Source: The American Prospect
by Gabrielle Gurley
“With a trade war looming between the United States, Canada, and Mexico, the nation’s governors are still in the dark about the battle plan after White House meetings with President Trump, his cabinet secretaries, and advisers. What they do know is that a prolonged disruption of North American trade will drive a stake into their states’ economies. That was one of the messages from Gov. Jared Polis (D-CO) and Gov. Kevin Stitt (R-OK) at the National Governors Association’s recent winter meeting in Washington.” (02/27/25)
https://prospect.org/economy/2025-02-27-governors-nervous-about-tariff-endgame/
Source: Deutsche Welle [German state media]
“Imprisoned militant leader Abdullah Ocalan on Thursday announced a call for his Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to dissolve itself. The PKK leader’s message was conveyed after a meeting with senior members of Turkey’s left-wing, pro-Kurdish Equality and Democracy Party (DEM). ‘Convene your congress and make a decision; all groups must lay down their arms and the PKK must dissolve itself,’ Ocalan was quoted as saying. He called for a new ‘epoch of peace’ and a ‘democratic society.’ Ocalan has been serving a life sentence in solitary confinement on the island of Imrali near Istanbul since 1999 over a treason conviction. The Thursday statement comes after Devlet Bahceli, who heads the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and is an ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, suggested in October Ocalan could be offered parole if the PKK were to reject violence and disband.” (02/27/25)
https://www.dw.com/en/turkey-ocalan-calls-for-pkk-to-lay-down-weapons/a-71773113
Source: Hoover Institution
“Elizabeth Economy sits down with Leland Miller to go behind the curtain of the Chinese economy and Trump 2.0.” (02/27/25)
https://www.hoover.org/research/beyond-data-chinas-economy-leland-miller
Source: The Bulwark
by Mona Charen
“Public corruption is never completely vanquished of course. Look no further than former Senator Bob Menendez’s gold bars and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash in his bedroom. (He claimed not to trust banks.) Clean government requires constant vigilance from the police, prosecutors, and the courts. It requires a consensus in society that this is crucial, and journalists on the lookout for tales of venality and malversation. There are also tons of civil society groups dedicated to this. … In his first month back in the White House, Donald Trump is yanking the rug out from under open, honest government and signaling a complete reversal to a time of rank corruption.” (02/27/25)
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-open-for-corruption-rolling-back-reforms-firing-watchdogs
Source: South China Morning Post [Hong Kong]
“Soviet chess grandmaster Boris Spassky, who was famously defeated in the so-called match of the century at the height of the Cold War, has died aged 88, the Chess Federation of Russia said Thursday. The federation called his death a ‘great loss to the country,’ saying generations of chess players had learned from his matches.” (02/27/25)
https://archive.is/OoEb7
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Walter Hatch
“It’s a pathetic milestone: Two months ago, about 100 U.S. Marines who otherwise would have been stationed in Okinawa ended up instead on a base in Guam. This was the first force reduction contemplated by longstanding negotiations between Washington and Tokyo designed to trim the gigantic U.S. military footprint in Japan’s southern-most prefecture. Eventually, 9,000 Marines — a little less than half the number now deployed there — are supposed to exit Okinawa. But don’t hold your breath. The two countries, members of the most important security alliance in Asia, have been slow-walking the process.” (02/27/25)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/okinawa-base-withdrawal/
Source: Heartland Institute
“Is it Over for the MSM?” (02/27/25)
https://heartland.org/podcasts/is-it-over-for-the-msm-in-the-tank-485/
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“The top judge in the United States has given temporary backing to the Trump administration’s freeze on foreign aid payments. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts'[s] intervention came as the administration faced a midnight deadline (05:00 GMT on Thursday) to pay contractors. Officials had argued that they could not process the payments within the timeframe set by a lower court judge. Since coming to power in January, US President Donald Trump has taken quick action to end many aid programmes, largely run by the US Agency for International Development, USAID, and placed most of its staff on administrative leave or sacked them.” (02/27/25)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgwwp2gd3jo
Source: United Press International
“The Food and Drug Administration abruptly and unexpectedly canceled a planned March 13 vaccine advisory committee meeting that was to have chosen the flu strains in next year’s U.S. flu vaccine. Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson Andrew Nixon confirmed to CBS News the meeting had been canceled, but did not say why. He said in a statement the FDA will make recommendations for updated vaccines to be available for the 2025-2026 influenza season. Vaccine committee member Dr. Paul Offit said the vaccine meeting was canceled abruptly in a Wednesday afternoon email without explaining why.” (02/27/25)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2025/02/27/fda-flu-vaccine-meeting-cancelled/4701740671115/
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Explosions have rocked the city of Bukavu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) during a rally for the M23 rebel group and their supporters, killing 11 people and wounding 65 others. Corneille Nangaa, leader of the rebel alliance that includes M23, who had himself been present at the rally, confirmed the death toll at a press conference shortly after the attack on Thursday. The first explosion had caused panic, sending attendees fleeing from the area before a second explosion rang out, according to the AFP news agency. Residents said the explosions were accompanied by gunfire. … Bukavu is one of two key cities in the turbulent region seized in recent weeks by antigovernment M23 fighters, who United Nations experts said are backed by Rwanda.” (02/27/25)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/27/blasts-gunfire-kill-several-at-m23-rally-in-eastern-dr-congo
