SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
India's environment minister Bhupender Yadav attends the Closing Plenary of the COP26 Climate Summit at SECC on November 13, 2021 in Glasgow, Scotland. Many of the 190 country delegations are supporting the "imperfect" text of the Glasgow Climate Pact as they see it keeping alive the goal to limit global heating to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, as agreed in the 2015 Paris Agreement. (Photo: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
The UN climate talks (Conference of the Parties, or COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, concluded in mid-November with deeply disappointing results. In spite of what the global scientific community has termed a dire climate emergency, countries made weak commitments that condemn the world's most vulnerable people to what Ugandan youth climate activist Vanessa Nakate has called "a death sentence for communities like mine."
There were a handful of bright spots. One of them was the launch of the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance," an international coalition of governments and stakeholders working together to facilitate the managed phase-out of oil and gas production," by Costa Rica, Denmark, and several other national and subnational governments (including California). The United States, the world's largest oil and gas producer, was conspicuously absent.
With continuing hypocrisy and obstructionism by governments of major countries at global climate talks, humanity's best hope lies in the social movements of the most marginalized.
But the disappointments far outweighed the successes. Wealthy countries failed to deliver on their promise of $100 billion in annual climate finance for poor countries, and refused to launch a loss and damage funding facility for poor countries to help them rebuild and recover after climate disasters.
One disappointing outcome, however, stands out for lifting hopes for a fleeting moment before cruelly deflating them again.
For the first time in the nearly-three-decade history of UN climate talks, the Glasgow Climate Pact mentioned fossil fuels. The language merely mentioned "accelerating efforts towards the phase-out" of coal and fossil fuel subsidies, leaving the door open to unsubsidized oil and gas. But it was at least a beginning.
Then, a last-minute push led by India--reportedly with support from China, Saudi Arabia, Australia and other countries--led to further dilution of the language.
The change added the qualifier "unabated" to coal power, a nod to controversial technologies to "abate" carbon emissions from coal. And now it refers only to "inefficient" fossil fuel subsidies instead of all fossil fuel subsidies, implying that any "efficient" fossil fuel subsidies, whatever those may be, can go on.
This was a disastrous outcome, where even a baby step toward a global fossil fuel phase-out was obstructed. The Indian government's stance is hypocritical given its posturing as a climate leader. But are Western, and particularly U.S., observers right to blame India and other less wealthy countries for the failure to address fossil fuels for the first time in the UN climate talks?
Not so fast.
If we want a livable future, there's no future for any fossil fuels, not merely coal. Oil and gas are also major contributors to climate change.
Greenhouse gas emissions from natural gas could equal emissions from coal if there are significant leaks of methane (a shorter-lived but more powerful climate pollutant than carbon dioxide) from the production and transportation of natural gas. And methane leaks from fracking are underreported--they could be a more serious problem than official data show.
Seen in that light, it's unfortunate but understandable that major coal-producing countries (especially ones that don't have significant oil reserves, such as India and China), would feel singled out by a COP26 declaration that called for phasing out coal while remaining silent about oil and gas.
The Indian government's actions must also be viewed against the backdrop of global inequalities in income, energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. These inequalities point to vast differences in who is more responsible for climate change in the first place--and who can afford an energy transition most easily now.
India's per capita gross domestic product (GDP) is less than one-thirtieth of the United States, its per capita energy consumption is about one-eleventh of the United States, and its most recent per capita greenhouse gas emissions are less than one-eighth.
The inequality is also clear from cumulative greenhouse gas emissions since the start of the industrial era--a relevant measure because of the very long lifespan of atmospheric carbon dioxide. India's cumulative emissions are about a sixth of those of the United States, which is alone responsible for a fifth of cumulative global emissions.
Before pointing fingers at India, observers in the United States should consider a fundamental question of fairness. It's an ethical imperative for the countries most responsible for the climate crisis--and who have built fabulous wealth from more than a century of fossil-fueled industrialization--to pay their fair share for a just transition away from fossil fuels in poorer countries. Hundreds of civil society organizations worldwide have articulated this demand.
And they should pause to think about their own government's responsibility for wrecking the UN climate talks.
Who benefits from a global climate agreement that calls for phasing out coal but gives oil and gas a free pass? Literally no one other than the oil and gas industry--and major oil and gas producing countries such as the United States.
While the United States also produces coal, our coal production is in terminal decline because of competition from cheap natural gas. Meanwhile, our oil and gas production are growing rapidly.
Since coming into office in January 2021, the Biden administration has for the most part continued the prior U.S. policy of boosting the domestic oil and gas industry, with only a few exceptions, such as the cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline.
The president has extensive executive powers to stop issuing permits for new fossil fuel projects--and to revoke questionable permits for projects currently under construction. Far from using these powers, the Biden administration has allowed controversial projects such as the Line 3 tar sands pipeline to proceed.
Following the announcement of a moratorium on oil and gas leases on public lands and waters, the administration reversed course after an adverse U.S. District Court ruling, opening up the Gulf of Mexico to the largest U.S. offshore oil and gas leasing auction ever just days after COP26 concluded. Legal experts argue that the administration did not have to proceed with this lease sale regardless of the court order and that the environmental analysis the administration used to justify the sale is outdated and illegal.
These are just two examples of the Biden administration's pattern of enabling the oil and gas industry through government action and inaction. Clearly, pushing to exclude oil and gas from the Glasgow agreement language--and thereby setting up a dispute with countries such as India--would be consistent with U.S. domestic energy policy.
There are no good guys in this story. Unfortunately, the government of India is using legitimate questions of international fairness as political cover for delaying India's energy transition.
The Narendra Modi government has close political ties with large corporations, including the Adani conglomerate, which has interests in coal and other fossil fuels. And as in many other countries, India's coal industry has serious environmental justice impacts.
The Indian government is planning a massive expansion of coal mining, a backwards step during a climate emergency. Eighty percent of the proposed new mines are on Adivasi (Indigenous) lands. Adivasi movements against coal mining have denounced Prime Minister Modi for greenwashing India's image at COP26, even as his government expropriated Adivasi lands for politically connected corporations.
Burning this coal has serious air quality impacts and consequent public health effects. Ironically, the week after COP26, the government temporarily closed five coal power plants in the proximity of Delhi, the national capital, because of an air quality emergency.
The government of India would have more international credibility if its position on a coal phase-out at COP26 was backed by serious action for a just transition at home that was inhibited solely by resource constraints, instead of crony capitalist support for a polluting domestic coal industry.
With continuing hypocrisy and obstructionism by governments of major countries at global climate talks, humanity's best hope lies in the social movements of the most marginalized.
In the United States and neighboring Canada (another major oil and gas producer), the greenhouse gas emissions stopped by Indigenous peoples' successful resistance to the industry, and the greenhouse gas emissions that would be stopped if ongoing struggles against oil and gas infrastructure are successful, add up to a quarter of the two countries' combined annual emissions
Meanwhile, the Indian farmers' movement, one of the largest social movements in world history, has compelled the government to repeal farm procurement laws that placed famers at the mercy of corporations. While the farmers' victory may not have immediate relevance to struggles against coal, it has connections with climate justice, and is an example of the power of grassroots social movements.
It's movements like these that will save humanity from the climate crisis.
Donald Trump’s attacks on democracy, justice, and a free press are escalating — putting everything we stand for at risk. We believe a better world is possible, but we can’t get there without your support. Common Dreams stands apart. We answer only to you — our readers, activists, and changemakers — not to billionaires or corporations. Our independence allows us to cover the vital stories that others won’t, spotlighting movements for peace, equality, and human rights. Right now, our work faces unprecedented challenges. Misinformation is spreading, journalists are under attack, and financial pressures are mounting. As a reader-supported, nonprofit newsroom, your support is crucial to keep this journalism alive. Whatever you can give — $10, $25, or $100 — helps us stay strong and responsive when the world needs us most. Together, we’ll continue to build the independent, courageous journalism our movement relies on. Thank you for being part of this community. |
The UN climate talks (Conference of the Parties, or COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, concluded in mid-November with deeply disappointing results. In spite of what the global scientific community has termed a dire climate emergency, countries made weak commitments that condemn the world's most vulnerable people to what Ugandan youth climate activist Vanessa Nakate has called "a death sentence for communities like mine."
There were a handful of bright spots. One of them was the launch of the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance," an international coalition of governments and stakeholders working together to facilitate the managed phase-out of oil and gas production," by Costa Rica, Denmark, and several other national and subnational governments (including California). The United States, the world's largest oil and gas producer, was conspicuously absent.
With continuing hypocrisy and obstructionism by governments of major countries at global climate talks, humanity's best hope lies in the social movements of the most marginalized.
But the disappointments far outweighed the successes. Wealthy countries failed to deliver on their promise of $100 billion in annual climate finance for poor countries, and refused to launch a loss and damage funding facility for poor countries to help them rebuild and recover after climate disasters.
One disappointing outcome, however, stands out for lifting hopes for a fleeting moment before cruelly deflating them again.
For the first time in the nearly-three-decade history of UN climate talks, the Glasgow Climate Pact mentioned fossil fuels. The language merely mentioned "accelerating efforts towards the phase-out" of coal and fossil fuel subsidies, leaving the door open to unsubsidized oil and gas. But it was at least a beginning.
Then, a last-minute push led by India--reportedly with support from China, Saudi Arabia, Australia and other countries--led to further dilution of the language.
The change added the qualifier "unabated" to coal power, a nod to controversial technologies to "abate" carbon emissions from coal. And now it refers only to "inefficient" fossil fuel subsidies instead of all fossil fuel subsidies, implying that any "efficient" fossil fuel subsidies, whatever those may be, can go on.
This was a disastrous outcome, where even a baby step toward a global fossil fuel phase-out was obstructed. The Indian government's stance is hypocritical given its posturing as a climate leader. But are Western, and particularly U.S., observers right to blame India and other less wealthy countries for the failure to address fossil fuels for the first time in the UN climate talks?
Not so fast.
If we want a livable future, there's no future for any fossil fuels, not merely coal. Oil and gas are also major contributors to climate change.
Greenhouse gas emissions from natural gas could equal emissions from coal if there are significant leaks of methane (a shorter-lived but more powerful climate pollutant than carbon dioxide) from the production and transportation of natural gas. And methane leaks from fracking are underreported--they could be a more serious problem than official data show.
Seen in that light, it's unfortunate but understandable that major coal-producing countries (especially ones that don't have significant oil reserves, such as India and China), would feel singled out by a COP26 declaration that called for phasing out coal while remaining silent about oil and gas.
The Indian government's actions must also be viewed against the backdrop of global inequalities in income, energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. These inequalities point to vast differences in who is more responsible for climate change in the first place--and who can afford an energy transition most easily now.
India's per capita gross domestic product (GDP) is less than one-thirtieth of the United States, its per capita energy consumption is about one-eleventh of the United States, and its most recent per capita greenhouse gas emissions are less than one-eighth.
The inequality is also clear from cumulative greenhouse gas emissions since the start of the industrial era--a relevant measure because of the very long lifespan of atmospheric carbon dioxide. India's cumulative emissions are about a sixth of those of the United States, which is alone responsible for a fifth of cumulative global emissions.
Before pointing fingers at India, observers in the United States should consider a fundamental question of fairness. It's an ethical imperative for the countries most responsible for the climate crisis--and who have built fabulous wealth from more than a century of fossil-fueled industrialization--to pay their fair share for a just transition away from fossil fuels in poorer countries. Hundreds of civil society organizations worldwide have articulated this demand.
And they should pause to think about their own government's responsibility for wrecking the UN climate talks.
Who benefits from a global climate agreement that calls for phasing out coal but gives oil and gas a free pass? Literally no one other than the oil and gas industry--and major oil and gas producing countries such as the United States.
While the United States also produces coal, our coal production is in terminal decline because of competition from cheap natural gas. Meanwhile, our oil and gas production are growing rapidly.
Since coming into office in January 2021, the Biden administration has for the most part continued the prior U.S. policy of boosting the domestic oil and gas industry, with only a few exceptions, such as the cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline.
The president has extensive executive powers to stop issuing permits for new fossil fuel projects--and to revoke questionable permits for projects currently under construction. Far from using these powers, the Biden administration has allowed controversial projects such as the Line 3 tar sands pipeline to proceed.
Following the announcement of a moratorium on oil and gas leases on public lands and waters, the administration reversed course after an adverse U.S. District Court ruling, opening up the Gulf of Mexico to the largest U.S. offshore oil and gas leasing auction ever just days after COP26 concluded. Legal experts argue that the administration did not have to proceed with this lease sale regardless of the court order and that the environmental analysis the administration used to justify the sale is outdated and illegal.
These are just two examples of the Biden administration's pattern of enabling the oil and gas industry through government action and inaction. Clearly, pushing to exclude oil and gas from the Glasgow agreement language--and thereby setting up a dispute with countries such as India--would be consistent with U.S. domestic energy policy.
There are no good guys in this story. Unfortunately, the government of India is using legitimate questions of international fairness as political cover for delaying India's energy transition.
The Narendra Modi government has close political ties with large corporations, including the Adani conglomerate, which has interests in coal and other fossil fuels. And as in many other countries, India's coal industry has serious environmental justice impacts.
The Indian government is planning a massive expansion of coal mining, a backwards step during a climate emergency. Eighty percent of the proposed new mines are on Adivasi (Indigenous) lands. Adivasi movements against coal mining have denounced Prime Minister Modi for greenwashing India's image at COP26, even as his government expropriated Adivasi lands for politically connected corporations.
Burning this coal has serious air quality impacts and consequent public health effects. Ironically, the week after COP26, the government temporarily closed five coal power plants in the proximity of Delhi, the national capital, because of an air quality emergency.
The government of India would have more international credibility if its position on a coal phase-out at COP26 was backed by serious action for a just transition at home that was inhibited solely by resource constraints, instead of crony capitalist support for a polluting domestic coal industry.
With continuing hypocrisy and obstructionism by governments of major countries at global climate talks, humanity's best hope lies in the social movements of the most marginalized.
In the United States and neighboring Canada (another major oil and gas producer), the greenhouse gas emissions stopped by Indigenous peoples' successful resistance to the industry, and the greenhouse gas emissions that would be stopped if ongoing struggles against oil and gas infrastructure are successful, add up to a quarter of the two countries' combined annual emissions
Meanwhile, the Indian farmers' movement, one of the largest social movements in world history, has compelled the government to repeal farm procurement laws that placed famers at the mercy of corporations. While the farmers' victory may not have immediate relevance to struggles against coal, it has connections with climate justice, and is an example of the power of grassroots social movements.
It's movements like these that will save humanity from the climate crisis.
The UN climate talks (Conference of the Parties, or COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, concluded in mid-November with deeply disappointing results. In spite of what the global scientific community has termed a dire climate emergency, countries made weak commitments that condemn the world's most vulnerable people to what Ugandan youth climate activist Vanessa Nakate has called "a death sentence for communities like mine."
There were a handful of bright spots. One of them was the launch of the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance," an international coalition of governments and stakeholders working together to facilitate the managed phase-out of oil and gas production," by Costa Rica, Denmark, and several other national and subnational governments (including California). The United States, the world's largest oil and gas producer, was conspicuously absent.
With continuing hypocrisy and obstructionism by governments of major countries at global climate talks, humanity's best hope lies in the social movements of the most marginalized.
But the disappointments far outweighed the successes. Wealthy countries failed to deliver on their promise of $100 billion in annual climate finance for poor countries, and refused to launch a loss and damage funding facility for poor countries to help them rebuild and recover after climate disasters.
One disappointing outcome, however, stands out for lifting hopes for a fleeting moment before cruelly deflating them again.
For the first time in the nearly-three-decade history of UN climate talks, the Glasgow Climate Pact mentioned fossil fuels. The language merely mentioned "accelerating efforts towards the phase-out" of coal and fossil fuel subsidies, leaving the door open to unsubsidized oil and gas. But it was at least a beginning.
Then, a last-minute push led by India--reportedly with support from China, Saudi Arabia, Australia and other countries--led to further dilution of the language.
The change added the qualifier "unabated" to coal power, a nod to controversial technologies to "abate" carbon emissions from coal. And now it refers only to "inefficient" fossil fuel subsidies instead of all fossil fuel subsidies, implying that any "efficient" fossil fuel subsidies, whatever those may be, can go on.
This was a disastrous outcome, where even a baby step toward a global fossil fuel phase-out was obstructed. The Indian government's stance is hypocritical given its posturing as a climate leader. But are Western, and particularly U.S., observers right to blame India and other less wealthy countries for the failure to address fossil fuels for the first time in the UN climate talks?
Not so fast.
If we want a livable future, there's no future for any fossil fuels, not merely coal. Oil and gas are also major contributors to climate change.
Greenhouse gas emissions from natural gas could equal emissions from coal if there are significant leaks of methane (a shorter-lived but more powerful climate pollutant than carbon dioxide) from the production and transportation of natural gas. And methane leaks from fracking are underreported--they could be a more serious problem than official data show.
Seen in that light, it's unfortunate but understandable that major coal-producing countries (especially ones that don't have significant oil reserves, such as India and China), would feel singled out by a COP26 declaration that called for phasing out coal while remaining silent about oil and gas.
The Indian government's actions must also be viewed against the backdrop of global inequalities in income, energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. These inequalities point to vast differences in who is more responsible for climate change in the first place--and who can afford an energy transition most easily now.
India's per capita gross domestic product (GDP) is less than one-thirtieth of the United States, its per capita energy consumption is about one-eleventh of the United States, and its most recent per capita greenhouse gas emissions are less than one-eighth.
The inequality is also clear from cumulative greenhouse gas emissions since the start of the industrial era--a relevant measure because of the very long lifespan of atmospheric carbon dioxide. India's cumulative emissions are about a sixth of those of the United States, which is alone responsible for a fifth of cumulative global emissions.
Before pointing fingers at India, observers in the United States should consider a fundamental question of fairness. It's an ethical imperative for the countries most responsible for the climate crisis--and who have built fabulous wealth from more than a century of fossil-fueled industrialization--to pay their fair share for a just transition away from fossil fuels in poorer countries. Hundreds of civil society organizations worldwide have articulated this demand.
And they should pause to think about their own government's responsibility for wrecking the UN climate talks.
Who benefits from a global climate agreement that calls for phasing out coal but gives oil and gas a free pass? Literally no one other than the oil and gas industry--and major oil and gas producing countries such as the United States.
While the United States also produces coal, our coal production is in terminal decline because of competition from cheap natural gas. Meanwhile, our oil and gas production are growing rapidly.
Since coming into office in January 2021, the Biden administration has for the most part continued the prior U.S. policy of boosting the domestic oil and gas industry, with only a few exceptions, such as the cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline.
The president has extensive executive powers to stop issuing permits for new fossil fuel projects--and to revoke questionable permits for projects currently under construction. Far from using these powers, the Biden administration has allowed controversial projects such as the Line 3 tar sands pipeline to proceed.
Following the announcement of a moratorium on oil and gas leases on public lands and waters, the administration reversed course after an adverse U.S. District Court ruling, opening up the Gulf of Mexico to the largest U.S. offshore oil and gas leasing auction ever just days after COP26 concluded. Legal experts argue that the administration did not have to proceed with this lease sale regardless of the court order and that the environmental analysis the administration used to justify the sale is outdated and illegal.
These are just two examples of the Biden administration's pattern of enabling the oil and gas industry through government action and inaction. Clearly, pushing to exclude oil and gas from the Glasgow agreement language--and thereby setting up a dispute with countries such as India--would be consistent with U.S. domestic energy policy.
There are no good guys in this story. Unfortunately, the government of India is using legitimate questions of international fairness as political cover for delaying India's energy transition.
The Narendra Modi government has close political ties with large corporations, including the Adani conglomerate, which has interests in coal and other fossil fuels. And as in many other countries, India's coal industry has serious environmental justice impacts.
The Indian government is planning a massive expansion of coal mining, a backwards step during a climate emergency. Eighty percent of the proposed new mines are on Adivasi (Indigenous) lands. Adivasi movements against coal mining have denounced Prime Minister Modi for greenwashing India's image at COP26, even as his government expropriated Adivasi lands for politically connected corporations.
Burning this coal has serious air quality impacts and consequent public health effects. Ironically, the week after COP26, the government temporarily closed five coal power plants in the proximity of Delhi, the national capital, because of an air quality emergency.
The government of India would have more international credibility if its position on a coal phase-out at COP26 was backed by serious action for a just transition at home that was inhibited solely by resource constraints, instead of crony capitalist support for a polluting domestic coal industry.
With continuing hypocrisy and obstructionism by governments of major countries at global climate talks, humanity's best hope lies in the social movements of the most marginalized.
In the United States and neighboring Canada (another major oil and gas producer), the greenhouse gas emissions stopped by Indigenous peoples' successful resistance to the industry, and the greenhouse gas emissions that would be stopped if ongoing struggles against oil and gas infrastructure are successful, add up to a quarter of the two countries' combined annual emissions
Meanwhile, the Indian farmers' movement, one of the largest social movements in world history, has compelled the government to repeal farm procurement laws that placed famers at the mercy of corporations. While the farmers' victory may not have immediate relevance to struggles against coal, it has connections with climate justice, and is an example of the power of grassroots social movements.
It's movements like these that will save humanity from the climate crisis.
"President Trump's deal to take a $400 million luxury jet from a foreign government deserves full public scrutiny—not a stiff-arm from the Department of Justice," said the head of one watchdog group.
With preparations to refit a Qatari jet to be used as Air Force One "underway," a press freedom group sued the U.S. Department of Justice in federal court on Monday for failing to release the DOJ memorandum about the legality of President Donald Trump accepting the $400 million "flying palace."
The Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF), represented by nonpartisan watchdog American Oversight, filed the lawsuit seeking the memo, which was reportedly approved by the Office of Legal Counsel and signed by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, who previously lobbied on behalf of the Qatari government.
FPF had submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for the memo on May 15, and the DOJ told the group that fulfilling it would take over 600 days.
"How many flights could Trump have taken on his new plane in the same amount of time it would have taken the DOJ to release this one document?"
"It shouldn't take 620 days to release a single, time-sensitive document," said Lauren Harper, FPF's Daniel Ellsberg chair on government secrecy, in a Monday statement. "How many flights could Trump have taken on his new plane in the same amount of time it would have taken the DOJ to release this one document?"
The complaint—filed in the District of Columbia—notes that the airplane is set to be donated to Trump's private presidential library foundation after his second term. Harper said that "the government's inability to administer FOIA makes it too easy for agencies to keep secrets, and nonexistent disclosure rules around donations to presidential libraries provide easy cover for bad actors and potential corruption."
It's not just FPF sounding the alarm about the aircraft. The complaint points out that "a number of stakeholders, including ethics experts and several GOP lawmakers, have questioned the propriety and legality of the move, including whether acceptance of the plane would violate the U.S. Constitution's foreign emoluments clause... which prohibits a president from receiving gifts or benefits from foreign governments without the consent of Congress."
Some opponents of the "comically corrupt" so-called gift stressed that it came after the Trump Organization, the Saudi partner DarGlobal, and a company owned by the Qatari government reached a deal to build a luxury golf resort in Qatar.
Despite some initial GOP criticism of the president taking the aircraft, just hours after the Trump administration formally accepted the jet in May, U.S. Senate Republicans thwarted an attempt by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to pass by unanimous consent legislation intended to prevent a foreign plane from serving as Air Force One.
"Although President Trump characterized the deal as a smart business decision, remarking that it would be 'stupid' not to accept 'a free, very expensive airplane,' experts have noted that it will be costly to retrofit the jet for use as Air Force One, with estimatesranging from less than $400 million to more than $1 billion," the complaint states.
As The New York Times reported Sunday:
Officially, and conveniently, the price tag has been classified. But even by Washington standards, where "black budgets" are often used as an excuse to avoid revealing the cost of outdated spy satellites and lavish end-of-year parties, the techniques being used to hide the cost of Mr. Trump's pet project are inventive.
Which may explain why no one wants to discuss a mysterious, $934 million transfer of funds from one of the Pentagon's most over-budget, out-of-control projects—the modernization of America's aging, ground-based nuclear missiles...
Air Force officials privately concede that they are paying for renovations of the Qatari Air Force One with the transfer from another the massively-over-budget, behind-schedule program, called the Sentinel.
Preparations to refit the plane "are underway, and floor plans or schematics have been seen by senior U.S. officials," according to Monday reporting by CBS News. One unnamed budget official who spoke to the outlet also "believes the money to pay for upgrades will come from the Sentinel program."
Chioma Chukwu, executive director of American Oversight, said Monday that "President Trump's deal to take a $400 million luxury jet from a foreign government deserves full public scrutiny—not a stiff-arm from the Department of Justice."
"This is precisely the kind of corrupt arrangement that public records laws are designed to expose," Chukwu added. "The DOJ cannot sit on its hands and expect the American people to wait years for the truth while serious questions about corruption, self-dealing, and foreign influence go unanswered."
The complaint highlights that "Bondi's decision not to recuse herself from this matter, despite her links to the Qatari government, adds to a growing body of questionable ethical practices that have arisen during her short tenure as attorney general."
It also emphasizes that "the Qatari jet is just one in a list of current and prospective extravagant donations to President Trump's presidential library foundation that has raised significant questions about the use of private foundation donations to improperly influence government policy."
"Notably, ABC News and Paramount each agreed to resolve cases President Trump filed against the media entities by paying multimillion-dollar settlements to the Trump presidential library foundation, with Paramount's $16 million agreed payout coming at the same time it sought government approval for a planned merger with Skydance," the filing details. "On July 24, the Federal Communications Commission announced its approval of the $8 billion merger."
"The Trump regime just handed Christian nationalists a loaded weapon: your federal workplace," said one critic.
The Trump administration issued a memo Monday allowing federal employees to proselytize in the workplace, a move welcomed by many conservatives but denounced by proponents of the separation of church and state.
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) memo "provides clear guidance to ensure federal employees may express their religious beliefs through prayer, personal items, group gatherings, and conversations without fear of discrimination or retaliation."
"Employees must be allowed to engage in private religious expression in work areas to the same extent that they may engage in nonreligious private expression," the memo states.
Federal workers "should be permitted to display and use items used for religious purposes or icons of a religiously significant nature, including but not limited to bibles, artwork, jewelry, posters displaying religious messages, and other indicia of religion (such as crosses, crucifixes, and mezuzahs) on their desks, on their person, and in their assigned workspaces," the document continues.
"Employees may engage in conversations regarding religious topics with fellow employees, including attempting to persuade others of the correctness of their own religious views, provided that such efforts are not harassing in nature," OPM said—without elaborating on what constitutes harassment.
"These shocking changes essentially permit workplace evangelizing."
"Employees may also encourage their coworkers to participate in religious expressions of faith, such as prayer, to the same extent that they would be permitted to encourage coworkers participate in other personal activities," the memo adds.
OPM Director Scott Kupor said in a statement that "federal employees should never have to choose between their faith and their career."
"This guidance ensures the federal workplace is not just compliant with the law but welcoming to Americans of all faiths," Kupor added. "Under President [Donald] Trump's leadership, we are restoring constitutional freedoms and making government a place where people of faith are respected, not sidelined."
The OPM memo was widely applauded by conservative social media users—although some were dismayed that the new rules also apply to Muslims.
Critics, however, blasted what the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) called "a gift to evangelicals and the myth of 'anti-Christian bias.'"
FFRF co-president Laurie Gaylor said that "these shocking changes essentially permit workplace evangelizing, but worse still, allow supervisors to evangelize underlings and federal workers to proselytize the public they serve."
"This is the implementation of Christian nationalism in our federal government," Gaylor added.
The Secular Coalition for America denounced the memo as "another effort to grant privileges to certain religions while ignoring nonreligious people's rights."
Monday's memo follows another issued by Kupor on July 16 that encouraged federal agencies to take a "generous approach" to evaluating government employees who request telework and other flexibilities due to their religious beliefs.
The OPM directives follow the U.S. Supreme Court's 2023 Groff v. DeJoy ruling, in which the court's right-wing majority declared that Article VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 "requires an employer that denies a religious accommodation to show that the burden of granting an accommodation would result in substantial increased costs in relation to the conduct of its particular business."
The new memo also comes on the heels of three religion-based executive orders issued by Trump during his second term. One order established a White House Faith Office tasked with ensuring religious organizations have a voice in the federal government. Another seeks to "eradicate" what Trump claims is the "anti-Christian weaponization of government." Yet another created a Religious Liberty Commission meant to promote and protect religious freedom.
Awda Hathaleen was described as "a teacher and an activist who struggled courageously for his people."
A Palestinian peace activist has been fatally shot by a notorious Israeli settler who was once the subject of sanctions that were lifted this year by U.S. President Donald Trump.
In June, Awda Hathaleen—an English teacher, activist, and former soccer player from the occupied West Bank—was detained alongside his cousin Eid at the airport in San Francisco, where they were about to embark on an interfaith speaking tour organized by the California-based Kehilla Community Synagogue.
Ben Linder, co-chair of the Silicon Valley chapter of J Street and the organizer of Eid and Awda's first scheduled speaking engagement told Middle East Eye that he'd known the two cousins for 10 years, describing them as "true nonviolent peace activists" who "came here on an interfaith peace-promoting mission."
Without explanation from U.S. authorities, they were deported and returned to their village of Umm al-Khair in the South Hebron Hills.
On Monday afternoon, the activist group Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) reported on social media that Awda Hathaleen had been killed after Israeli settlers attacked his village and that a relative of his was also severely injured:
Activists working with Awda report that Israeli settlers invaded Umm al-Kheir with a bulldozer to destroy what little remains of the Palestinian village. As Awda and his family tried to defend their homes and land, a settler opened fire—both aiming directly and shooting indiscriminately. Awda was shot in the chest and later died from his injuries after being taken by an Israeli ambulance. His death was the result of brutal settler violence.
Later, when Awda's relative Ahmad al-Hathaleen tried to block the bulldozer, the settler driving it ran him over. Ahmad is now being treated in a nearby hospital.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz later confirmed these events, adding:
An eyewitness reported that the entry of Israeli settlers into Palestinian private lands, riding an excavator, caused a commotion, and the vehicle subsequently struck a resident named Ahmad Hathaleen. "People lost their minds, and the children threw stones," he said.
A friend and fellow activist, Mohammad Hureini, posted the video of the attack online. The settler who fired the gun has been identified by Haaretz as Yinon Levi, who has previously been hit—along with other settlers—with sanctions by former U.S. President Joe Biden's administration and other governments over his past harassment of Palestinians in the West Bank.
As the Biden State Department wrote at the time:
Levi consistently leads a group of settlers who attack Palestinians, set fire to their fields, destroy their property, and threaten them with further harm if they do not leave their homes.
The sanctions were later lifted by U.S. President Donald Trump. However, they'd already been rendered virtually ineffective after the intervention of far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has expressed a desire to ethnically cleanse Gaza and the West Bank of Palestinians to make way for Jewish settlements.
Brooklyn-based journalist Jasper Nathaniel, who has covered other cases of settler violence for Zeteo described Levi as "a known terrorist who's been protected by the Israeli government for years," adding that, "One of the only good things Biden did for Palestine was sanction him."
Violence by Israeli settlers in the illegally-occupied West Bank has risen sharply since the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas and the subsequent 21-month military campaign by Israel in Gaza.
Nearly 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by settlers during that time. More than 6,400 have been forcibly displaced following the demolition of their homes by Israel, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The killing of Awda Hathaleen—who had a wife and three young children—has been met with outpourings of grief and anger from his fellow peace activists in the United States, Israel, and Palestine.
Issa Amro, the Hebron-based co-founder of the grassroots group Youth Against Settlements, described Awda as a "beloved hero."
"Awda stood with dignity and courage against oppression," Amro said. "His loss is a deep wound to our hearts and our struggle for justice."
Israeli journalist and filmmaker Yuval Abraham, who last year directed the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land about the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, described Awda Hathaleen as "a remarkable activist," and thanked him for helping his team shoot the film in Masafer Yatta.
"To know Awda Hathaleen is to love him," said the post from JVP announcing his death. "Awda has always been a pillar amongst his family, his village and the wider international community of activists who had the pleasure to meet Awda."
Israeli-American peace activist Mattan Berner-Kadish wrote: "May his memory be a revolution. I will remember him smiling, laughing, dreaming of a better future for his children. We must make it so."