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MAY 1 THROUGH 12

WEEKEND OF MAY 10-12, 2019

Weekend Read: The Revolt of The Public and the Crisis of Authority in the New Millennium.  by Martin Gurri. In the words of economist and scholar Arnold Kling, Martin Gurri saw it coming. Technology has categorically reversed the information balance of power between the public and the elites who manage the great hierarchical institutions of the industrial age government, political parties, the media.  Amazon

Chelsea Manning Released From Jail, But Fresh Subpoena Means 'She May Have Just Over a Week of Freedom' ... "Chelsea will continue to refuse to answer questions, and will use every available legal defense to prove she has just cause for her refusal to give testimony," said Manning's legal team.  CommonDreams  

Trump, Khashoggi, Deutsche Bank, & Chabad Lubavitch.  ... An unofficial investigation into RussiaGate has uncovered a shocking and previously-unknown new connection - a CIA-connected man who became instantly famous after the Boston Marathon bombing - involved in recent allegations against Trump associate Felix Sater that he laundered $440 million of stolen money for billionaire oligarchs in Kazakhstan through American real estate.
Madcow Procudtions

John Kelly Joins Board Of Company Operating Shelters For Migrant Children: Report. ... The former White House chief of staff was instrumental in President Trump’s immigration policy.  HuffPost  

Trump’s Fee for Asylum Seekers Could Send Many Back to Their Deaths.  TruthOut  

U.N. ENVIROMENT REPORT

Nature’s Dangerous Decline. ... ‘Unprecedented’; Species Extinction Rates ‘Accelerating. ipbes

'Ominous' UN Report Warns Human Activity Has Pushed One Million Plant and Animal Species to Brink of Extinction. .. "Nature is collapsing around us and it's a real wake-up call to humanity."  CommonDreams  

Shocking New Report On Loss Of Nature Paints A Terrifying Picture For The Future Of Humanity. ... Up to 1 million species are at risk of extinction.  HuffPost  

Silent Spring’s Encore.  CounterPunch    Related: Note To the Environmental Community.  CounterPunch/Nader  

Donald Trump is using Stalinist tactics to discredit climate science.  ...  A panel to promote an alternative explanation for climate change would be disastrous. Yet that’s what White House officials want.  Guardian   Related:  Human society under urgent threat from loss of Earth's natural life. ... Scientists reveal one million species at risk of extinction in damning UN report.  Guardian  

Thawing Permafrost Emitting Higher Levels of Potent Greenhouse Gas Than Previously Thought: Study. ... Nitrous oxide is nearly 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide.  CommonDreams  

Everywhere Is War: The American Threat to Iran, Venezuela, and Women.  Intercept  

Julian Assange: An Opportunity for the US and the UK to Change Direction on Press Freedom. CounterPunch  

Ex-Blackwater CEO Erik Prince Makes a Comeback Under Trump Selling Mercenary Armies Around the World.  DemocracyNow  

DC embassy protectors force Guaido’s shadow ambassador to flee in failure as coup flops in Venezuela.  Gray Zone    

The price of plenty: how beef changed America. ... Exploitation and predatory pricing drove the transformation of the US beef industry – and created the model for modern agribusiness.  Guardian  

MAY 9, 2019

The Democratic Counterrevolution Has a Self-Appointed Leader: Josh Gottheimer.  Intercept  

GAZA

The Silence of the 2020 Democratic Hopefuls on Gaza Is Deafening.  TruthDig  

The Occupation is a Crime of Aggression: Gazans React After 25 Palestinians, 4 Israelis Die.  DemocracyNow  

Critics Condemn 'Double Dehumanization' of Palestinians by Corporate Media as Headlines Focus on Israeli Casualties. ... "Palestinian deaths are primarily viewed as 'retaliation' by international media outlets, while Israeli deaths would never receive that kind coverage."  CommonDreams

Fascism Is on the March. We Need Radical Education to Fight Back. ... all over the globe. Democratic institutions, such as the independent media, schools, the legal system, certain financial institutions, and higher education are under siege worldwide.  
TruthOut/Giroux  

Fake news: CNN falsely claims US-appointed Venezuelan coup leader Guaidó was ‘elected’. ... Six CNN journalists produced an article falsely claiming US-appointed Venezuelan coup leader Juan Guaidó was elected, before quietly issuing a misleading correction.  Gray Zone  

CLICK BAIT

Coast Guard Terror Suspect Released After Cell Needed For Nonviolent Drug User.  > Go  

Christians Most Persecuted Religious Group Worldwide, Report Finds.  > Go  

Queen Elizabeth Disappointed In New Royal Baby Boy’s Lack Of Proper Inbreeding. > Go  

'Big Attack on Working People': Trump Moves to Redefine Poverty in Order to Slash Social Programs and Services for Millions. ... "A novel way to take healthcare, etc., away from people AND make it look like there are fewer poor people." CommonDreams

Big Tech and the Rise of Surveillance Capitalism. CounterPunch  

Scott Warren Worked to Prevent Migrant Deaths in the Arizona Desert. The Government Wants Him in Prison.  Intercept  

The Rehabilitation of Gina Haspel by the New York Times.  CounterPunch  

MAY 8, 2019

Is Chinese-style surveillance coming to the west?
Chip Rolley. ...
The Chinese model is now being exported – and the results could be terrifying.
Guardian 

The Making of Juan Guaidó: How the US Regime Change Laboratory Created Venezuela’s Coup Leader. ...  Juan Guaidó is the product of a decade-long project overseen by Washington’s elite regime change trainers. While posing as a champion of democracy, he has spent years at the forefront of a violent campaign of destabilization.  Gray Zone  

The plot that failed: how Venezuela's 'uprising' fizzled. ...  When the coup was hurriedly launched a day early, defections from the regime failed to materialise, Maduro remained in power and the US government looked like it had badly miscalculated.  Guardian  

ERIK PRINCE - D.C. FAV MERCENARY

The Complete Mercenary. ... How Erik Prince Used the Rise of Trump to Make an Improbable Comeback.  Intercept   Related: Ex-Blackwater CEO Erik Prince Makes a Comeback Under Trump Selling Mercenary Armies Around the World.  DemocracyNow  

Blackwater founder Erik Prince's new company has reportedly set up shop in Iraq. His old company was kicked out for murdering civilians.  
Business Insider
 

Blackwater Founder Erik Prince’s New Company Is Operating In Iraq. ... Frontier Services Group has not publicly stated it is working in Iraq, but documents obtained by BuzzFeed News show it was registered there last year.  BuzzFeed  

Adam Schiff to make criminal referral for Erik Prince to DOJ.  Axios  

(2017) Notorious Mercenary Erik Prince Is Advising Trump From the Shadows. Intercept  

(2010) Blackwater Founder Moves to Abu Dhabi, Records Say. NYT  

Large Payments to Bolton Might Explain His UANI Tweet.  LobLog  

Trump’s “Troika of Tyranny” Meddles in Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua.  TruthOut  

‘Itching for a war’: Bolton threatens Iran with ‘unrelenting force’ as US bombers deploy to Middle East.  AlterNet  

Who keeps buying California's scarce water? Saudi Arabia. ... Saudi-based Almarai owns 15,000 acres of an irrigated valley – but what business does a foreign food production company have drawing resources from a US desert?  Guardian  

MAY 7, 2019

Creeping Toward Tyranny. ... The destruction of the rule of law, an action essential to establishing an authoritarian or totalitarian state, began long before the arrival of the Trump administration.  
TruthDig/Hedges
 

DISAPPEARING NATIVE WOMEN

A Native American woman's brutal murder could lead to a life-saving law.  Guardian  

Women are disappearing and dying in Indian Country. We must act. ... The epidemic of missing and murdered indigenous women has long been overlooked. That’s why I’m fighting for them in Congress.  Guardian  

'Sister, where did you go?': the Native American women disappearing from US cities. Guardian

Orwellian Cloud Hovers Over Russia-gate.  Consortium News   Related: Intel Vets Challenge ‘Russia Hack’ Evidence.  Consortium News  

Israeli Law Silences and Punishes Critics and Human Rights Workers.  TruthOut  

The Day People Disappeared and a New Strategy for Stealing Votes.  CounterPunch  

New House Bill Would Bar Israel From Using U.S. Military Aid to Detain Palestinian Children 
Intercept

Roger Waters on Palestine: “You Have to Stand Up for People’s Human Rights All Over the World”.  DemocracyNow    Related:   Mass. Judge Refuses to Halt Pro-Palestinian Event at UMass Featuring Roger Waters & Linda Sarsour.  DemocracyNow  

'Recipe for Disaster': Trump Guts Offshore Drilling Rules Put in Place After Deepwater Horizon Spill. ... "We should be implementing new safety reforms, not rolling back the few safety measures currently in place."  CommonDreams  

Elections in Spain: Regime Maintenance Disguised as Democratic Vitality and the Possibility of Change.  CounterPunch  

Grazing the Spotted Dog Wildlife Area.
CounterPunch
 

MAY 6, 2019

The Case for (and Against) Impeaching Trump.  Intercept  

UN calls for Julian Assange's release from UK high-security jail. ... UN experts say British government is breaching WikiLeaks publisher’s human rights.  Guardian  

JOE BIDEN

1995 - "When I argued that we should freeze federal spending, I meant Social Security as well; I meant Medicare and Medicaid; I meant veterans' benefits; I meant every single, solitary thing in the government." - - Joe Biden, today's 2020 election front runner, defending the proposed GOP balanced budget amendment. LA Times 

Roaming Charges: Biden in Plain Sight. CounterPunch  

Biden Faces Conflict of Interest Questions That Are Being Promoted by Trump and Allies.  NYT  

My Letter from Joe Biden.  TruthDig  

Chinese Fund Backed by Hunter Biden Invested in Technology Used to Surveil Muslims.  Intercept  

Joe Biden - May 2nd 2019: “The younger generation now tells me how tough things are, give me a break ... I have no empathy” Related: Sept 1 5, 2015 - Joe Biden Backed Bills To Make It Harder For Americans To Reduce Their Student Debt. HuffPost  

US begins extradition case against Julian Assange in London. ... WikiLeaks founder declines to consent to being taken to US to face charges.  Guardian  

Pentagon: Sexual Assault in the Military Rose 38% in 2018.  TruthDig  

How the Pentagon Took Ownership of Donald Trump.  CounterPunch  

Trump Doesn’t Want to End US Wars. He Wants to Hide Them. TruthOut  

Trump's regime is leading America in an insurrection. ... Trump’s regime has ignited the base by conjuring up a vision of whiteness imperiled by ‘illegals’, ‘black identity extremists’ and Muslim terrorists.  
Guardian
 

Weekend of May 3-5, 2019

Weekend Read: A Young People's History of the United States: Columbus to the War on Terror (For Young People Series)  ... A Young People's History of the United States brings to US history the viewpoints of workers, slaves, immigrants, women, Native Americans, and others whose stories, and their impact, are rarely included in books for young people. - By Howard Zinn.  A Young People's History of the United States is also a companion volume to The People Speak, the film adapted from A People's History of the United States and Voices of a People’s History of the United States. Amazon  

Venezuela and Binary Choice. ... When a CIA-backed military coup is attempted by a long term CIA puppet, roared on by John Bolton and backed with the offer of Blackwater mercenaries, in the country with the world’s largest oil reserves, I have no difficulty whatsoever in knowing which side I am on.  Craig Murray  

Watch Americans defend Venezuela’s embassy in DC from takeover by coup forces. ... An inside look at the grassroots Embassy Protection Collective comprised of Americans who have gathered from across the country to defend Venezuela’s embassy in Washington DC – and international law itself – from a brazen takeover attempt by Juan Guaido’s US-backed coup administration.The Gray Zone

More Than 90% of Democratic Voters Want 2020 Candidate to Make Climate Action and Medicare for All Top Priorities: Poll. ... "People are waking up!"  CommonDreams   

From the UK to Greece: Austerity’s Vicious Political Agenda.   CounterPunch  

The United States of Incarceration.  TruthDig  

If Trump Is So Worried About The ‘Deep State,’ He Should Try Looking In The White House. ... Don McGahn and others in the White House did what’s become common among Republicans in Washington: Dealing with Trump by ignoring him.  HuffPost  

Noam Chomsky: Democrats May Have Handed Trump the 2020 Election.  TruthDig  

Who Will Be the War Candidate in 2020?.  CounterPunch  

In the Time of the Orange Pig.  CounterPunch  

Terrorism’s Double Standard
Violent Far-Right Extremists Are Rarely Prosecuted as Terrorists.  Intercept  

Led by US Under Trump, Global Military Spending Soared to Highest Level in Recorded History Last Year. ... New analysis shows countries around the world spent a total of $1.82 trillion in 2018, with the U.S. and China in top spots.  CommonDreams  

To Defeat ICE, We Need to Target Its Backers — Microsoft and Amazon.  TruthOut  

MAY 2, 2019

How can great minds be produced in a country where the test of a great mind is agreeing in the opinions of small minds? JSM

VENEZUELA

As Venezuela Coup Attempt Fails to Overthrow Maduro, Guaidó Calls for More Street Protests.  DemocracyNow  

It Looks Like Another Failed US Coup in Venezuela.  CounterPunch  

Economist Jeffrey Sachs: U.S. Sanctions Have Devastated Venezuela & Killed Over 40,000 Since 2017.  DemocracyNow 

Guaidó's uprising seems to have flatlined. What's next for Venezuela? ... Nicolás Maduro retains power and support from country’s military top brass but the opposition challenge is not dead.  Guardian  

Biden Sides With Trump, Bolton, and Pompeo in Backing Coup Effort in Venezuela. ...Democratic frontrunner characterizes effort to overthrow elected goverment of President Nicolas Maduro at gunpoint just another benign effort to "restore democracy" in Latin America.   CommonDreams  

Julian Assange faces court battle over US extradition request. ... Supporters of WikiLeaks founder prepare for ‘big fight’ after he is jailed for bail breach.
Guardian  

Microsoft joins group seeking to kill off historic climate change lawsuits. ... Legal immunity would squash raft of climate lawsuits launched by cities and counties across the US seeking compensation for damages.  Guardian  

What Happened to the New and Improved Bernie Sanders?.  CounterPunch  

Shadow Players: Erik Prince, Julian Assange, and the Bizarre World of Trump.  Intercept  

The Same Democrats Who Denounce Donald Trump as a Lawless, Treasonous Authoritarian Just Voted to Give Him Vast Warrantless Spying Powers.
Intercept  

What Revolutionaries in the Middle East Have Learned Since the Arab Spring.  CounterPunch 

ISIS Feeds Off the Chaos of War.CounterPunch 

Wisconsin Gave Foxconn Millions for a Factory and Jobs That Never Came.  TruthDig  

Kevin McAleenan Says Family Separation Policy Was ‘Effective,’ But Laments Lost Public Trust. ... The acting DHS chief said he regretted that the policy led to a loss in faith, but didn’t mention the thousands of children separated from their parents.  HuffPost  

10 incredibly fake facts Trump supporters believe are true.  AlterNet

May 1, 2019

Democratic Triumph for Catalan Separatists. ...  The Spanish General election in Catalonia was a stunning victory for the Catalan Separatists, their best ever election result, achieved despite their leadership being exiled or political prisoners and despite an avalanche of MSM propaganda against them. Four of those elected are currently in jail.  Craig Murray  

The Last Battle. ...  The Cree have been under relentless assault since the arrival of the European colonialists in the 1500s. Now the 500 inhabitants of the Cree reserve, where many live in small, boxy prefabricated houses, are victims of a new iteration of colonial exploitation, one centered on the extraction of oil from the vast Alberta tar sands.
TruthDig/Hedges

Trump’s Federal Reserve Pick Said The Working Poor Aren’t Taxed Enough. ... Stephen Moore also once noted that income inequality is a problem — and the solution is more billionaires.  HuffPost  

Bleeding, Blindfolded and Cuffed, Osama Tried to Run. Then Came the Second Shot. ... Osama Hajajeh, a Palestinian shepherd boy, is in the hospital with serious gunshot wounds to both his legs. Photos of him being shot while trying to flee Israeli commandos, bound and blindfolded, illustrate just how low the IDF has come. 'He's not a hero. He just wanted to live,' his father says.  Haaretz  

CLICK BAIT

Facebook Users Morbidly Curious What Site Going To Do With Their Personal Data To Recoup $5 Billion Fine.  > GO  

I May Not Agree With Everything Trump Says, But It’s My Duty As An American To Repeat All Of His Talking Points Basically Verbatim 
> GO
 

Prison Returns Bag Of Semi-Automatic Guns, Hit List To Coast Guard Terror Suspect At Release.  > GO  

Homeland Security Used a Private Intelligence Firm to Monitor Family Separation Protests. Intercept

Facebook expects FTC fine of up to $5bn in privacy investigation. ... Company makes revelation in financial reports showing first-quarter revenue growth to more than $15bn.  Guardian  

Boeing Mismanagers Forfeit Your Pay and Resign: An Open Letter to Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg.  CounterPunch/Nader  

Climate Catastrophe and Extinction Rebellion.  CounterPunch  

Municipal Broadband Is Roadblocked Or Outlawed In 26 States A State-By-State Breakdown Of Municipal Broadband Roadblocks In 2019. Broadband Now


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MAY 13 THROUGH 22

May 22, 2019

Thanks to Facebook, Your Cellphone Company Is Watching You More Closely Than Ever.  Intercept  

Bottle of Lies: How Poor FDA Oversight & Fraud in Generic Drug Industry Threaten Patients’ Health.  DemocracyNow  

Corporate Media Is Gunning for War With Iran.
TruthDig  

The Liberal Embrace of War. ... American interventionists learned a lesson from Iraq: pre-empt the debate. Now everyone is for regime change.  RollingStone  

CLICK BAIT

Bleeding John Bolton Stumbles Into Capitol Building Claiming That Iran Shot Him. > Go  

Alabama Governor Signs New ‘Heartbeat Bill’ Lowering State’s Age Of Consent.  > Go  

Nigel Farage Dies Of Milkshake Wounds.  > Go

Watch: Ocasio-Cortez back CEO into a corner over why he charges Americans $2000 for drug that costs $8 in Australia. AlterNet  

America's Reproductive Slaves.  TruthDig/Hedages  

No holds Barred: Trump and his troops push for imperial presidency.  Guardian  

Has Freedom of the Press Become an Illusion?
 TruthDig    Related: Saudi Arabia Couldn't Ask for Better Coverage From Corporate Media  TruthDig  

The Espionage Axe: Donald Trump and the War Against a Free Press.  Intercept  

Despite Anti-American 'Baiting' by NYT, Sanders Makes 'No Apologies' for Opposing Reagan-Backed Death Squads. ... "I plead guilty to, throughout my adult life, doing everything that I can to prevent war and destruction."  CommonDreams  

The Biggest Divide Among 2020 Democrats Is How To Pass The Party’s Agenda. ... Biden wants to work with the GOP, Warren wants to change the rules and Sanders wants to build a movement..  HuffPost   

“Inside Syria’s Secret Prisons”: A Harrowing Account of How Assad’s Torture Machine Crushed Dissent.  DemocrachNow  

May 21, 2019

The Missing Step. ... In Sweden, prosecutors have applied to the Swedish courts to issue a warrant for Julian’s arrest. There is a tremendous back story to that simple statement.  Craig Murray  

Chelsea Manning jailed again as she refuses to testify before grand jury. ... Former army private says she would ‘rather starve to death’ than cooperate in growing battle of wills.  Guardian  

Nothing but the truth: the legacy of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four. Guardian   Related:  You thought fake news was bad? Deep fakes are where truth goes to die  Guardian  

No holds Barred: Trump and his troops push for imperial presidency Guardian  

American History for Truthdiggers: Nixon’s Dark Legacy.  TruthDig  

The Washington Post’s “Cartel of the Suns” Theory is the Latest Desperate Excuse for Why the Coup Attempt in Venezuela has Failed.  AlterNet

Modern Merchants of Death: the NSO Group, Spyware and Human Rights.   CounterPunch    Related:  HIDE AND SEEK Tracking NSO Group’s Pegasus Spyware to Operations in 45 Countries.
The Citizen Lab  

We Need to Reclaim State Courts From Big Money and Hateful Agendas. ... State courts are being hacked, packed and politicized - one might even say corrupted - by the same big money special interests that long ago captured many of our state and national representatives.  TruthOut  

Where Is the Democratic Alternative to Forever War?  TruthDig   Related:  War With Iran Is America's Endgame.  TruthDig  

Saudi Arabia Couldn't Ask for Better Coverage From Corporate Media.  TruthDig  

Trump Is Achieving His Primary Goal. ... Donald Trump’s goal is, and has always been, division and disunion TruthDig  

Could climate change submerge Joe Biden's presidential bid? ... The former vice-president has yet to put forward a plan to address global warming, which polls suggest is the single most important issue for Democrats.
Guardian
 

Kick the Cows Out of Point Reyes National Seashore.  CounterPunch  

May 20, 2019

Iran Notes. ... “Boys go to Baghdad, but real men go to Tehran” – Bush official, 2003. CounterPunch  

A Vigilante Militia Defends an Imaginary Border.  Intercept  

A Vigilante Militia Defends an Imaginary Border.  
Intercept  

US prosecutors to 'help themselves' to Julian Assange's possessions. ... Material from WikiLeaks founder’s time in Ecuadorian embassy is said to include two manuscripts.  Guardian  

Why race science is on the rise again. Guardian  

Why race science is on the rise again. Guardian  

The Struggle Is The Meaning. Craig Murray  

'Disturbing': Trump Reportedly Reviewed Bolton Plan to Threaten Iran by Sending 120,000 Troops to Middle East. ... "If you are worried about a new war in the Middle East, you are in good company. In fact, you are probably not worried enough."  CommonDreams  

If Classrooms Are “Free of Politics,” the Right Wing Will Grow.  ... In the age of nascent fascism, it is irresponsible to insist on a politically neutral world where pedagogy is a banal transmission of noncontroversial facts.  TruthOut/Giroux  

Undermining American democracy’: Robert Reich explains the insidious reason Trump and his enablers aim to divide the nation.  AlterNet  

Why Is Everyone Running for President? It’s a Billion-Dollar Industry.  TruthOut  

After Assange, Ecuador’s Lenin Moreno escalates persecution of critics and perceived foes. ... The US-backed, neoliberal Ecuadorian leader is persecuting Swedish software developer Ola Bini for his political sympathies, censoring critical media, and jailing progressive leadership in a sweeping crackdown.  
Gray Zone
 

Explosive Investigation Uncovers Greed & Infighting at NRA, Shattering “Myth” of the Group’s Power.  DemocracyNow  

What 50 Countries are Backing Guaidó? Who Knows? Who Cares? If the Media Say It Enough It Must Be True  CounterPunch  

Weekend of May 17-19, 2019

Weekend Read:  The World As it Is: Dispatches on the Myth of Human Progress. - By Chris Hedges. ... Hedges lyrically and fearlessly dissects the most controversial issues of the day: America’s wars of self-destruction in Iraq and Afghanistan, the decay of American empire (at home and abroad), Israel’s ghettoization of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, and the failure of American liberalism.  TruthDig

The Pivot Point. ... The massive economic shock following the banking collapse of 2007-8 is the direct cause of the crisis of confidence which is affecting almost all the institutions of western representative democracy.
 Craig Murray  

Trump Administration ‘Censorship’ Erasing Affordable Care Act From Federal Websites. ... A new report details an ongoing campaign to remove references to and information about the 2010 health care law from official web pages.  HuffPost  

The Espionage Axe: Donald Trump and the War Against a Free Press. ... Another alleged whistleblower has been charged with espionage. This week on Intercepted: Donald Trump is set to shatter Barack Obama’s record of prosecuting journalistic sources under the 1917 Espionage Act. Intercept  

In liberal San Francisco, anti-Trump politicians support police raid on journalist. ... After authorities seize reporter’s notes, Democratic leaders say they back the raid and decline to address press freedom concerns.  Guardian  

Europe is Powerless in Growing Conflict Between the US and Iran.  CounterPunch/Cockburn  

US Border Patrol Is the Most Brutal Militia of All.  TruthOut  

One million face hunger in Gaza after US cut to Palestine aid.  ...  UN relief agency warns of crisis next month unless donor countries provide $60m.  Guardian  

The Mysterious “Sabotage” of Saudi Oil Tankers: a Dangerous Moment in Trump’s Escalating Conflict With Iran.  CounterPunch  

May 16, 2019

US orders non-essential embassy staff to leave Iraq amid Iran tensions. ... Order comes as Iran’s supreme leader issues warning over country’s nuclear capabilities.  Guardian  

Undermining Trump-Bolton War Narrative, British General Says No Evidence of 'Increased Threat' From Iran. ... "Intelligence and military officials in Europe as well as in the United States said that over the past year, most aggressive moves have originated not in Tehran, but in Washington."  Guardian  

Embarrassing poll says that 56% of Americans don’t want kids taught Arabic numerals. We have some bad news.  AlterNet  

Will John Bolton’s Dream to Bomb Iran Come True? Ex-Iranian Ambassador Warns About U.S. Escalation.  DemocracyNow  

Lobbyists Working to Undermine Medicare For All Host Congressional Staff at Luxury Resort.  Intercept  

Socialism and Workers’ Coops.  Actually existing socialisms since the 1917 Soviet revolution leave a rich legacy: aspects to build on, aspects to reject. Collective consumption (free education, medical care, subsidized housing, transport, etc.) is among the first and party dictatorship is among the second. CounterPunch  

In Show of 'Breathtaking Cruelty,' Trump White House Unveils Plan That Would Evict Tens of Thousands of Children From Public Housing. ... "Another despicable action by the Trump administration to disrupt communities and separate families."  
CommonDreams  

’10 cities, thousands of targets’: The Trump administration is reportedly considering a plot for ‘mass arrests’ of migrants. ... A new report from the Washington Post Monday night revealed plans inside the Trump administration to sweep through 10 different cities and arrest as many as 10,000 immigrants in one...
AlterNet

Shocking UN Report Warns up to a Million Species are at Risk of Extinction Due to Human Activity.  DemocracyNow  

Interning for a Centrist Democrat Pushed Me to Democratic Socialism.  TruthOut  

(2017) WikiLeaks dumps CIA malware obfuscation code. ... Julian Assange's WikiLeaks website has released the source code for what it says is a malware obfuscation tool used by the CIA, as part of its Vault 7 information leaks.  IT News  

Statement on the Indictment of Alleged Drone Strike Whistleblower.  Intercept  

Trump sold property to a ‘mysterious shell company’ tied to one of Maduro’s top allies in 2015.  AlterNet  

May 15, 2019

Who's Really Sowing Chaos in the Middle East? ... Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told NBC that Iran is an active threat to US interests and “sowing chaos” in the Middle East. ... Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told NBC that Iran is an active threat to US interests and “sowing chaos” in the Middle East. t strikes me that exactly the opposite is true. The Islamic Republic of Iran has in recent years, despite its heritage in the 1979 revolution, acted as an Establishment, status quo power.  TruthDig  

Silicon Valley and "communication weapons of war”
What a Western Electric advert from 1944 can teach us about Google and Facebook.  Yasha Substack  

CLICK BAIT

Jared Kushner Claims That Russian Interference Less Damaging To U.S. Democracy Than Saudi Arabia, Nepotism, Israel, Cambridge Analytica, UAE, Illicit Donations, Erik Prince, Bill Barr, And Financial Entanglements.  > Go  

De Blasio PAC Spends $30M On Ads Urging Candidate Not To Embarrass Self By Running.  > Go  

Body Positivity FTW! Cap’n Crunch Just Became The First Breakfast Cereal Mascot To Show Off His C-Section Scar On A Cereal Box.  > Go  

Newest Beto O’Rourke Hire Lobbied for Keystone XL, Seaworld, and Private Prisons.  Intercept  

Swarms of Drones, Piloted by Artificial Intelligence, May Soon Patrol Europe’s Borders.  Intercept  

House rejects Libya authorization measure. ... In a rebuke to President Obama, the House on Friday rejected a resolution that would authorize continued military operations in Libya for one year.  The Hill  

America’s Next Too-Big-To-Fail Bank - Democrats helped create this monster.  HuffPost

As Capitalism Fails, We Need a Roadmap to Survive Climate Change.  TruthOut  

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders Team Up on Bank Legislation.  Intercept  

May 14, 2019

Insurance Industry Working Hard to Stop Growing Support for Medicare for All ... Interview with Wendell Potter, a former health insurance industry executive, turned whistleblower and author, conducted by Scott Harris.  Between the Lines  

Lawsuit by 44 States Accuses Pharma Giants of 'Multi-Year Conspiracy' to Hike Drug Prices by Over 1,000% ..."We have hard evidence that shows the generic drug industry perpetrated a multi-billion dollar fraud on the American people." CommonDreams

JULIAN ASSANGE UPDATE

The Re-Opening of the Swedish Assange Case Should Be Welcomed. Craig Murray  

Sweden Reopens Investigation of Assange for Rape, Complicating US Extradition. Intercept

Arundhati Roy on Why She Admires WikiLeaks & Opposes Assange’s Extradition to the U.S.  DemocracyNow  

Justice for Assange.  

Trump Nominates 'Embodiment of the Military-Industrial Complex' Patrick Shanahan to Lead Pentagon. ... Shanahan worked at Boeing, one of the world's largest defense contractors, for more than 30 years before joining the Trump administration.  CommonDreams  

WAR IS WHAT DEFINES THE U.S.

Bolton Is Spinning Israeli ‘Intelligence’ to Push for War Against Iran.  TruthDig   Related:  The Trump Administration Is Manufacturing an Iran Crisis.  TruthDig  

New Strategy Fuels Global Demand For More New Bombers. Aviation Week  

The Toxic Lure of “Guns and Butter”. ... The current political brawl over next year’s budget is highly significant. With Democrats in a House majority for the first time in eight years, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and most other party leaders continue to support even more largesse for the Pentagon   CounterPunch  

Trita Parsi: John Bolton Has Wanted War With Iran for 20 Years. Now Could Be His Best Chance. DemocracyNow   The US Is Spending $1.25 Trillion Annually on War.  TuthOut

U.S.-Iran Tensions Rise Ahead Of Anniversary Of Deal Pullout. ... The White House suddenly announced a U.S. aircraft carrier and a bomber wing would be deployed in the Persian Gulf.  HuffPost  

US deploys aircraft carrier and bombers after 'credible threat' from Iran. ... National security adviser John Bolton says any Iranian attack on US or its allies will be met with ‘unrelenting force’.  Guardian  

Behind the U.S. Labeling of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards a Terrorist Organization.  
CounterPunch  

Everywhere Is War: The American Threat to Iran, Venezuela, and Women.  Intercept  

Trump and His Obscene War Machine. ... A month into his presidency, Donald Trump announced that he would increase US military spending by $54 billion. To do this, Trump said that he would cut the exact amount from the non-military, namely social, programs. 
AlterNet  

(2016) Obama administration arms sales offers to Saudi top $115 billion: report. Reuters  

Privacy Experts, Senators Demand Investigation of Amazon’s Child Data Collection Practices.
 Intercept  

US still outdoes all other countries for national pride. ... Americans more likely than any other nationality to say their country is ‘best in the world’. Guardian

“The Fourth Amendment Doesn’t Apply Here” — U.S. Border Guards Arrest Arizona Immigrant Rights Volunteer.  Intercept  

May 13, 2019

The Real Muellergate Scandal. ... Robert Mueller is either a fool, or deeply corrupt. I do not think he is a fool. ... Mueller, as a matter of determined policy, omitted key steps which any honest investigator would undertake Craig Murray   Related:  Murder of Seth Rich  

Pedagogical Terrorism and Hope in the age of Fascist Politics.  CounterPunch  

American History Textbooks' Lies: Everything Your Teacher Got Wrong - Myths, Education (1995).
 YouTube  

JOE BIDEN

Joe Biden’s Presidential Campaign Pledged Not to Take Special-Interest Money — but Not His PAC. Intercept   Related: Obama Fundraisers-Turned-Ambassadors Are Back to Make It Rain for Biden.  TruthOut  

Biden Likes Republicans So Much Because He’s So Much Like Them.  CounterPunch

Joe Biden Might as Well Be a Republican. ... His compulsion to vouch for the decency of Republican leaders — while calling Donald Trump an “aberration” — is consistent with Biden’s political record. It sheds light on why he’s probably the worst Democrat running for president.TruthDig

Joe Biden’s Son Hunter Is Invested in China’s Mass Surveillance Program Used to Monitor Uyghur Muslims.  DemocracyNow  

The Rot of American Journalism Runs Deep.  ... Chris Hedges sits down with Matt Taibbi of Rolling Stone for the first of a two-part series on American media, which Hedges calls a "purveyor of hate."  TruthDig  

Trump Steps up War on Whistleblowers: Air Force Vet Daniel Hale Arrested For Leaking Drone War Info.  DemocracyNow  

'One More Reason to Refuse to Give Defense Department $733 Billion' as Pentagon Shifts Funds to Trump Border Wall. ... "Obviously they don't need it because they keep diverting billions, without congressional authorization, to Trump's vanity wall," said Rep.  CommonDreams  

The Militarization of Empathy.  CounterPunch  

New Documents Reveal a Covert British Military-Intelligence Smear Machine Meddling In American Politics. ... The Integrity Initiative has mobilized an international disinformation campaign across Europe. Now, with government and right-wing foundation money, this massive “political smear unit” is infiltrating the US.  Gray Zone  

Insects Are 'Glue in Nature' and Must Be Rescued to Save Humanity, Says Top Scientist. ... Rapidly falling insect populations, said Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson, "will make it even more difficult than today to get enough food for the human population of the planet, to get good health and freshwater for everybody."  CommonDreams  


MAY 23 THROUGH 31

WEEKEND OF MAY 31 - June 2, 2019

Weekend Read: Target Iran: The Truth about the White House's Plans for Regime Change by Scott Ritter.  Tattered Cover    Related: Targeting Iran - 2013 Documentary   Wiki  

The Weapons Industry Lobbyist Advising Joe Biden. ... Stuart Eizenstat has worked as a powerful political advisor, as well as a corporate lobbyist for the oil and arms industries.  In These Times  

Imperial Joe: Biden Trades Bread and Circuses for War.  CounterPunch  

NOAM CHOMSKY INTERVIEW

Trump Radically Interfered with Israel’s Election to Help Re-elect Netanyahu.  DemocracyNow  

By Focusing on Russia, Democrats Handed Trump a “Huge Gift” & Possibly the 2020 Election.  DemocracyNow  

Arrest of Assange Is “Scandalous” and Highlights Shocking Extraterritorial Reach of U.S.  DemocracyNow  

Mitch McConnell Says He’d Go After Supreme Court Vacancy In 2020: ‘We’d Fill It’ ... The Senate majority leader blocked Merrick Garland’s nomination during the Obama administration in 2016, purportedly because it was an election year.  HuffPost  

Julian Assange too ill to appear in court via video link, lawyers say. ... Hearing is latest stage in possible extradition of WikiLeaks founder to US.  Guardian

'Democracy has been hijacked by white men': how minority rule now grips America. ... The US is becoming more diverse and progressive, but white men’s grip on power is being exercised via the courts, gerrymandering and dark money in politics.
 Guardian  

Mission Creep: How the NSA’s Game-Changing Targeting System Built for Iraq and Afghanistan Ended Up on the Mexican Border.  Intercept  

'Criminalizing Compassion': Trial Begins for Humanitarian Facing 20 Years in Prison for Giving Water to Migrants in Arizona Desert. ..."If Dr. Warren were convicted and imprisoned on these absurd charges, he would be a prisoner of conscience."  CommonDreams  

The Rapid Decline Of The Natural World Is A Crisis Even Bigger Than Climate Change
A three-year UN-backed study from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform On Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services has grim implications for the future of humanity.  HuffPost  

Trump administration sabotages major conservation effort, defying Congress. ... Revealed: federal support to research centers cut off as scientists fear years of successful work will go ‘down the drain’. Guardian

May 30, 2019

Robert Mueller breaks silence to insist he did not exonerate Trump. ... Mueller’s statement seen by many as signal to Congress to act Special counsel ‘not confident’ Trump did not commit a crime.
Guardian    Related:   Robert Mueller Reiterates Investigation Didn’t Exonerate Trump, Points To Impeachment He also announced he would resign and the special counsel’s office would close. He said he has no plans to testify before Congress. HuffPost

Green Party Wins Record Support in EU Elections as Youth-Led Climate Strikes Grow.  DemocracyNow   Related:  EU Parliamentary Elections: Left and Far-Right Parties Gain as Centrists Falter.  DemocracyNow

'Blatant Attempt to Politicize the Science': Trump Reportedly Moving to End Long-Term Studies of Climate Crisis. ... "The Trump gang is attacking the scientific process itself in an attempt to prop up fossil fuel industries, delay inevitable action, and run the carbon bubble as long as it will last."  
CommonDreams

The U.S. Media Is in the Crosshairs of the New Assange Indictment.  Law Fare  

New York Times Stoops to New Low in Venezuela Coverage.  ThruthDig  

The Democratic Socialists of America Helped Elect Them. Now What? ... DSA chapters across the country are navigating relationships with politicians like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.  In These Times  

U.S. Army: 0 — Internet: 1.  CounterPunch  

Facebook is violating our privacy. Where are the cops? ... A company whose motto has been ‘Move Fast and Break Things’ cannot be relied upon to admit wrongdoing.  Guardian  

Silicon Valley-Funded Privacy Think Tanks Fight in D.C. to Unravel State-Level Consumer Privacy Protections.  Intercept  

Another Fake “Emergency”.  CounterPunch  

Yes, My Fellow Soldiers Died in Vain.  TruthDig  

May 29, 2019

Green Wave: Europe Wakes Up to Climate Concerns After Vote.  TruthDig  

Europe's far-right bid to take back 'Christian Europe'. ... Focus on Russian 'interference' risks ignoring the growing role of American religious conservatives in fuelling the far-right surge.  Open Democracy  

The Terrifying Global Implications of Modi’s Re-Election.  CounterPunch  

CLICK BAIT

A Very Stable Genius.  > Go

After Decades As A Print-Only Publication, Onion Gamers Network Has Decided That The Internet Is The Future Of Video Game Journalism  > GO

Corner Store Customers Saddened By Sight Of Frantic Trump Doing Scratch-Off Tickets Right On Counter.  > Go  

Pledging Allegiance to the Divided States of America.  CounterPunch  

Here’s Exactly Who’s Profiting from the War on Yemen. ... And how the U.S. could stop weapon sales if it wanted to. In These Times  

The Evidence We Were Never Meant to See About the Douma Gas Attack.  ... We like to take the Big Boys on trust. No longer do we believe in our meretricious little leaders with their easy lies and twitters: the Trumps and Mays and now all the nationalists of Europe. We certainly don’t put any credit in Arab dictators.  CounterPunch  

Jeremy Scahill: New Indictment of Assange Is Part of a Broader War on Journalism & Whistleblowers.  DemocracyNow  Related:  Exclusive: Julian Assange’s Attorney Decries Espionage Charges as “Grave Threat to Press Freedom”.  
DemocracyNow  

Sanders, Warren, and Wyden Slam Assange Indictment, a Renegade Use of the Espionage Act to Criminalize Journalism.  Intercept  

Pipeline Activists Challenge Louisiana Law That Criminalizes Protest.  TruthOut  

Ralph Nader: We Know Exactly Who Gave Us Trump. TruthDig  

The Americanization of Popular Culture Should Terrify Us All. TruthDig  

Digital Civil War review: a stark call to save American democracy. ... Peter Daou blames media and the political establishment for failing to combat dishonesty, hypocrisy … and Trump.  Guardian  

May 28, 2019

The Mass Media Is Poisoning Us With Hate. ... In “Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media,” published in 1988, Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky exposed the techniques that the commercial media used to promote and defend the economic, social and political agendas of the ruling elites.  TruthDig  

NOAM CHOMSKY INTERVIEW

We Must Confront the “Ultranationalist, Reactionary” Movements Growing Across Globe.
DemocracyNow  

Nuclear Weapons, Climate Change & the Undermining of Democracy Threaten Future of Planet.  DemocracyNow  

The Green New Deal Is Exactly the Right Idea.
DemocracyNow  

Defeated’ ISIS has set up a new “jihadist proto-state” in West Africa. ... Where people have few life chances and little help from the government, the militants’ promise of order and basic services is winning recruits.  Open Democracy  

Socialism Is More Popular Than Donald Trump. ... The president is campaigning against socialism. New polling suggests he is failing.  The Nation  

Pledging Allegiance to the Divided States of America.  ...  America is an exceptionally cruel experiment in the outer reaches of colonial social engineering.  CounterPunch  

Republicans give platform to climate science deniers at hearing on biodiversity. ... Conservative members of Congress called on climate change deniers at hearing on endangered species.  Guardian   

Watch: Interview With Brazil’s Ex-President Lula From Prison, Discussing Global Threats, Neoliberalism, Bolsonaro, and More.  Intercept  

US efforts to jail Assange for espionage are a grave threat to a free media. ... I found the WikiLeaks co-founder a troubling figure when I worked with him, but America’s case would criminalise journalistic inquiry  Guardian  

Vote SNP Today – Chagos Just One Example of the Need to Dismantle the Imperial Entity.
Craig Murray


What if we covered the climate crisis like we did the start of the second world war? . ... In the war, the purpose of journalism was to awaken the world to the catastrophe looming ahead of it. We must approach our climate crisis the same way.  Guardian  

Leaked OPCW report suggests Syria gas attack was ‘staged,’ MIT scientist says Renowned MIT scientist Theodore Postol says a newly leaked OPCW report shows the supposed 2018 gas attack in Douma, Syria was “staged,” undermining the case for US strikes on the Syrian government.  Gray Zone  

May 27, 2019

"As democracy is perfected, the office of the President represents, more and more closely, the inner soud of the people. On some great and glorious day, the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be occupied by the downright fool and complete narcissistic moron."
H L Mencken - July 1920

The Left Refuses to Get Its Act Together in the Face of Neofascism.  CounterPunch 

Why race science is on the rise again. Guardian  

Senator Schumer’s Divine Mission. CounterPunch

God and U.S. Foreign Policy.  ... Well, here we go again. God is back at work in support of the foreign policy of the United States. In fact, this time around, God has apparently gone so far as to rig the 2016 U.S. presidential election (and you thought it was the Russians!) in order to assure Donald Trump’s election. And why did the deity do so? To protect Israel from the bad guys in Teheran.  To The Point Analysis  

Why Is Everyone Running for President? It’s a Billion-Dollar Industry.  TruthOut  

Joe Biden Would Be a Disaster. ... The bigger problem with Biden of course is his political record — from his role in the Anita Hill hearings to his vote for the 1994 crime bill to his cozy relationship with the credit card industry.  Intercept  

India’s Rightwing Tightens Grip As Modi And BJP Set To Sweep Elections. ... Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party are set to win by a large margin, five years after he was first elected.  HuffPost

Trump’s War on the Constitution Has Reached a Breaking Point.  TruthOut  

Pentagon to present plans to send 10,000 more troops to Middle East, officials say. ...Plans aim to beef up defenses against potential Iranian threats as tensions between the countries continue to simmer.
Guardian  

Weekend of May 24-26, 2019

Weekend Read: A Colossal Wreck - by Alexander Cockburn. A Road Trip Through Political Scandal, Corruption and American Culture. CounterPunch  

Very Stable Genius.  YouTube  

Another Corproate Welfare Program:
The House Has Found Bipartisan Agreement on Reform to Retirement Accounts. Be Afraid.
Intercept

Facial recognition will soon be everywhere. Are we prepared?  ...  Some companies are already testing this new technology, but it raises questions about how surveillance can be abused.  Guardian  

ASSANGE UPDATE

18 Ways Julian Assange Changed the World.
 TruthDig

New US charges against Julian Assange could spell decades behind bars. ... WikiLeaks founder charged in 18-count DoJ indictment... Assange ‘risked serious harm to US national security’.  Guardian  

'This Is About Attacking Journalism,' Warn Press Freedom Defenders as Trump DOJ Hits Assange With New Espionage Charges. ... "This is about retaliation for publishing evidence of U.S. war crimes and other crimes by the most powerful nation on Earth." CommonDreams  

Facebook is violating our privacy. Where are the cops? ... A company whose motto has been ‘Move Fast and Break Things’ cannot be relied upon to admit wrongdoing.  Guardian  

Why Are Democrats So Scared of Impeachment?  TruthDig  

Trump’s “Troika of Tyranny” Meddles in Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua.  TruthOut  

Trump: Importing Dangerous Medicines and Food and Keeping Consumers in the dark.
CounterPunch/Nader

187 Countries Just Took 'Crucial' Step to Stop Rich Nations From Treating Global South as Dumping Ground for Plastic Waste. ... "Today's decision demonstrates that countries are finally catching up with the urgency and magnitude of the plastic pollution issue." CommonDreams  

US is hotbed of climate change denial, major global survey finds. ... Exclusive: Out of 23 big countries, only Saudi Arabia and Indonesia had higher proportion of doubters.  Guardian  

“We Have No Reason to Trust the Police”: Sandra Bland Arrest Video Reignites Anger Over Her Death. DemocracyNow 

Pompeo’s Arctic Shipping Lanes.
CounterPunch  

Why do people join extremist organizations? AlterNet

May 23, 2019

Trump is Making the Same Mistakes in the Middle East the US Always Makes. ... In its escalating confrontation with Iran, the US is making the same mistake it has made again and again since the fall of the Shah 40 years ago: it is ignoring the danger of plugging into what is in large part a religious conflict between Sunni and Shia Muslims. 
CounterPunch/Cockburn  

Why Are Democrats So Scared of Impeachment?  TruthDig  

Solitary Voices - Thousands of Immigrants Suffer in Solitary Confinement in ICE Detention.
 Intercept    Related:  A Homeland Security Whistleblower Goes Public About ICE Abuse of Solitary Confinement.  Intercept   

Family of Jailed Saudi Feminist Loujain Al-Hathloul: She Was Waterboarded, Flogged & Electrocuted.  DemocracyNow  

Asylum Seekers Are Being “Disappeared” in Private Louisiana Jails.  TruthOut  

US prosecutors to 'help themselves' to Julian Assange's possessions. ... Material from WikiLeaks founder’s time in Ecuadorian embassy is said to include two manuscripts.  Guardian  

Global Sea Level May Rise Faster Than Previously Projected, With 'Profound Consequences for Humanity'. ... "What we decide to do collectively as a species politically, globally, over the next decade is going to determine the future of the next generations in terms of the habitability of the planet."  CommonDreams  

Noam Chomsky - The Future of Capitalism. YouTube Video  

Detained, Abused & Denied Medical Care: How Trump Immigration Policies Led to Child Deaths at Border.  DemocracyNow  

Citing Harm to Public Education, Bernie Sanders Calls for Ban on For-Profit Charter Schools. ... "Charter schools are led by unaccountable, private bodies, and their growth has drained funding from the public school system."  CommonDreams  

Why Fascists Storm Bookstores. ... A spate of attacks from DC to Berkeley show how far the right will go to shut down free expression.  The Nation  


 
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