "The stock market is crashing and prices are rising,' noted Rep. Eric Swalwell. "This guy has gone to the Super Bowl, the Daytona 500, and a UFC fight. He should go to the fucking supermarket and see what people are spending to feed themselves." Next fave in MAGA's popularity hierarchy came othering - migrants, DEI, transgender- with his sacred vow, "Our country will be ‘woke’ no longer." Whew. No more Mom For Liberty filing lawsuits (dismissed) charging her kid's school “secretly socially transitioned" her kid. Finally, the kicker - thank you Jesus! - no more $8 million in taxpayers' money spent by woke feds "making mice transgender and other gender-bending social experiments." Which is def "real."

To be clear here: Sex-changed mice, we suspect, are really, fundamentally why Al Gore invented an unforgiving, unforgetting, sometimes insanely entertaining Internet. Why else would we need it? (Besides dog videos). So welcome, bienvenue to the giddy meme fest that exploded after Trump spewed out his delectable new fever dream about woke troops of scientists creating teams of secret boy mice playing soccer against teams of unknowing girl mice and always winning. And then Haitians get to eat them. So unfair, just like Jack Smith and grand juries and rape charges. No wonder the American Empire is crumbling. Still, after a day of extensive punditry and speculation, nobody has any fucking idea yet what Mr. Dementia-cum-Idiocy is talking about. Some think he's been hearing about (not reading) some of the frenzied, paranoid ramblings of right-wing media about scientists working overtime to create a Woke/Trans/ Brave New World. Or maybe he caught a phobic itch from Nancy Mace's bathroom trans hysteria, or a February hearing exploring the hysteria...sorry, concerns.

Some suggest he confused three NIH projects - total cost $477,121 -administering female homones to monkeys to study the effect on immune systems after research showed trans women are 50 times more likely to get HIV. Or similar experiments on mice by the University of Pennsylvania's Transgenic and Chimeric Mouse Facility to test effects of hormone therapy on breast cancer, fertility, asthma, bone health, reproduction and endocrine systems. Or mixing up transgender with transgenic, what you get when you inject foreign DNA into lab animals to monitor how their cells mutate,much like humans with cancer and other diseases. Or he's such a moronic bigot every time he sees trans starting a word his first reflex is to mindlessly demonize. Whatev: There are no sex-change operations on mice. "The very notion of a "transgender mouse" is completely ridiculous," notes Dr. Jeremy Faust. "Mice can't tell you their gender. They don't know their pronouns. They are mice." Bottom line: "We want to fund science, not cut it. Trump and his allies don’t seem to have any idea what science is or why it matters."


Meanwhile, the fallout, chaos, ineptitude go on. Though Trump blathered about America's "warriors who shed their blood on fields of battle," DOGE now wants to cut up to 80,000 employees from Veterans Affairs; one furious lawmaker/veteran: "I don't ever want to hear 'thank you for your service' from that draft-dodging coward again." He's already backtracking on his "very dumb trade war," with a proposed exemption for U.S. automakers and a bizarre pivot trying to make it into a drug war. He's facing at least 96 lawsuits - from farmers, Quakers, immigrants, Alaska, USAID, FBI agents - and the DOJ is running out of lawyers to take them on. He's already losing court cases - he's been ordered to reinstate 6,000 USDA workers, and even SCOTUS just ruled against him, saying he can't freeze USAID payments. The UK hates his "vile" VP, deeming him a clown, dunce, knob, and little man deserving of "a smack in the ear." Hamilton is the latest show to cancel at the Kennedy Center because "he took away our national arts center from all of us," and nobody wants to go to his fucking fascist party.

Or, evidently, hear him yammer on for hours. Polls show viewership at a record low versus other presidents' SOTU speeches from the last two decades and even his own previous ramblings. The next day - clearly defensively 'cause Trump hates being laughed at more than anything, even trans or black people - the White House issued a press release angrily refuting "the Fake News losers" who dared to fact check any of his 7,628 lies, especially the infamous transgender mice one. "Yes, Biden Spent Millions On Transgender Animal Experiments," they shouted from their alternative-reality roof-tops, listing unintelligible scraps of financial reports packed with medical terms they blithely zoomed right past to conclude - big leap here - "President Trump was right (as usual)." Good try, but many were unconvinced. "White House Scared of Trans Mouse," read one headline. Also, of course, the Internet is forever. "I support the 149-year-old transgender mice in their fight against Trump," declared one loyal netizen for posterity. Another, "I found the transgender mouse they spent $8 million on. And she's fabulous."

Women’s Land Rights: The Missing Key to Climate Action



This year’s International Women’s Day theme, #AccelerateAction, calls on the world to address the structural barriers slowing progress. If we are serious about climate, we must start at the root of the problem: land access.


Women work in their okra field in Nagaon District, Assam, India, on March 8, 2024.
(Photo: Anuwar Hazarika/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Lily Maxwell-Lwin
Mar 08, 2025

Common Dreams


Land is not just a means of survival; it is one of our most powerful tools to combat climate change and nature loss. Healthy soil sequesters carbon, retains water, supports biodiversity, and—crucially—underpins food production. When land is degraded—through deforestation, overexploitation, or poor management—it shifts from being a carbon sink to a source of emissions, disrupting local water cycles, accelerating desertification, and sparking food insecurity. This degradation has direct consequences, such as the catastrophic flooding that hit Valencia last year, where altered landscapes and poor land stewardship exacerbated extreme weather impacts.

Without land security, women farmers remain locked out of decision-making, deprived of resources, and forced to fight climate change and nature loss with one hand tied behind their backs.

The link between land health, food security, and climate resilience is clear. But the role of women—who form the backbone of food production globally—is often overlooked. Women have extensive ecological knowledge and are key stewards of land, particularly those in rural and Indigenous communities. Women produce up to 80% of the world’s food, consumed by families and communities worldwide, and account for between 30-40% of the agricultural workforce. Yet, fewer than 20% of landowners are women—and, in half of the world’s countries, they have little to no rights or decision-making power over the land they work. This systemic land insecurity undermines their ability to implement long-term soil and land restoration practices crucial for climate adaptation.
The Three Systemic Barriers to Women’s Leadership in Land Restoration

To truly #AccelerateAction, as this year’s International Women’s Day theme calls for, we must address the root of the problem: land access. Without secure land tenure, women farmers face three systemic challenges.

Limited decision-making power results in less resilient agriculture: Studies from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) indicate that women farmers with land rights are more likely to invest in soil conservation and water retention techniques, which are crucial for adapting to climate change. Without control over their land, women are often forced to comply with farming methods that may coincidentally be more planet-friendly (due to women lacking access to resources like chemical inputs) but are often less efficient and reduce resilience to yield variation. Women’s land insecurity translates into a lack of autonomy in adopting and scaling climate-smart farming methods that can both render their community more climate resilient and reduce hunger.

Restricted access to funding and training: Despite their deep knowledge of sustainable farming, women are often systematically denied access to credit, training, and agricultural extension services. A report by the World Bank found that if women had the same access to resources as men, agricultural yields could increase by up to 30%, reducing global hunger. Yet, because they often lack legal land ownership, they are sometimes ineligible for loans and grants that could help them transition to nature-positive forms of agriculture. Bridging this gap would not only benefit women but also strengthen global food security and climate resilience.

The disproportionate impact of climate change on women: Climate change exacerbates existing inequalities, and land degradation disproportionately affects women. Roughly 80% of the people displaced by climate disasters are women. In communities where women lack land rights, they have fewer options for adaptation and recovery. Secure land tenure empowers women to implement long-term solutions that enhance climate resilience, from agroecological practices to community-led reforestation projects.
The Path Forward: Solutions for Gender-Inclusive Land Restoration

Landscape restoration is only possible when everyone in the community—including women—has the rights, resources, and recognition they deserve. Ensuring land tenure for women is not just about equity—it’s about survival. Women are already leading land restoration efforts across the globe. In Kenya, the Green Belt Movement, founded by Wangari Maathai, has empowered thousands of women to restore degraded forests, leading to the planting of over 50 million trees. In India, women-led self-help groups have restored thousands of hectares of farmland through water conservation and agroecology. These initiatives prove that when women have control over land, they invest in solutions that benefit both people and the planet. And it’s not rocket science—there are concrete policy solutions that can ensure women can lead the charge in restoring land and combating climate change.

In order to increase and enforce land rights for women, countries must reform laws that restrict women’s access to land. In sub-Saharan Africa, for example, customary laws often prevent women from inheriting land, even when statutory laws permit it. Enforcing legal protections is critical. In addition, more funding opportunities must be available to women in agriculture: Only 6% of agricultural aid funding worldwide treats gender as a fundamental issue. Governments and financial institutions must close the agriculture funding gap for women through targeted grants, subsidies, and loan programs. In tandem, women’s traditional knowledge of farming and conservation must be supported with expanded access to climate-smart agricultural training. Finally, climate-smart agricultural training must consider gender dynamics, as poorly designed programmes can unintentionally empower men while sidelining women. Research shows that when gender is overlooked, existing inequalities can be reinforced. Organizations should recognize that technologies and policies often carry biases that can entrench power imbalances, restrict food security, and further marginalize women.

This year’s International Women’s Day theme, #AccelerateAction, calls on the world to address the structural barriers slowing progress. If we are serious about climate action, we must start at the root of the problem: land access. Without land security, women farmers remain locked out of decision-making, deprived of resources, and forced to fight climate change and nature loss with one hand tied behind their backs.

A just, climate-resilient future is not possible without women at the forefront of land restoration. By securing their rights to land, we not only restore degraded ecosystems but also unlock the full potential of those who have been caretakers of the Earth for generations. If we want to accelerate action, we must start by giving women the tools they need: land, security, and the power to lead.

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.


Lily Maxwell-Lwi is head of advocacy and engagement at Commonland.
Full Bio >

Dear Canada: Beware of Peter Hoekstra!

As long as U.S. policy is one of annexation and domination, Hoekstra deserves to be treated as a hostile guest—not an ambassador worthy of distinction or trust.

US Ambassador to The Netherlands, Peter Hoekstra gestures as he speaks during a press conference at the US embassy, in The Hague, on January 10, 2018 after presenting his diplomatic credentials to The Netherlands' King.
Photo by JOHN THYS / AFP

Hank Kennedy
Mar 08, 2025

Common Dreams

On February 22nd, the Michigan Republican Party met in Huntington Place in Detroit to elect a new chair. After the ballots were counted, State Senator Jim Runestand prevailed over President Donald Trump’s choice, “fake elector” Meshawn Maddock. Even though he had delivered Michigan to the GOP column, incumbent Peter Hoekstra didn’t run again. He couldn’t, because as of November he is awaiting confirmation by the U.S. Senate to be Trump’s ambassador to Canada.

During his three-decade plus career in government, Hoekstra has amassed quite the right-wing record. In the 90s, he was a fierce foe of workplace safety and union reformers. Teamster warehouse director Tom Leedham called Hoekstra “a congressman who tried to eliminate the forty-hour workweek, and gut overtime and job safety laws.” As chair of the House Committee on Education and Workforce, Hoekstra led a witch hunt into the Teamsters that ended up removing Ron Carey, the only reform president ever elected in Teamsters history, from office shortly after the union won a hard fought battle against UPS. Hoekstra proclaimed in 2000 that if he and his allies “had not acted, Ron Carey would still be president of the Teamsters.”

On foreign policy, Hoekstra’s tenure was similarly malicious. After voting for the Iraq War, Heokstra remained convinced well into 2006 that Iraq had possessed weapons of mass destruction. To that effect, he announced that U.S. troops had actually found WMDs that year. Too bad for Hoekstra they turned out to be defunct weapons that predated the Persian Gulf War. The WMD lie remained just that, a lie. He also palled around with David Yarushalmi, an anti-Muslim bigot who once called Blacks “the most murderous of peoples.”

Hoekstra’s views and previous tenure as a diplomat should make his appointment a complete joke, but there’s danger in his appointment as well.

In 2012, Hoekstra attempted to unseat Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenhow. His campaign’s Super Bowl ad featured an Asian woman, bicycling through a rice paddy, who castigated “Debbie Spend It Now” in broken English. A clear attempt to resuscitate the “Yellow Peril,” a journalist called it “the most racist political ad of the year.” Heokstra’s campaign floundered and he lost in a landslide.

Hoekstra’s post-Congress years saw him argue that the CIA’s torture program, euphemistically referred to as “enhanced interrogation,” produced “actionable intelligence.” He took time in 2016 to defame Hillary Clinton advisor Huma Abedin over her “egregious” ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. After co-chairing Donald Trump’s winning Michigan campaign in 2016, Hoekstra was back in government. For his services, he was rewarded with an ambassadorship to the Netherlands, his birthplace.

As Trump’s ambassador, Hoekstra was dogged by reporters over his false 2015 claims that there were Muslim “no-go zones” in the Netherlands, in which cars and politicians were “being burned.” In 2020, the official Twitter account for the U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands posted a bizarre image of a graveyard containing German soldiers from World War II. The account said the graves were a “terrible reminder of the cost of going to war and why we must always work towards peace,” seemingly forgetting what side the U.S. was on during the war. The whole thing was reminiscent of when President Reagan went to a graveyard containing bodies of Hitler’s SS to declare the dead Nazis were “victims just as surely as the victims in the concentration camps.”

Hoekstra’s tenure was marked by accusations that he openly interfered in Dutch politics. In 2019 he hosted a party for the far-right Forum for Democracy whose anti-Islam, anti-immigrant views nicely dovetailed with his own. Diplomats are prohibited from interfering in their host countries politics by the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. Although other political parties in the Netherlands complained, Trump lost the following year’s presidential election and Hoekstra was out. Or was he? Hoekstra’s reward for helping Trump win the Mitten State, is once again, an ambassadorship, but this time to Canada.

Hoekstra’s views and previous tenure as a diplomat should make his appointment a complete joke, but there’s danger in his appointment as well. Given that he has already violated diplomatic protocol via his involvement in the domestic politics of the host country, and that a stated goal of the Trump administration is the annexation of Canada as the 51st state, it stands to reason that Hoekstra will use any available means to further that project as ambassador. In short, he will attempt to undermine Canadian sovereignty under the guise of diplomacy.

Although Peter Hoekstra will almost certainly be confirmed by the U.S. Senate, that’s no reason for him to be treated as just another ambassador in Canada. As long as U.S. policy is one of annexation and domination, Hoekstra deserves to be treated as someone who will undermine Canadian independence in the service of American empire.

PATCO REDUX

'Dangerous Union-Busting': Trump Rescinds Collective Bargaining for Air Safety Union

"Let's be clear: This is the beginning, not the end, of the fight for Americans' fundamental rights to join a union," said one labor leader.


A Transportation Security Administration (TSA) worker screens passengers and airport employees at O'Hare International Airport on January 7, 2019 in Chicago.
(Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Brett Wilkins
Mar 08, 2025
COMMON DREAMS

Labor advocates condemned Friday's announcement by the Trump administration that it will end collective bargaining for Transportation Safety Administration security officers, a move described by one union leader as an act of "dangerous union-busting ripped from the pages of Project 2025."

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claimed in a statement Friday that collective bargaining for the TSA's security officers "constrained" the agency's chief mission of protecting transportation systems and keeping travelers safe, and that "eliminating collective bargaining removes bureaucratic hurdles that will strengthen workforce agility, enhance productivity and resiliency, while also jumpstarting innovation."



As Huffpost labor reporter Dave Jamieson explained:
Workers at TSA, which Congress created in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, do not enjoy the same union rights as employees at most other federal agencies. Bargaining rights can essentially be extended or rescinded at the will of the administrator.

Those rights were introduced at TSA by former President Barack Obama and strengthened under former President Joe Biden. But now they are being tossed aside by Trump.

"Forty-seven thousands transportation security officers show up at over 400 airports across the country every single day to make sure our skies are safe for air travel," Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), said in response to DHS announcement. "Many of them are veterans who went from serving their country in the armed forces to wearing a second uniform protecting the homeland and ensuring another terrorist attack like September 11 never happens again."

Kelley argued that President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem "have violated these patriotic Americans' right to join a union in an unprovoked attack."

"They gave as a justification a completely fabricated claim about union officials—making clear this action has nothing to do with efficiency, safety, or homeland security," he said "This is merely a pretext for attacking the rights of regular working Americans across the country because they happen to belong to a union."

AFGE—which represents TSA security officers—has filed numerous lawsuits in a bid to thwart Trump administration efforts, led by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, to terminate thousands of federal workers and unilaterally shut down government agencies under the guise of improving outcomes.

"This is merely a pretext for attacking the rights of regular working Americans across the country because they happen to belong to a union."

"Our union has been out in front challenging this administration's unlawful actions targeting federal workers, both in the legal courts and in the court of public opinion," Kelley noted. "Now our TSA officers are paying the price with this clearly retaliatory action."

"Let's be clear: This is the beginning, not the end, of the fight for Americans' fundamental rights to join a union," Kelley stressed. "AFGE will not rest until the basic dignity and rights of the workers at TSA are acknowledged by the government once again."

AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler said in a statement: "TSA officers are the front-line defense at America's airports for the millions of families who travel by air each year. Canceling the collective bargaining agreement between TSA and its security officer workforce is dangerous union-busting ripped from the pages of Project 2025 that leaves the 47,000 officers who protect us without a voice."

"Through a union, TSA officers are empowered to improve work conditions and make air travel safer for passengers," Shuler added. "With this sweeping, illegal directive, the Trump administration is retaliating against unions for challenging its unlawful Department of Government Efficiency actions against America's federal workers in court."

UK

Man who climbed Elizabeth Tower holding a Palestinian flag comes down


A man who climbed up the tower housing Big Ben in London and waving a Palestinian flag early Saturday morning descended after a 16-hour standoff with security and emergency services.

Photos show the barefoot man, who appeared to be staging a protest, standing on a ledge several meters (yards) up Elizabeth Tower, which houses Big Ben

Image: Jeff Moore/dpa/picture alliance

The man who initially insisted he would descend "on his own terms," eventually came down via a cherry picker. Local media reported he shouted "free Palestine."

Westminster Police said in a late-night statement that the man has now been arrested. "This has been a protracted incident due to the specifics of where the man was located and the need to ensure the safety of our officers, the individual and the wider public," the police said.

Police closed the Westminster Bridge and deployed negotiators who engaged with the protester throughout the day.

In an Instagram video, negotiators pointed out the injury on the foot of the barefoot protester, saying there is "quite a lot of blood" and that his clothes were not warm enough for dropping temperatures after sunset.

A small group of supporters gathered near the police cordon, chanting pro-Palestinian slogans.

Videos on social media showed the man scaling a fence earlier near the Houses of Parliament without any security intervention. Authorities are reviewing security protocols in light of the breach.

P

olice blocked off access to the Palace of Westminster, the seat of the British parliament

IWD

Taliban claim women's rights are protected, UN decries bans

Shubhangi Derhgawen

 AP, DW 

The UN has denounced the Taliban’s repeated attacks on women’s rights, with the special representative saying: "We must stand with Afghan women as if our own lives depend on it — because they do."

For most teenage girls in Afghanistan, it’s been years since they set foot in a classroom.

Image: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP/picture alliance

On International Women's Day, the Taliban issued a statement asserting their commitment to safeguarding the rights of Afghan women.

Chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid posted on his official X account, stating that the ''Islamic Emirate assumes full responsibility for the provision and safeguarding of the rights of Afghan women.''

Without directly referencing International Women's Day, Mujahid said that dignity, honor, and legal rights for women remain a priority for the Taliban government.

Afghanistan: Women become 'invisible' under Taliban  02:10

He claimed that Afghan women ''live in security, both physically and psychologically''and that their ''fundamental rights'' — such as autonomy in marital decisions, dowry entitlements, and inheritance — are protected.

Ongoing global criticism

The Taliban's statement comes as the United Nations continues to denounce the severe restrictions on Afghan women.

Since seizing control in 2021, the Taliban have imposed sweeping bans on education and employment for women. Girls were barred from secondary education, and later, from attending and teaching at Kabul University.

In August 2023, the Vice and Virtue Ministry expanded restrictions, prohibiting women's voices in public and mandating full face coverings outside the home.

Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021, they have barred education for women and girls beyond the sixth grade

Image: Atif Aryan/AFP/Getty Images

On Saturday, the UN renewed its call for these bans to be lifted. ''The erasure of women and girls from public life cannot be ignored,'' said Roza Otunbayeva, head of the UN mission in Afghanistan.

Alison Davidian, special representative for UN Women Afghanistan, added, "We must stand with Afghan women as if our own lives depend on it — because they do."

Mujahid emphasized distinctions in Afghan and Western notions of women's rights. He said ''Afghan women's rights are situated within the specific context of an Islamic and Afghan society, which exhibits distinct divergences from Western societies and their cultural paradigms.''

EYELESS IN KABUL

In August 2023, the Vice and Virtue Ministry prohibit women’s voices in public and mandating full face coverings outside the home.

Image: Sanaullah Seiam/AFP via Getty Images

International pressure and Taliban's isolation

The Taliban remain globally isolated, with no official recognition as running Afghanistan's government due to their policies on women. In January, the International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor requested arrest warrants for two senior Taliban officials for their role in repressing Afghan women.

Afghanistan is the only country in the world that has restrictions on female education

Image: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo/picture alliane

Last Friday, UNESCO hosted a high-level conference on women and girls in Afghanistan, featuring activists, parliamentarians, and rights experts. They included Hamida Aman, founder of the women-only station Radio Begum, former Afghan lawmaker Fawzia Koofi and human rights expert Richard Bennett, who has been barred from entering Afghanistan.

In response, Saif ul-Islam Khyber, a spokesman for the Vice and Virtue Ministry, dismissed such gatherings, calling them an ''exposure of the hypocrisy of certain organizations and European Union foundations.''

Edited by: Kieran Burke

Nigeria seeks to cash in on soaring cocoa prices


By AFP
March 8, 2025


Nigeria is looking to become a bigger player in the cocoa bean market

 - Copyright AFP PIUS UTOMI EKPEI

Nicholas ROLL

Booming cocoa prices are stirring interest in turning Nigeria into a bigger player in the sector, with hopes of challenging top producers Ivory Coast and Ghana, where crops have been ravaged by climate change and disease.

Nigeria has struggled to diversify its oil-dependent economy but investors have taken another look at cocoa beans after global prices soared to a record $12,000 per tonne in December.

“The farmers have never had it so good,” Patrick Adebola, executive director at the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, told AFP.

More than a dozen local firms have expressed interest in investing in or expanding their production this year, while the British government’s development finance arm recently poured $40.5 million into Nigerian agribusiness company Johnvents.

Nigeria is the world’s seventh biggest cocoa bean producer, producing more than 280,000 tonnes in 2023, according to the most recent data compiled by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization.

The government has set an ambitious production target of 500,000 tonnes for the 2024-2025 season, which would move it into fourth place behind Ivory Coast, Ghana and Indonesia.

Adebola doubts Nigeria can reach the target this season, but he believes it is feasible in the next few years as there is rising interest in rehabilitating old plantations or establishing new ones.

He said Nigerian growers are much more exposed to the highs and lows of the global cocoa market than their peers in Ivory Coast and Ghana as prices are regulated in those countries.

Cocoa futures contracts in New York have fallen from their December record but they remain high at more than $8,000 per tonne. Cocoa prices typically ranged between $2,000 and $3,000 before the recent surge.

“Individuals are going into cocoa production at every level… to make sure they also enjoy the current price,” said Comrade Adeola Adegoke, president of the Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria.



– ‘Full-sun’ monocrop –



Ivory Coast is by far the world’s top grower, producing more than two million tonnes of cocoa beans in 2023, followed by Ghana at 650,000 tonnes.

But the two countries had poor harvests last year as crops were hit by bad weather and disease, causing a supply shortage that sent global prices to all-time highs.

Nigeria’s cocoa has largely been spared so far from the worst effects of climate change, but expanding the crop could carry environmental risks.

The government has stepped up efforts to promote the long-unregulated sector via the National Cocoa Management Committee, which was established in 2022 to regulate the industry and support farmers.

But agriculture modernisation efforts have encouraged the development of “full-sun” monocrop plantations that only focus on growing cocoa beans, without the use of companion plants or trees.

A recent study in the journal Agroforestry Systems has raised concerns about this approach, saying monocrop farming can be less sustainable compared growing the bean alongside shade trees, promoting biodiversity and improving environmental health.



– Land and money? –



Scaling up the sector could also prove challenging because much of Nigeria’s cocoa is grown by small-scale farmers.

Peter Okunde, a farmer in Ogun state, told AFP he lacks both the capital and land to expand his four-hectare (10-acre) cocoa plantation.

Land “is the major instrument farmers need… and the money to develop it”, said Okunde, 49.

But John Alamu, group managing director of Johnvents, told CNBC Africa this week that “the problem is not land area”.

Noting that Nigeria has 1.4 million hectares dedicated to cocoa production — more than Ghana’s 1.1 million, he told the broadcaster a more holistic approach was needed.

“These are things (other) governments have used to support farmers: provision of seedlings, training on good agronomic practices, a real focus on sustainable agriculture,” he said.

“These are key things that will be responsible to take Nigeria back to its leadership position.”