Interesting inter/national items

Generally, I don't write about these kinds of issues unless they touch on "national" matters such as on civic engagement and participatory democracy or urban questions.  But...

1. A Russia Today news vehicle with an "ad" making fun of US concerns about Russian involvement in US politics.

I saw this vehicle on the 1400 block of Maryland Avenue NE.


2. I can't even measure how ironic it is that President Trump supports protests in Iran ("Trump Right, This Time, About Iran ," New York Times; "Iran: Trump's Tweets Are Inciting Protests," Al Bawaba) while denigrating protest and civic involvement in the US ("Donald Trump's Attack on Colin Kaepernick and Jemele Hill," The Atlantic Monthly") unless it's extremely conservative or virulently racist ("Trump Defends Initial Remarks on Charlottesville; Again Blames 'Both Sides'," New York Times; "Trump backs protesters — as long as they're not protesting him," Politico).

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Although to bring this back to urban planning, there is always John Friedmann's analysis in the book Planning in the Public Domain, which lays out practice in terms of whether or not it supports the state, challenges the state, or does not recognize the state.