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    Trump gets the Monroe doctrine wrong. He should take a page from Bad Bunny | Ted Widmer

    The US president has twisted the 1823 doctrine to suit his quest for domination. It originally had a very different vision for the AmericasThroughout Bad Bunny’s mesmerizing performance during the Super Bowl, the word “America” kept expanding, like an accordion, stretching out to embrace people of all nationalities. “Together we are all America,” his football read, and he obviously meant it, in the largest, most hemispheric sense. Near the end, after shouting “God bless America” (his only words in English), Bad Bunny ran through a long list of countries in the western hemisphere.That inclusiveness enraged Donald Trump, who erupted on social media, and tried to take the word back, declaring the half-time show “an affront to the greatness of America”. By which, of course, he meant the United States. Continue reading… More

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    US military used Anthropic’s AI model Claude in Venezuela raid, report says

    Wall Street Journal says Claude used in operation via Anthropic’s partnership with Palantir TechnologiesClaude, the AI model developed by Anthropic, was used by the US military during its operation to kidnap Nicolás Maduro from Venezuela, the Wall Street Journal revealed on Saturday, a high-profile example of how the US defence department is using artificial intelligence in its operations.The US raid on Venezuela involved bombing across the capital, Caracas, and the killing of 83 people, according to Venezuela’s defence ministry. Anthropic’s terms of use prohibit the use of Claude for violent ends, for the development of weapons or for conducting surveillance. Continue reading… More

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    US House backs bid to block Canada tariffs in rebuke of Trump

    Republicans join Democrats in objecting to national emergency US president declared to impose tariffsThe US House on Wednesday voted to rescind tariffs that Donald Trump imposed on Canada last year, a rare bipartisan rebuke of the White House’s trade policy as the president threatened electoral retaliation against any Republican who defied him.The largely symbolic resolution to disapprove of the national emergency Trump declared to impose tariffs on Canada passed 219 to 211, with six Republicans – Don Bacon of Nebraska, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Kevin Kiley of California, Dan Newhouse of Washington and Jeff Hurd of Colorado – voting with all Democrats except Jared Golden of Maine, who voted against it. Continue reading… More

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    ‘It’s been brutal’: Cubans caught in crosshairs of Trump’s deportation push

    Cubans, once fast-tracked to US residency, now find themselves targets of Trump’s immigration crackdownWhen Rosaly Estévez “self-deported” from Miami to Havana last November, US immigration officers bid farewell by removing her ankle monitor. The 32-year-old had been told she was about to be detained, so she left with her three-year-old son, Dylan, a US citizen.Heidy Sánchez, 43, wasn’t given a choice. She was forcibly removed from Florida last April but, worrying about Cuba’s failing healthcare system, she left her two-year-old daughter, Kaylin, behind with her American husband, Carlos. Continue reading… More

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    Cuba on the brink as Trump turns up the pressure: ‘There is going to be a real blockade’

    Country is already suffering acute fuel shortage; experts say complete cutoff will be ‘catastrophic’ to its infrastructureIt’s just gone midday on Linea, one of the main roads through Havana’s Vedado neighbourhood, and Javier Peña and Ysil Ribas have been waiting since 6am outside a petrol station. They’re passing the time fixing a leak on Ribas’s 1955 gold and white Mercury.A tanker has pulled up on the forecourt in front of them, and so the queue behind is growing fast. Although this station only takes US dollars, at a cost far out of reach of most Cubans, Peña says it’s their only choice. “There is no gas in the national pesos,” he says, shrugging. Continue reading… More