…#COFA agreements have previously been inked w/ #independent countries, & #Greenland would likely need to separate from #Denmark for such a plan to proceed. While polls show Greenlanders are interested in #independence, surveys also show most do NOT want to be part of the US [who can blame them? Under #Trump, many US-ians aren’t anymore either]. A COFA - which cedes significant autonomy to Washington - *could* [will] be viewed with similar skepticism.

“…America’s #courts remain #independent [for now] & will almost certainly block some of the admin’s most abusive measures. But #judges — themselves targets of #violent #threats, govt #harassment & even #arrest — cannot save #democracy on their own. Broader societal #opposition is essential.

“American civil society has the financial & organizational muscle to resist #Trump’s #authoritarian offensive.

@inkorrupt

100%

silly me, I thought this was a #US problem.

I guess corporate media gonna be corporate all over everywhere.

Who are your #independent #journalists? If they're on #mastodon, I'd like to #follow them.

For decades, the #Energy #Information Admin, an #independent agency housed inside the Dept of Energy, has provided crucial reports on everything from #oil & #gas to the future of #AlternativeEnergy. Relied on by oil CEOs & govt #policymakers alike, #EIA’s data has been called the “gold standard” by Daniel Yergin, vice chair of S&P Global & an éminence grise in the oil world. No less a source than #Project2025 described the EIA as historically providing “independent & impartial analysis.”

“The earliest steps were to impose severe restrictions on all public-facing agency activity, fire the #independent #InspectorGeneral, rescind job offers, & institute a hiring freeze,” the #states’ lawsuit said. “The next steps were to remove the existing key leaders within the agencies unsympathetic to Secretary Kennedy’s favored views, & fire tens of thousands of the rank & file. This coordinated dismantling has stopped crucial work that plaintiff states relied upon.”

Day 31 cont

The LNP has a candidate problem cont:

“The #LiberalParty plans to take the #BoroondaraCityCouncil to court to stop it from removing the signs of #Kooyong candidate #AmeliaHamer, the second sign-related squabble to erupt in the affluent Melbourne seat.

The #escalation comes after a #worker from the council, which the #Liberals say is friendly to #independent MP #MoniqueRyan, was filmed confiscating a Liberals sign reading "Monique, please DO NOT take this sign!".”

#AusPol / #LNP / #Liberal / #Nationals / #extremism <https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-30/kooyong-monique-ryan-amelia-hamer-sign-injunction/105233842>

The #HarvardLawReview is a #student-run organization that is legally #independent from the #Harvard #Law School, acc/to a statement by a Harvard Law spox….

The #school is “committed to ensuring that the programs & activities it oversees are in compliance with all applicable laws & to investigating any credibly alleged violations,” the stmnt said.

The investigation was launched amid the #Trump admin’s decision to freeze >$2B in grants & contracts w/ #HarvardUniversity, which sued in response.

The #Constitution set up a #SeparationOfPowers among the federal government's #coequal #executive, #legislative & #judicial branches.

Proponents of a *conservative* legal doctrine called the "#UnitaryExecutive" theory that envisions vast executive authority for a president portray Humphrey's as wrongly decided. They argue that #ArticleII gives a president sole authority over the executive branch, including the power to fire heads of #independent agencies despite protections under #law.

#SCOTUS gestured in this direction in a footnote to a 2020 ruling that suggested that the #Fed may be able to "claim a special historical status" entitling it to a greater degree of distance from presidential control than other #independent agencies

Other legal grounds have been offered for why the Fed should be more insulated from presidential control, including an argument by some conservative judges & advocates that the central bank does not wield substantial #ExecutivePower.

Day 30 cont

“I don’t want there to be any concerns about this, and in the interests of full transparency, I’ve contacted the #AEC and the Department of Parliamentary Services and given them the details that I gave to #TheAge yesterday about my #relationship with those #volunteers and with Mr #JiJianmin I’ve said, look, if you’ve got any concerns, please investigate.”

cont

“[They’re] people who attended a dinner where a community leader [JiJianmin] said that he supported me and he supported my #values, and thought that I’ve been very #supportive of the community in recent years, and for that reason he thought people should #Support me now. I’m grateful for the support the Chinese Australians have given me in the last three years.”

I’ve got the nod from the #CCP.

#AusPol / #Independent / #ASIO / #ForeignInterferenceOperation / #HubeiAssociation / #Teal / #Kooyong <https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2025/apr/29/australia-election-2025-live-peter-dutton-anthony-albanese-campaign-polls-economy-costing-credit-labor-coalition-ntwnfb?filterKeyEvents=false&page=with%3Ablock-681006e58f08212bfafe1327#block-681006e58f08212bfafe1327>