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The US Congress may soon urge President Donald Trump’s administration to consider imposing sanctions on countries that suppress religious freedom and violate human rights, Republican Congressman Christopher H. Smith suggested during a congressional hearing on Pakistan on Tuesday.
“One of the biggest disappointments — regardless of who is in the White House or at the State Department — is the absence of sanctions,” said Smith, who co-chairs the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission (TLHRC).
Smith recalled that the only individual ever sanctioned under US religious freedom laws was Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, following the 2002 Gujarat riots. “We are going to call on the Irfa office to consider imposing [sanctions] — especially in light of the terrible acts committed against people of various faiths,” he said.
The Irfa office, based at the State Department, enforces the International Religious Freedom Act, which authorises the US government to designate and penalise countries that engage in or tolerate severe religious persecution.
“That’s it. We’ve got 18 sanctions here, and we are going to impose them on you,” Smith declared during the hearing on Pakistan’s current political and human rights situation.
The problem with US "sanctions" on a non-real country like Pakistan is: the sliver of landowner/military/crony-capitalist "elites" who actually impact policy have ample 2-numberi methods to get around them on a small-favours basis, while the vast majority are and will forever remain too poor to matter whether sanctions are applied or not. In contrast, sanctions on a country like India (with serious policy programs to achieve class-mobility aspirations on a mass scale) will make economic goals harder and slower (though certainly not impossible) to realise.
I think the US knows what sanctions are really for— the undermining of what it sees as potential challengers— and deploys them for this actual purpose, whatever high-minded nonsense it may cite as a pretext.
Apart from the American use of sanctions as above, I see re-opening of a platform for the 0.5 front to grandstand about “the persecution of minorities”, and “casteism” and “patriarchy” and so on on an American-provided platform, further polarizing the politics in India. The ancient malady of inviting outsiders to meddle in internal affairs of India will get a revival.
If the country remains united in telling the US Congress it is none of their business I would have few concerns.
They have details of only 117th and 116th congresses. 117th is from 2021-2023
(Wikipedia data re-formatted for BRF)
Jim McGovern (D-MA) 2008-2021 - D co-chair
GOP co-chair changed every two years after from 2013.
Executive Committee Members, 117th Congress
Democrats
Alan Lowenthal, California - Jewish Ilhan Omar, Minnesota - Muslim
Jamie Raskin, Maryland - Jewish
Norma Torres, California - Hispanic Caucus, born in Guatemala moved to the US when she was five years old with her uncle. Mom stayed back and died after one year Ms. Torres moving to the US.
After being reelected to the House in November 2022, Torres accused President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador of interfering in her race. Bukele had urged voters to oppose Torres.[9]
Bukele is Mohammedan. His dad was an early convert to Islam in El Salvador who also became Imam and was instrumental in constructing at least two mosques and became the first Mohammedan president of El Salvador.
Republicans
N/A (that is what Wikipedia says. No idea N/A is not available or not applicable
Where does USCIRF fit in to this landscape? My presumption would be that Tom Lantos HRC takes inputs from USCIRF.
Co-chair and four members are appointed each by the Speaker and Minority Leader. Any member of the House can be a member of this commission, they just have to ask the co-chairs.
which can be searched by country. In India's case, they list three people.
Gokarakonda Naga Saibaba: His house was raided in May 2014
Soni Sori and Lingaram Kopodi: Both were imprisoned by on charges of attack on Congress leaders in CG Soni Sori is released (sometime after 2013). Lingaram Kodopi is released. Fifteen others were also imprisoned and probably released now as all of them were charged in the same case.
GN Saibaba is an OGUN.
Only Asian countries are in the list. BD is not in the list. In Central America, Guatemala and Nicaragua, and Russia from Europe (Asia).
For Further Reference
Full U.S. Department of State Human Rights Country Report
U.S. Department of State International Religious Freedom Country Report U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Annual Report Chapter U.S. Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report Country Narrative
Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review Human Rights Watch World Report Country Chapter Amnesty International Annual Report Country Chapter
Freedom House Freedom in the World Country Report
The Republican co-chairman of the Tom Lantos HRC, Christopher Smith, has a great passion and that is to end human trafficking. I am not sure that he is known for anything else.
"The Internal Revenue Service is building a computer program that would give deportation officers unprecedented access to confidential tax data. - various sources.
"Taxpayer data is among the most confidential in the federal government and is protected by strict privacy laws, which have historically limited its transfer to law enforcement and other government agencies. Unauthorized disclosure of taxpayer return information is a felony that can carry a penalty of up to five years in prison."
"In the past, when law enforcement sought IRS data to support its investigations, agencies would give the IRS the full legal name of the target, an address on file and an explanation of why the information was relevant to a criminal inquiry. Such requests rarely involved more than a dozen people at a time, former IRS officials said."
"In one meeting in late March between senior IRS and DHS officials, a top ICE official made a suggestion: Why doesn’t Homeland Security simply provide the name and state of its targets and have the IRS return the addresses of everyone who matches that criteria?
The IRS lawyers were stunned. They feared they could face criminal liability if they handed over the addresses of individuals who were not under a criminal investigation. The conversation and news of deeper collaboration with ICE so disturbed career staff that it led to a series of departures in late March and early April across the IRS’ legal, IT and privacy offices.
They were “pushing the boundaries of the law,” one official said. “Everyone at IRS felt the same way.”
I don't know how many recall the hoax of Russia and DJT V1.0. Now US DNI Tulsi Gabbard has charged Obama Administration of treasonous conspiracy in the hoax they manufactured, this after declassifying the docs at national intelligence of the US. Prior to 2016 election of DJT this hoax was created. There was no foreign manipulation of the election. The conspiracy was politicized heavily by the DNC. There was a year long Mueller (former FBI chief) probe too in the US.
Trump announced the framework agreement on Truth Social on July 2, just days before the White House’s self-imposed July 8 deadline for trade negotiations. The deal was just the second the administration has reached to avoid its threatened “reciprocal” tariffs, after Trump suggested in an April interview that he’d made 200 deals. According to Trump’s July 2 post, exports from Vietnam will face a 20 percent tariff — down from the 46 percent that was paused in April — or a 40 percent tariff if they originated in a different country. In exchange, Vietnam “will ‘OPEN THEIR MARKET TO THE UNITED STATES,’ meaning that, we will be able to sell our product into Vietnam at ZERO Tariff,” the president wrote.
That sent shock waves through Vietnam because their negotiators had not, in fact, agreed to the 20 percent rate; they believed the tariff rate would be around 11 percent, according to the four people. Trump disregarded that figure in his phone call with Vietnamese General Secretary Lâm — who had not been part of the initial tariff negotiations — and instead declared the U.S. would impose a tariff nearly twice as high.
…
…
Neither the White House nor Vietnam, however, have released any paperwork indicating a final agreement that includes those tariff rates, and neither country has formally signed off on a deal. It’s unclear when, or if, the higher rate will go into effect.
Just now watched Journal Editorial Report. The consensus on that program among panelists and expert opinion too was that SCOTUS would put a stop on Trump using 1977 law to impose tariffs. By Aug 1st, Trump is going to declare some kind of deal with allies - probably 10% - declare that he has won and move on.
One point Trump made long back on tariffs was this:
"If they don't like tariffs, why are they not reducing tariffs to 0%? Then we will also reciprocate with impose 0%".
That sort of does make sense. Chinese are dumping and drove American manufacturers out of business. Chinese did the same and worse to India. Worse because they dumped lower quality stuff - lower quality than what they dumped in the US - to India.
China needs to be reigned in. I am coming to the conclusion that it may be too little too late.
Vayutuvan wrote: ↑20 Jul 2025 02:13
That sort of does make sense. Chinese are dumping and drove American manufacturers out of business. Chinese did the same and worse to India. Worse because they dumped lower quality stuff - lower quality than what they dumped in the US - to India.
China needs to be reigned in. I am coming to the conclusion that it may be too little too late.
The only way China can be reigned in, is if the US works with other countries also facing a large trade deficit with China, due to its unfair trade practices. Trump is doing the opposite. If hypothetically, China and India are hit with a 100% tariff for importing Russian oil, we will end up on the
same side as China, working to rein in the US.
Vayutuvan wrote: ↑20 Jul 2025 02:13
That sort of does make sense. Chinese are dumping and drove American manufacturers out of business. Chinese did the same and worse to India. Worse because they dumped lower quality stuff - lower quality than what they dumped in the US - to India.
China needs to be reigned in. I am coming to the conclusion that it may be too little too late.
The only way China can be reigned in, is if the US works with other countries also facing a large trade deficit with China, due to its unfair trade practices. Trump is doing the opposite. If hypothetically, China and India are hit with a 100% tariff for importing Russian oil, we will end up on the
same side as China, working to rein in the US.
UNfortunately India is in a little bit of pickle. It is doubtful that China would deal with India in good faith. Russia needs China more than they need India. For the time being, India's bread is buttered on the US side when it comes to some weapons platforms. Also IT service exports.
India has to bide its time. Trump is there only for the next 3.5 years and he is running into heavy opposition to implement his more cockamamey policies.
The US spends only 3% on defense as opposed to their asking NATO spend 5%. It is on the way down and WSJ editorial board opined that it will go down to 2.65%. What is going for DJT is the stock market. It is doing well, at least for now. There are indications that inflation is on the uptick. His wings will be clipped RSN. Hopefully.
vera_k wrote: ↑21 Jul 2025 02:07
I'll take MIGA even if said in jest. But sadly this is fake news.
Cult will be a cult but the image shown is legitimate — it’s part of a real series of posts on Truth Social from July 20, 2025, where Trump urged the Washington NFL team (Commanders) to revert to their former “Redskins” name and similarly demanded that the Cleveland Guardians go back to being the “Cleveland Indians,” coining the slogan “MAKE INDIANS GREAT AGAIN (MIGA)”
(Actually multiple such tweets ..
Here’s the context:
Trump threatened to block the Commanders’ new stadium deal in D.C. unless they changed their name back to "Redskins," and said the Guardians should also revert back, blaming political consequences on their name change.
He wrote: “Indians are being treated very unfairly. MAKE INDIANS GREAT AGAIN (MIGA)!”, exactly as shown in that image.
Multiple mainstream outlets — Politico, The Guardian, even The Times of India — covered the tweet and the MIGA slogan.
Donald Trump sparks outrage by demanding Washington Commanders name reversal request- Times of India
This is not a fake or deepfake. It’s an authentic screenshot of Trump’s Truth Social post from July 20, 2025, promoting “MAKE INDIANS GREAT AGAIN” in support of reverting Cleveland’s name — treated by media as part of an ongoing push.
In the 'Understanding the US' thread, Trump’s fan club shows up loud, proud, and deeply divorced from reality — it’s less political support, more cult cosplay at this point /sigh/
Meanwhile. Wow BREAKING (again and again): Trump personally stopped a nuclear war between India and Pakistan!
Apparently 5 jets were shot down, world on the brink, and SuperTrump threatened trade deals and saved the planet.
(Trump did make the claim about jets shot down and negotiating a ceasefire through U.S. intervention- Multiple times... Rahul Gandhi correctly quoted him and called on Narendra Modi to confirm the facts. ../sigh/ ... (And seeing some posts here, it looks like Rahul Gandhi is not the only clue-less person /sigh/
Amber G. wrote: ↑21 Jul 2025 03:19This is not a fake or deepfake. It’s an authentic screenshot of Trump’s Truth Social post from July 20, 2025, promoting “MAKE INDIANS GREAT AGAIN” in support of reverting Cleveland’s name — treated by media as part of an ongoing push.
Granting you the benefit of the doubt. There was a tweet about team names.
The part that is fake news is this bit
Indians are being treated very unfairly. Make Indians Great Again (MIGA)
Someone looks to have added it on to the screenshot.
Added later -
This says that it was indeed tweeted that way. Don't see it in the tweet now though. So maybe it was edited.
But more serious question - Do Americans think of East Indians or Native Americans when hearing the term Indian these days? I have my own blinkered view on this, but does look like Indian equals Native American still.
US is adopting a different strategy to tackle Russia. Herein the idea is to wean away Europe from Russian gas supplies which are crucial for Europe. You remember sometime back Biden bombed the pipeline from Russia to Germany in the seas. DJT has warned Europe to buy US LNG otherwise face tariffs. As Europe turns away from Russian gas and embraces record-breaking LNG imports from the U.S., a new war is being waged — not with tanks or troops, but with trade deals and energy corridors. Donald Trump is orchestrating a quiet economic blow to Putin’s power. Russia's share of EU pipeline gas imports decreased from 40% in 2021 to 19% in 2024. US now supplies 45% of LNG.
Eric and Eliot welcome Rebecca Friedman Lissner and Mira Rapp-Hooper to Shield of the Republic to discuss their recent article in the July/August issue of Foreign Affairs, "Absent at the Creation?: American Strategy and the Delusion of a Post-Trump Restoration." They discuss the speed with which Trump has imposed policy changes, the likelihood that old international order will be irreparably broken by the end of this term, the limits of American resilience, and the emergence of a multipolar world order. They also discuss challenges to American pre-eminence of emerging technologies and "compounding geopolitical risks" that Trump's cuts to research, assault on universities, and limits on tech transfer to China will do to U.S. innovation and international competitiveness. Note: After this episode was recorded the Trump administration announced approval of AI semiconductor chip sales to China.
A key statement is that Trump is an accelerant, not the cause, of structural changes that have been happening for many years. This is a discussion of the US place in the world post-2029 and for the subsequent decade. Another is that a US attempt to return to the status of ante-Trump would be a mistake.
Amber G. wrote: ↑21 Jul 2025 03:19This is not a fake or deepfake. It’s an authentic screenshot of Trump’s Truth Social post from July 20, 2025, promoting “MAKE INDIANS GREAT AGAIN” in support of reverting Cleveland’s name — treated by media as part of an ongoing push.
Granting you the benefit of the doubt. There was a tweet about team names.
The part that is fake news is this bit
Indians are being treated very unfairly. Make Indians Great Again (MIGA)
Someone looks to have added it on to the screenshot.
Added later -
This says that it was indeed tweeted that way. Don't see it in the tweet now though. So maybe it was edited.
To begin, the United States needs what accountants refer to as a “zero based” review of its foreign policy: a clean slate from which to reevaluate and justify its long-held interests, values, and policies. Four years from now, many of the familiar pillars of U.S. grand strategy—from alliances to multilateral organizations to global treaties—will likely be transformed beyond recognition. What’s more, the world these tools were intended to help manage will have changed profoundly. No new president, whether a Democrat, a more traditional Republican, or a Trump disciple, will have the option of returning to the familiar approaches of the post–Cold War era. Starting from a zero base will guard against the tendency to default to old structures and concepts that might no longer reflect the United States’ vital interests and geopolitical context or the needs and preferences of the American people.
{Trump's} unorthodox policy views had a magnifying effect on major global trends that had been well underway before Trump was elected, including the global diffusion of power, rapid and disruptive technological change, and political polarization and policy volatility.
No responsible analyst can claim to predict what will happen over the course of the first year of the new Trump administration—let alone all four. But the haphazard rollout of unprecedented global tariffs in April and the White House’s goal of reshaping the postwar order indicate that upheaval is not just incidental but a central policy objective. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was explicit on this point in his confirmation hearing: “The post-war global order is not just obsolete,” he told Congress, “it is now a weapon being used against us.”
[/quote
And regardless of what tariff levels land, including as court proceedings play out in the United States, the shock of being economically kneecapped by a close ally has made many Indo-Pacific states rethink their reliance on the United States as a guardian of an open international economic order.....ndeed, Trump’s hard protectionist turn strikes at the heart of the U.S. alliance system, which has historically paired strategic alignment and security guarantees with privileged access to American markets, resulting in impressive development curves for many American allies.
Since the global financial crisis and the failed wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, it has been clear that the United States is overstretched. But the temptation to tweak the United States’ role in the world rather than overhaul it has carried the day in the last two Democratic administrations.
American grand strategists, for instance, have long defined U.S. interests in terms of preventing a hostile power from dominating Eurasia. But this construct implicitly favors military calculations and neglects the power and influence that come from dominating technological ecosystems, such as AI, clean tech, and quantum computing—the advantages of which may prove more consequential than securing particular geographies over the coming decades
( couldn't have made this up)
