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PBC News & Comment: Senate Votes to Persist in Perpetual War

Dodging its constitutional duty to manage war powers, Senate votes to retain Bush’s blank check for war, passed in 2001…..–Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) leads effort to repeal AUMF, as Senate shovels more money into Pentagon than Trump asked for

–ordered by court to provide legal basis for April 6 missile attacks on Syria, Trump White House delivers press releases and some redacted talking points

–during biggest refugee crisis in 70 years—driven largely by US regime change wars, TrumpCo wants to lower the quota below 50,000 annually

–Turkey flips bird to US, signs missile deal with Russia

–former Trump advisor Mike Flynn was lobbying for Turkey during campaign; special counsel is investigating lobbying for US-Russian nuclear power partnership

–from Reagan Library archives, Robert Parry shows how US used National Endowment for Democracy for political meddling

NY Times, based on a single case, makes expansive claims about Russian use of Facebook to promote anti-immigrant rallies in US

–US bans use of Kaspersky security software in government systems

–as Bernie Sanders drops his Medicare for All bill, GOP makes one more effort to scuttle Obamacare

–ACLU and EFF file suit to challenge airport searches of phones and computers

–following massive hack of consumer data, Equifax continues to confuse the public and limit its exposure for damages

–in surprise move, House passes amendment to restrict asset forfeiture, direct rebuke of Jeff Sessions

–Berkeley is focus of right-wing provocateurs, as Ben Shapiro is set to speak on campus Thursday, followed by Coulter, Yiannopolis, and Bannon

–as Feds decline to charge cops, it appears that no one will be held accountable for Freddie Gray’s death in Baltimore police paddywagon