The MEK: Illusion vs. Reality
Robert Fantina | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-02
The oddly named People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (known as the MKO or MEK), whose sole purpose is the overthrow of the people’s government of Iran, has been busy. Some of their members, who seem to be mainly elderly, are technologically savvy, and use social media to further their disgraceful cause. But they don’t just…
counterpunch.org/2019/08/02/the-mek-illu…
Ship of Fools: Britain, America and the Iranian Oil Tanker Incidents
T.J. Coles | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-02
Taking over from Britain’s colonial role in exploiting the country, the US has bullied and tried to intimidate Iran for decades. The ongoing pretext for strangling Iran economically is that Iran is developing nuclear weapons. The UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency repeatedly finds no evidence for this repeated US-led lie. Then-US President Barack Obama’s Task…
counterpunch.org/2019/08/02/ship-of-fool…
Why Did the UK Commander of HM Montrose Refrain from Firing on Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC)? Who in Iran Gave Orders to Capture the “Stena Impero”?
Elijah J. Magnier | globalresearch.ca | 2019-08-02
The US officially asked Europe, in particular the UK, France, Germany and Italy, to provide a naval force to patrol and protect ships sailing in the Straits of Hormuz, even if the command and control is handled by the Europeans …
globalresearch.ca/why-did-the-uk-command…
U.S. to Test New Weapon as Arms Treaty With Russia Dies
Staff | truthdig.com | 2019-08-02
Washington and Moscow walked out of the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces treaty that Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev signed in 1987.
truthdig.com/articles/u-s-to-test-new-we…
Video: Game Changer: What’s Behind US-Turkish Conflict over S-400 Deal
South Front | globalresearch.ca | 2019-08-02
According to the Turkish National Defense Ministry, receipt of the first batch of Russian S-400 missile defense systems was completed on July 25th. Besides making headlines all around the world and causing a harsh response from the US, …
globalresearch.ca/video-game-changer-wha…
Immigration time bomb is ticking
Teresa Gutierrez | workers.org | 2019-08-02
The foremost motivation of Donald Trump’s immigration policy is racist terror, blatant cruelty and the promotion of social divisions so ominous they can only be characterized as white supremacist. Im/migrant workers have historically been victims of super exploitation. They have been used by the capitalists as cheap, exploitable and vulnerable . . . | Continue reading Immigration time bomb is ticking at Workers.org…
workers.org/2019/08/01/immigration-time-…
The US’s Immigration Crackdown Began Decades Ago Under Clinton
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-08-02
| The scenes at the southern border — of terrified families and isolated children huddled in dreary makeshift jails — suggest that the federal immigration regime is reaching an unprecedented level of cruelty under Trump. But the border crackdown that is being continued by the Trump administration in the present moment actually began long ago on Capitol Hill in 1996, with the passage of sweeping laws that swelled federal powers to incarcerate and deport migrants through the criminal courts.
truthout.org/articles/the-uss-immigratio…
Prohibiting Maintenance of Tanker Off Yemeni Coast, Saudis Risk Explosion and Environmental Disaster
Ahmed Abdulkareem | mintpressnews.com | 2019-08-02
mintpressnews.com/maintenance-fso-safer-…
XXV Sao Paulo Forum Demonstrates that Venezuela is not Alone!
Alicia Jrapko | dissidentvoice.org | 2019-08-02
Photo by Alicia Jrapko From July 25-28 the XXV Sao Paulo Forum took place in Caracas, Venezuela, with the participation of 190 organizations, political parties, social movements, workers’ movements, parliamentarians and intellectuals from Latin America, the Caribbean and several continents. The date chosen for this historic meeting had a symbolic character to it. During those …
dissidentvoice.org/2019/08/xxv-sao-paulo…
XXV Sao Paulo Forum Demonstrates that Venezuela Is Not Alone!
Alicia Jrapko | globalresearch.ca | 2019-08-02
From July 25-28 the XXV Sao Paulo Forum took place in Caracas, Venezuela, with the participation of 190 organizations, political parties, social movements, workers’ movements, parliamentarians and intellectuals from Latin America, the Caribbean and several continents. | The date chosen for …
globalresearch.ca/xxv-sao-paulo-forum-de…
Defending Venezuela Is Defending Our America
Nino Pagliccia | globalresearch.ca | 2019-08-02
The Sao Paulo Forum (SPF) that took place in Caracas just ended on July 28 fittingly within the framework of remembering the 65th anniversary of the birth of Hugo Chavez with a display of affection and respect for the …
globalresearch.ca/sao-paulo-forum-defend…
Reflections on the Sao Paolo Forum
| workers.org | 2019-08-02
By Sean Orr Caracas, Venezuela Reprinted from Fight Back! News From July 25 to 28, over 1,000 delegates gathered for the 25th Sao Paolo Forum in Caracas, Venezuela. Historically the largest gathering of the Latin American left, the Forum was transformed this year by its hosts into an assembly of . . . | Continue reading Reflections on the Sao Paolo Forum at Workers.org…
workers.org/2019/08/01/reflections-on-th…
A Brief History of the CIA’s Dirty War in South Sudan
Ryan Dawson | globalresearch.ca | 2019-08-02
With the CIA’s Dirty War in South Sudan winding down its time to take a brief but comprehensive look at the origins and history of this most secret of Pax Americana crimes in Africa. | It is in the national interests …
globalresearch.ca/brief-history-cia-dirt…
What Bernie Sanders Gets Wrong About Healthcare
Peter Bolton | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-02
Ever since Bernie Sanders became a nationally known figure during the 2016 Democratic primary race, his proposal to bring European-style publicly-provided universal healthcare to the US has become firmly entrenched in the country’s political mainstream. Sometimes called “single-payer healthcare,” the idea is to take private healthcare companies out of the equation and have the government…
counterpunch.org/2019/08/02/what-bernie-…
US Federal Court Exposes Democratic Party Conspiracy Against Assange and WikiLeaks. Judge Dismisses DNC Lawsuit
Eric London | globalresearch.ca | 2019-08-02
In a ruling published late Tuesday, Judge John Koeltl of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York delivered a devastating blow to the US-led conspiracy against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. | In his ruling, Judge Koeltl, …
globalresearch.ca/judge-dismisses-dnc-la…
The Retainer Solution: The European Union, Libya and Irregular Migration
Binoy Kampmark | dissidentvoice.org | 2019-08-02
There is a venom in international refugee policy that refuses to go away: officials charged with their tasks, passing on their labours to those who might see the UN Refugee Convention as empty wording, rather than strict injunction carved upon stone. They have all become manifest in the policy of deferral: humanitarian problems are for …
dissidentvoice.org/2019/08/the-retainer-…
The Geopolitical Wrecking Ball Trump Regime. “MAGA Gone Mad”
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2019-08-02
Wall Street and other monied interests love Trump for handing them a bonanza of riches. Weapons and munitions makers support him and bipartisan congressional war party members for waging endless wars of aggression. | Big Oil, Big Pharma, other corporate predators, …
globalresearch.ca/geopolitical-wrecking-…
Tulsi Gabbard Challenges Foreign-Policy Assumptions and Moves the Overton Window
Ali A. Taj | mintpressnews.com | 2019-08-02
Tulsi Gabbard has moved the Overton window on what is acceptable discussion when it comes to U.S. foreign policy. She has punctured the rose-tinted narrative being constructed around establishment favorites like Senator Kamala Harris.
mintpressnews.com/tulsi-gabbard-foreign-…
No, Democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard Is Not “Assad Apologist”
Sarah Abed | globalresearch.ca | 2019-08-02
With nearly two dozen declared candidates competing for the 2020 Democratic Presidential primary field and the opportunity to run against Donald Trump in the general election, it’s no surprise that candidates are trying their best to “destroy” their opponents during …
globalresearch.ca/no-democratic-congress…
Climate System “Getting Unhinged” as Massive Heat Wave Causes Record Melting of Greenland Ice Sheet
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-08-02
The massive heat dome that shattered all-time temperature records across much of Europe last week has settled in over Greenland, driving temperatures across the vast region to as much as 30 degrees Fahrenheit above normal. In July, Greenland’s ice sheet lost 197 billion tons of ice, the equivalent of around 80 million Olympic swimming pools. This comes as the World Meteorological Organization said Thursday that July was the warmest month in recorded human history. It followed the hottest June on record, as atmospheric carbon dioxide levels climbed to a record high of 415 parts per million earlier this year. We sp…
www.democracynow.org/2019/8/2/greenland_…
In July, Greenland Lost 80 Million Olympic Swimming Pools Worth of Ice
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-08-02
| The massive heat dome that shattered all-time temperature records across much of Europe last week has settled in over Greenland, driving temperatures across the vast region to as much as 30 degrees Fahrenheit above normal. In July, Greenland’s ice sheet lost 197 billion tons of ice, the equivalent of around 80 million Olympic swimming pools. This comes as the World Meteorological Organization said Thursday that July was the warmest month in recorded human history. It followed the hottest June on…
truthout.org/video/in-july-greenland-los…
This is How Spanish Social-Democracy Ends
Victor Lasa | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-02
It was never going to happen. Three months of agonizing inaction by current Spanish President, Pedro Sanchez, has resulted in no coalition agreement to create a progressive government for Spain between his PSOE and Unidas Podemos, the amalgamation of parties and social movements sourced off the Indignados protests in 2011 [1]. Nothing seems to have…
counterpunch.org/2019/08/02/this-is-how-…
Let’s Just Let Trump Spend the Whole War Department Budget on Building Walls
Dave Lindorff | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-02
Liberals are upset that the new Supreme Court, packed with conservatives, has decided President Trump can have $2.6 billion of the Pentagon’s new FY 2020 $738 billion budget to build some wall along the Mexican border. But I think they’re thinking all wrong about this. Instead of complaining and fighting a losing battle against Trump’s…
counterpunch.org/2019/08/02/lets-just-le…
CNN’s Attempted Hit Job on Sanders and Warren
Paul Street | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-02
I was unable to watch all the CNN Democratic presidential candidates’ debate last Tuesday night, but every time I looked in it was stuck on one of the three following themes: #1. Conservative CNN “moderators” and absurdly marginal corporate Democrat pseudo-candidates like John Hickenlooper and John Delaney attacking the mildly social-democratish neo-New Deal progressive Bernie…
counterpunch.org/2019/08/02/cnns-attempt…
Guardianship System Eased, But Saudi Arabia Still Oppresses Women
Medea Benjamin | commondreams.org | 2019-08-02
While the easing of the guardianship system is indeed welcome news, Saudi Arabia remains one of the world’s most repressive societies for women. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/views/2019/08/02/guardi…
Guardianship System Eased, but Saudi Arabia Still Oppresses Women
Medea Benjamin | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-02
The Saudi government announced it will be eliminating part of the male guardianship system, finally granting women the right to obtain passports and travel (if 21 years of age or over), and obtain family identification cards without the need for male authorization. The change comes in the context of the bad publicity that Saudi Arabia…
counterpunch.org/2019/08/02/guardianship…
Guardianship System Eased, but Saudi Arabia Still Oppresses Women
Medea Benjamin | dissidentvoice.org | 2019-08-02
The Saudi government announced it will be eliminating part of the male guardianship system, finally granting women the right to obtain passports and travel (if 21 years of age or over), and obtain family identification cards without the need for male authorization. The change comes in the context of the bad publicity that Saudi Arabia …
dissidentvoice.org/2019/08/guardianship-…
Over 100 Killed in Another Mediterannean Shipwreck as Europe Watches
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-08-02
Frédéric Penard discusses the efforts of small NGOs to rescue refugees crossing the Mediterranean, against the efforts of European governments to block the entry of people fleeing war and famine…
therealnews.com/stories/over-100-killed-…
‘We cannot keep handing over billions to military-industrial complex,’ says Sanders as senate passes massive pentagon budget
Jake Johnson | nationofchange.org | 2019-08-02
Sen. Bernie Sanders said the United States cannot continue pouring massive sums into the Pentagon at the expense of domestic priorities after the Republican-controlled Senate on Thursday approved a sweeping budget deal that includes $1.48 trillion in military spending over the next two years. “The Pentagon is set to grow by $90 billion and reach $738 billion next year. …
nationofchange.org/2019/08/02/we-cannot-…
Heathrow workers ‘reject’ pay offer and are done being ‘given crumbs while shareholders pocket billions’
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2019-08-02
Indications from a ballot of thousands of workers at Heathrow Airport on whether to accept a pay offer point to an “overwhelming rejection”, union leaders have said. | Around 4,000 members of Unite, including security guards, firefighters and engineers, have been voting on a revised pay deal, with the result expected later on Friday. | Planned strikes were suspended while the workers voted on the offer, but industrial action on dates throughout August remain, with Unite saying walkouts next Monday and Tuesday look likely to go ahead. | The union warned Heathrow against opting to pay millions of pounds in compensa…
thecanary.co/uk/news/2019/08/02/heathrow…
China Vows to Retaliate if Trump Imposes New Tariffs
telesurenglish.net | 2019-08-02
China did not take lightly to U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent threats to impose new tariffs, as Beijing has vowed to take retaliatory measures against Washington should they go through with this trade tax. | RELATED: | US Withdraws From 1988 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty | On Friday, China warned the U.S. that they would not be blackmailed and vowed tit-for-tat measures if Trump goes through with his threat to slap a 10 percent tariff on US$300 billion of Chine…
telesurenglish.net/news/China-Vows-to-Re…
The Retainer Solution: The European Union, Libya and Irregular Migration
Dr. Binoy Kampmark | globalresearch.ca | 2019-08-02
There is a venom in international refugee policy that refuses to go away: officials charged with their tasks, passing on their labours to those who might see the UN Refugee Convention as empty wording, rather than strict injunction carved upon …
globalresearch.ca/european-union-libya-i…
Syria’s “Opposition” Fails to Represent Syrians
Steven Sahiounie | globalresearch.ca | 2019-08-02
The Syrian population residing in Syria is suffering from having barely survived eight years of war. They didn’t leave for camps in Turkey, Jordan or Lebanon, or they are those who have returned to Syria from having been in camps. …
globalresearch.ca/syrian-opposition-fail…
Video: Al Qaeda Idlib “Militants” Rescued by Another “Ceasefire”, Israeli Airstrikes against Syrian Army Positions
South Front | globalresearch.ca | 2019-08-02
On August 1, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and its allies continued their advance on militants’ positions in northern Hama liberated the villages of Mushairifah, Aziziah, Abu Raeida Gharbi and Abu Raeida. | According to local sources, SAA units also pushed …
globalresearch.ca/video-al-qaeda-idlib-m…
Palestinian refugees in Lebanon struggle for justice
Liberation Staff | liberationnews.org | 2019-08-02
This guest statement on the Lebanese government’s recent restrictions on work permits for Palestinian and Syrian refugees is by Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition.
liberationnews.org/palestinian-refugees-…
Trump kills Cold War missile treaty, setting stage for a new arms race
John Wojcik | peoplesworld.org | 2019-08-02
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who came to the Trump administration from the Tea Party wing of the Republicans, announced in February that the president intended to suspend U.S. participation in the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and was beginning the process of total U.S. withdrawal in six months. The pullout from this Cold War-era missile …
peoplesworld.org/article/trump-kills-col…
Democrats, How Do I Hate Thee?
Andrew Levine | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-02
How do I hate thee? Counting the ways would be a fool’s errand; there are too many ways. They have to do with your hypocrisy, cowardice, and servility. Circumstances change, but these traits have been constant themes in Democratic Party politics seemingly from time immemorial.
counterpunch.org/2019/08/02/democrats-ho…
War on humanity: Inside the refugee camps of Ciudad Juárez
Al Neal | peoplesworld.org | 2019-08-02
People’s World correspondent Al Neal spent the summer of 2019 in the field reporting from sites all along the U.S.-Mexico border. In his dispatches, you get a view of the towns and people caught up in Trump’s “border crisis.” This is the first half of an article detailing his visit to a refugee camp in …
peoplesworld.org/article/war-on-humanity…
Can Cap and Invest Programs Bring Environmental Justice? (1/2)
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-08-02
12 states and Washington, DC are teaming up on the Transportation & Climate Initiative, but critics from Newark and Baltimore say the program excludes frontline voices and depends too much on market forces…
therealnews.com/stories/can-cap-and-inve…
The Western Alliance Is Falling Apart
Peter Koenig | globalresearch.ca | 2019-08-02
Ever since Imran Khan became the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan in August 2018, the winds have changed. While his predecessors, though generally leaning eastwards, have often wavered between the US and the China orbit, Khan is in the …
globalresearch.ca/western-alliance-falli…
Employment Is High — But Job Growth Is Slowing Down
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-08-02
| The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the economy added 164,000 jobs in July, with the employment-to-population ratio (EPOP) inching up to 60.7 percent, a new high for the recovery. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.7 percent. There were downward revisions of 41,000 to the prior two months’ data, bringing the average rate of job growth for the last three months to 140,000. | The big job gainers in July were professional and technical services, which added 30,800 jobs, and health care, which added 3…
truthout.org/articles/employment-is-high…
UAE Withdrawal from Yemen. Turning Point. Did the Ansar Allah Just Win the Yemeni War?
Andrew Korybko | globalresearch.ca | 2019-08-02
The announcement that the UAE is in the process of a large-scale military drawdown in Yemen has been met with rapturous applause by the Ansar Allah’s supporters who believe that this unofficially acknowledges their victory in the conflict, but these …
globalresearch.ca/did-ansar-allah-really…
3 Bills to Rein in Executive Pay
Sarah Anderson | commondreams.org | 2019-08-02
While none of these bills would completely solve our executive pay problem, they are important steps towards a more rational, equitable system. (Photo: Pixabay/CC0) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/views/2019/08/02/3-bill…
Ex-Health Insurance Exec: Industry Is Using Decades-Old Scare Tactics to Fight Medicare for All
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-08-02
The Democratic presidential candidates remain deeply divided on how to expand healthcare to the tens of millions of Americans who are uninsured or underinsured. Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have both pushed for abolishing private health insurance and establishing a Medicare for All system. Their rivals have pushed a number of different, more incremental approaches. During the first night of the latest debates, Sanders pointed out that the country has taken sweeping action before to expand health coverage to millions of Americans, referring to the 50th anniversary of the creation of Medicare and Me…
www.democracynow.org/2019/8/2/u_s_health…
Debating Democrats, Please, No Fighting in the War Room
Michael Winship | commondreams.org | 2019-08-02
commondreams.org/views/2019/08/02/debati…
2nd Dem Debate Pt 2: Discusses the Climate Crisis, Tackles Endless War and Regime Change (3/4)
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-08-02
The deep divide between candidates is clear as they clash over issues appearing for the first time in presidential debates. With Jacqueline Luqman, Dharna Noor, and Marc Steiner as host…
therealnews.com/stories/2nd-dem-debate-p…
A Mother, Six Newborns Die Every Two Hours in Yemen
Daily Sabah | globalresearch.ca | 2019-08-02
As the world approaches the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), mothers and children continue to bear the brunt of the ongoing Saudi-led war in Yemen. The brutal conflict continues to cost the lives …
globalresearch.ca/mother-six-newborns-di…
July has been the planet’s hottest month on record
Marlee Kokotovic | nationofchange.org | 2019-08-02
The World Meteorological Organization says this July could possibly go down as the hottest month in recorded history. The previous record was set in July 2016 as a result of the occurrence of an El Niño phenomenon. “July has re-written climate history, with dozens of new temperature records at local, national, and global level,” says …
nationofchange.org/2019/08/02/july-has-b…
The Myth of a Racist Quebec
Nadia Alexan | globalresearch.ca | 2019-08-02
Translated from French | The accusations of racism brought against the people of Quebec in the wake of Bill 21 on the secularism of the state are very ill-founded. On the contrary, the history of this minority people in North America | …
globalresearch.ca/myth-racist-quebec/568…
Glyphosate Should be Phased Out Worldwide. Devastating Health Impacts
GMWatch | globalresearch.ca | 2019-08-02
The International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO), the only global organisation representing obstetricians and gynaecologists, wants glyphosate phased out worldwide. | A statement published by the Federation’s Reproductive and Developmental Environmental Health Committee says: | “Over the past fifteen years, an | …
globalresearch.ca/international-federati…
5G Telecommunication: Tesla’s Coil and the T-Mobile Merger
Renee Parsons | globalresearch.ca | 2019-08-02
The FCC, the telecoms and cooperating MSM continue their resolute pr campaign to sell 5G to an unsuspecting American public as if the technology is up and running at effortless full capacity. The truth is that even as ‘spotty’ coverage …
globalresearch.ca/sp-bearish-5g-teslas-c…
Climate Change in Siberia: Massive Wildlife Tragedy as Bears and Foxes Flee Taiga, While Smaller Animals Suffocate in Smoke
Svetlana Skarbo | globalresearch.ca | 2019-08-02
Wild animals are turning to humans as they escape gas-chamber-like woods, with wildfires continuing to rage across almost 3 million hectares. | Even the Arctic is on fire, with smoke blanketing an area larger than the European Union, and a state …
globalresearch.ca/climate-change-in-sibe…
The American Empire and Its Media
Swiss Propaganda Research | globalresearch.ca | 2019-08-02
This article was first crossposted on GR in July 2017. | Largely unbeknownst to the public, many media executives and top journalists of almost all major U.S. news outlets, political and business magazines, public broadcasters and press agencies have long been …
globalresearch.ca/the-american-empire-an…
When the Lie Is Accepted as the Truth
Mark Taliano | globalresearch.ca | 2019-08-02
Memes create perceptions, and perceptions are everything. | Memes and slogans are empty and vacuous, but they fabricate consent from broad-based populations. | Evidence is not required. | One persistent “perception” that governing agencies have been implanting in the collective mindset is “You …
globalresearch.ca/when-lie-accepted-trut…
Coming to Terms with the Past by Honoring Historical Truth: The Case of Fulbright University Vietnam
Mark Ashwill | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-02
No man in the whole world can change the truth. One can only look for the truth, find it and serve it. -Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) Thanks to a Google Alert, I learned that Dam Bich Thuy, founding president of Fulbright University Vietnam (FUV), was at Carthage College, a small liberal arts institution in Wisconsin, to deliver…
counterpunch.org/2019/08/02/coming-to-te…
State Legislature in the ‘Koch Belt’ Denies Wisconsin Healthcare and Return of Taxpayer Dollars from DC
Jeffrey Sommers | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-02
“Please Sir, I want some more,” Oliver Twist meekly asks the ogre overseer of the orphanage set in Charles Dickens’ famous novel of greed gone wild in Victorian England. Oliver’s request was rejoined by an indignant, “Whaaaat!” And, so this tale of austerity continues to be reprised under GOP rule as healthcare is withheld from…
counterpunch.org/2019/08/02/state-legisl…
Trump’s Plan to Cut the Public Out of Public Lands Decisions
George Wuerthner | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-02
When I was a kid, one of the favorite games we played in elementary school was “dodge ball.” In the game, a circle is made around a person who attempts to “dodge” a ball thrown by the other kids. You get to stay in the middle of the ring until a ball hits you, and…
counterpunch.org/2019/08/02/trumps-plan-…
One Day in August
Paul Tritschler | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-02
“The bomb burst on this bright morning over what President Truman described as a military target — a hospital.” Every Sunday, my father took me somewhere on a tram. Mystery tours, rattling across a sprawling, jumbling, clanking weave-work of metal sunk into cobbled streets that ran for miles. Boarding at Glasgow Cross, sometimes we rattled…
counterpunch.org/2019/08/02/one-day-in-a…
The Last of the Adults on Trump’s National Security Team
Melvin Goodman | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-02
The first 24 hours of the Trump presidency were marked by a bizarre inauguration speech (“American Carnage”), frenzied claims of record inauguration crowds, and an unusual appearance at the headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency where the new president proclaimed his political brilliance. The shock of these 24 hours led pundits and politicians alike to…
counterpunch.org/2019/08/02/the-last-of-…
You Don’t Save Money By Forcing People to Go Hungry
Jill Richardson | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-02
The Trump administration has proposed a rule that will cut an estimated 3 million eligible people off food stamps while depriving half a million eligible children of school lunch. I’ve been on food stamps. I spent most of my life with mental illness, and it was not diagnosed until a few years ago. Not knowing…
counterpunch.org/2019/08/02/you-dont-sav…
Sidelined US Embassy and Mystery Illnesses Spell Trouble for Cuba
W. T. Whitney | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-02
President Obama on December 17, 2014 announced a U.S. opening to Cuba. Months later there was a U.S. embassy in Havana. Beginning in late 2016, however, some diplomats there –CIA agents among them — experienced strange noises, hearing loss, headaches, impaired memory, confused thinking, dizziness, impaired vision and more. Expressing safety concerns, the State Department…
counterpunch.org/2019/08/02/sidelined-us…
Melville Our Contemporary
Jonah Raskin | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-02
I spent a good part of August 1, 2019, the 200th anniversary of the birth of Herman Melville, by doing what every red-blooded American ought to have done: I reread Moby-Dick, that “staggering work of genius.” Dave Eggers used that phrase as a part of the title for his own memoir, which was published in 2000.
counterpunch.org/2019/08/02/melville-our…
The Environmental Crimes of the Trump Administration
Evaggelos Vallianatos | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-02
The word environment usually refers to what is around us: air, water, house, trees, grass, town. However, with the broadening of human understanding about the effects of pollution and industry on human health and wildlife, environment received the philosophical and legal definition of human responsibility of protecting both human health and the health of the…
counterpunch.org/2019/08/02/the-environm…
Fires in Arctic Ice, Exposed on Mountains of the Heart
Kenn Orphan — Phil Rockstroh | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-02
PR: Recently, the temperature in Paris rose to 108.7 F (42.6 C) surpassing the previous record by 4 F (2.2 C) set on July 28, 1947 of 104.7 F (40.4 C). Shortly thereafter, during an email exchange with an old friend, a prominent (if the term prominent can still be applied to the professionally marginalised…
counterpunch.org/2019/08/02/fires-in-arc…
Trump and Black Misleadership Class: Collaborators in the Defense of White Power
Ajamu Baraka | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-02
In a case that finally started to receive national attention over the last few weeks, Baltimore prosecutors finally achieved their desired goal after three attempts, a conviction of Keith Davis Jr, a young Black working class resident of Baltimore, who his supporters say, was set up by Baltimore police, for the murder of Kevin Jones.
counterpunch.org/2019/08/02/trump-and-bl…
In Memoriam: The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty Dies at 32
Matt Korda | thenation.com | 2019-08-02
In Memoriam: The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty Dies at 32…
thenation.com/article/intermediate-range…
Autoworkers speak out as GM Warren Transmission plant closes after 78 years of operation
wsws.org | 2019-08-02
The closure of the facility, which once employed upwards of 4,000, is the latest economic blow to workers in the Detroit area, once the center of global auto manufacturing.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/08/02/warr…
Senate Democrats approve Trump war budget
wsws.org | 2019-08-02
Democratic senators backed the Trump budget overwhelmingly, 38-5, while Republicans were closely divided, 30-23.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/08/02/budg…
Dr. Raouf Halaby: “All the Gulf Arabs Are Sleeping in The Same Bed with Israel”
Mohsen Abdelmoumen | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-02
Mohsen Abdelmoumen: How do you analyze the unconditional support of the United States for Israel’s criminal Zionist entity? Dr. Raouf Halaby: Unfortunately, American politics has been plagued with bribery in the form of political campaign contributions. Money buys power, access to media, and the ownership of media centers. Whether newspapers or TV, access to and ownership of these…
counterpunch.org/2019/08/02/dr-raouf-hal…
Help build the movement for system change — become a Green Left supporter
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2019-08-02
It’s understandable to feel enraged watching the news about our climate: record-breaking summer temperatures across Europe, the disappearing Arctic ice sheet, deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon. | It’s depressing stuff. | I am enraged on a daily basis listening to the business-as-usual, head-in-the-sand responses to climate change from pro-capitalist governments and mining company spin doctors. | Or hearing that US President Donald Trump has allowed the use of bee-killing pesticides and that Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has green-lighted illegal land clearing in the Amazon. | Or reading that the Australi…
greenleft.org.au/content/help-build-move…
Homage to OSPAAAL, the organisation of solidarity for the peoples of Asia, Africa, and Latin America
Vijay Prashad | mronline.org | 2019-08-02
Dear Friends, Greetings from the desk of the Tricontinental: Institute of Social Research. A few days ago, the 9th Asia Pacific Regional Conference of Solidarity with Cuba came to a close. At the final meeting, Prachanda–the co-chair of the Nepal Communist Party–articulated a sentiment that is shared by billions of people around the world. Cuba, he said, ‘is […] | Source…
mronline.org/2019/08/02/homage-to-ospaaa…
Fears of ‘Nuclear Chaos and Potential Catastrophe’ Rise After US Exits Landmark Cold War-Era Treaty With Russia
Jessica Corbett, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-08-02
Nuclear experts and peace advocates on Friday shared their heightened concerns about a new arms race as the Trump administration officially withdrew from a landmark treaty with Russia that was signed by former U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/news/2019/08/02/fears-n…
The Big Lie Democratic Centrists Are Telling About 2018
Doug Johnson Hatlem | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-02
Dave Wasserman of Cook Political Report tweeted it in response to Nancy Pelosi’s attack on The Squad. John Hickenlooper unloaded a flatly false version of it during the first night of this week’s Democratic debates. David Axelrod stated this falsehood as fact on CNN before the start of the second night of debates. Nate Silver…
counterpunch.org/2019/08/02/the-big-lie-…
Media silent on dismissal of DNC suit against Julian Assange
wsws.org | 2019-08-02
Having trumpeted the slander that Assange is a “Russian agent” for the past three years, the New York Times, the Washington Post and other corporate outlets have blacked out a court decision refuting their lies.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/08/02/pers…
Vigil to Expose Monsanto
San Francisco-Bay Area Veterans For Peace | indybay.org | 2019-08-02
Union Square, Downtown San Francisco. Bordered by Geary Blvd. and Post Street; and Powell and Stockton Street.
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/07/31/1882511…
The Rise of China and the Decline of American Power
Christopher Black | globalresearch.ca | 2019-08-02
The imperialist powers have a long history of colonialism in China, of reducing its people to beggars in their own land. The British, the French, the Germans, the Americans, the Japanese, all are guilty of crimes against China that cannot …
globalresearch.ca/china-conclusion-ameri…
Trump escalates trade war against China
wsws.org | 2019-08-02
The decision to impose a 10 percent tariff on $300 billion worth of Chinese goods, covering a wide range of consumer products, represents the most significant intensification of the more than year-long trade war to date.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/08/02/trad…
Roaming Charges: Measure for Half-Measure
Jeffrey St. Clair | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-02
If you haven’t been paying attention to the Democratic Party for the last 40 years and just now tuned into the presidential debates, you might be shocked at how hostile it is to even debating the modest and sensible ideas proposed by Sanders & Warren. With each mention of “single payer,” “free college,” or “green new deal,” the Party writhes wildly like Linda Blair’s possessed body being sprinkled with Holy Water.
counterpunch.org/2019/08/02/roaming-char…
Conspiracy theories cause extremism, FBI document claims
rt.com | 2019-08-02
“Conspiracy-theory driven domestic extremists” pose a serious threat to the US, and their numbers are growing thanks to frequent “uncovering of real conspiracies” involving powerful government figures, the FBI has warned officers. | …
rt.com/usa/465617-fbi-conspiracy-theory-…
Boycott HP products to show solidarity with Palestinians
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2019-08-02
Not many people know about the role of IT giant HP in Israel’s grave violations of Palestinian rights and its system of military occupation, racial segregation and oppression. | Just as many companies profited from the South African Apartheid regime, HP is today profiting from Israel’s apartheid policies towards Palestinians. It supplies Israel with technology, equipment and information that is used in its ongoing violations of Palestinians’ rights. | July marked a year since Israel adopted its Jewish “nation-state” law, giving constitutional status to its apartheid policies towards Palestinian citizens of Israel…
greenleft.org.au/content/boycott-hp-prod…
‘We have a problem’: Top US Navy SEAL raises alarm amid cases of sexual assault & drug scandals
rt.com | 2019-08-02
The top US Navy SEAL has warned of systemic issues within the force, amid a series of shocking scandals involving the elite outfit. The internal letter was sent out just days before an ex-SEAL pled guilty to molesting a child. | …
rt.com/usa/465643-navy-seal-sex-drug-sca…
Tulsi finally shows she’s had it with MSM ‘Assad apologist’ smear
rt.com | 2019-08-02
Democratic presidential hopeful Tulsi Gabbard slammed MSNBC — and mainstream media in general — for dredging up her meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad every time she goes on TV, calling the endless repetition “propaganda.” | …
rt.com/usa/465618-tulsi-loses-patience-a…
Venezuela: Chavista militants killed as rural violence continues
susan_p | greenleft.org.au | 2019-08-02
Six activists from the grassroots Revolutionary Bolivar and Zamora Current ( CRBZ) were assassinated in Barinas State on July 27. | The victims, one of whom was pregnant, were part of the Hugo Chavez Popular Defence Brigades organised by the CRBZ in Barinas, Tachira, and other states regularly plagued by landowner violence against campesinos. | No information is yet known about the assailants, but the CRBZ claimed in their statement that they had “military…
greenleft.org.au/content/venezuela-chavi…
An American Jew Looks at the Palestine Question
Jeff Cooper | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-02
I am Jew, a non-religious Jew of European origin, living in the U.S.A. What is my connection to Israel and what right do I have to speak? It can be tempting to distance myself from the conflicts of Palestinian Arabs and Israeli Jews, enacted far away. But as a Jew, I do have, for more…
counterpunch.org/2019/08/02/an-american-…
Fund Newstart not US wars
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2019-08-02
More than 700,000 Australians are struggling to survive on $40 dollars a day while $200 billion is being set aside over the next 10 years for Australia’s military, largely to support US wars, according to the Independent and Peaceful Australia Network (IPAN). | IPAN spokesperson Shirley Winton said: “In the past five years, government spending on social and community services has been severely cut back while the Australian governments’ military spending on supporting US offensive wars and the military-industrial complex has increased exponentially. | “Over 700,000 Australians depend on Newstart unemployment benef…
greenleft.org.au/content/fund-newstart-n…
What ‘abolish ICE’ really means
Rachel Hodes | nationofchange.org | 2019-08-02
As I stepped inside the Cannon House Office Building on a Tuesday in July, I felt like I was taking a step towards a more just world. The night before, when I told my mother I planned to participate in a “Never Again” protest as part of #JewsAgainstICE, she had one question: “What exactly are …
nationofchange.org/2019/08/02/what-aboli…
‘We Cannot Keep Handing Over Billions to Military-Industrial Complex,’ Says Sanders as Senate Passes Massive Pentagon Budget
Jake Johnson, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-08-02
“The Pentagon is set to grow by $90 billion and reach $738 billion next year. For $90 billion, we could double nutrition assistance or provide $7,000 to every child in poverty.” | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/news/2019/08/02/we-cann…
No Concentration Camps! No Fascist USA! Trump/Pence Must Go!
Curt Wechsler | indybay.org | 2019-08-02
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) | 630 Sansome Street, San Francisco | This event is part of 30 Days of Action to Close the Camps…
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/07/31/1882511…
Adani’s sinister accomplice
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2019-08-02
Stop Adani activists held a week of protests at the end of July targeting multinational engineering design and construction consultant GHD. | The aim was to raise awareness about GHD’s silent role in the construction of Adani’s coal mine in the Galilee Basin, in Central Queensland. | The Australia-based multinational — which generates a global revenue of $1.7 billion — was recently awarded a contract by Adani to work on the engineering design of its proposed Carmichael coal mine. | GHD has built up a reputation in Australia through its involvement in public civil works, winning contracts from state an…
greenleft.org.au/content/meet-ghd-adanis…
‘Leningrad Lindsey’: Russia-baiting senator gets taste of own medicine as xenophobic hashtag trends
rt.com | 2019-08-02
A trending Twitter hashtag, created to shame Lindsey Graham for his alleged un-American ways, has brought Russia-baiting full circle, with the senator now on the receiving end of the mass paranoia he helped foment. | …
rt.com/usa/465664-lindsey-graham-leningr…
Smoking Gun: Politicians Say the Most Racist Things
The Progressive Magazine | progressive.org | 2019-08-01
Examples of things said by office-holders and aspirants around the country.
progressive.org/magazine/smoking-gun-pol…
US Sanctions Iran’s Foreign Minister; Move Seen as Rebuke of Diplomatic Offer
Jason Ditz | theantimedia.com | 2019-08-01
The latest US sanctions on Iran are very specific, hitting FM Javad Zarif, blocking all property and financial interests he has in the US.
US Sanctions Iran’s Foreign Minister; Move Seen as Rebuke of Diplomatic Offer
Russia Supports Venezuela, Tells US: Stop Meddling in Dialogue
teleSUR -EF-mrs | telesurenglish.net | 2019-08-01
Russian Press and Information Director Maria Zakharova says governments of the world, particularly the United States, need to stay out of Venezuela’s internal affairs and attempting to sidetrack peace talks. | RELATED: | Russia To ‘Abstain’ Attending Int’l Talks on Venezuela in Lima | Zakharova‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã’s comments come as dialogues between the…
telesurenglish.net/news/Russia-Supports-…
Syrian Gov’t Agrees to Conditional Ceasefire in Idlib
telesurenglish.net | 2019-08-01
Syria’s government agreed Thursday to a ceasefire in the northwestern rebel-held region of Idlib if the Russian-Turkish demilitarized zone is implemented, according to the state news agency, SANA. | RELATED: | Russia, Turkey Agree to Create Demilitarized Zone in Syria’s Idlib | The state agency cited a Syrian military source who announced the government’s “approval for a ceasefire in the buffer zone in Idlib starting tonight” on the condition that rebels withdraw forces and w…
telesurenglish.net/news/Syrian-Governmen…
Russiagate as organized distraction
Eds. | mronline.org | 2019-08-01
Oliver Boyd-Barrett looks at who benefits from having the corporate media suffocate their public with a puerile narrative for over two years. | Source…
mronline.org/2019/08/01/russiagate-as-or…
Kamala Harris Team Accused of “Inventing Conspiracies” About Tulsi Gabbard
Eoin Higgins | theantimedia.com | 2019-08-01
The Kamala Harris’ campaign jumped to tie Gabbard and her campaign to a nebulously defined and unclear Russian conspiracy.
Kamala Harris Team Accused of “Inventing Conspiracies” About Tulsi Gabbard
Bolsonaro Supporters Attack Glenn Greenwald’s Mother
telesurenglish.net | 2019-08-01
Arlene Greenwald, the mother of journalist and author Glenn Greenwald, was attacked via social media Thursday by supporters of Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro. | RELATED: | Brazil: Minister Moro Seeks Deportation of Glenn Greenwald | A blogger named Oswaldo Eustaquio questioned the terminal cancer Glenn’s mother is suffering from and wrote on his Twitter account that Glenn lied about his mother’s health situation. Eustaquio concluded she was in good health based of her Facebook p…
telesurenglish.net/news/Bolsonaros-Suppo…
Dolores Huerta Accuses Biden of “Speaking Just Like a Republican” on Immigration
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-08-01
Immigration rights activists abruptly interrupted Joe Biden during last night’s debate, chanting “3 million deportations!”–referring to the Obama administration’s deportation of at least 3 million undocumented people. During the debate, Julián Castro repeatedly challenged Biden’s record on immigration. “It looks like one of us has learned the lessons of the past and one of us hasn’t,” Castro said. We speak to Dolores Huerta and Cornel West.
www.democracynow.org/2019/8/1/dolores_hu…
‘Never Again is Now’ protest shuts down ICE in Minneapolis
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2019-08-01
Minneapolis, MN – A few hundred protesters blocked off all roads outside of the Whipple Federal Building here at a ‘Never Again is Now’ protest July 30, shutting down business as usual to demand that the government close the concentration camps at the U.S.-México border. | Hundreds of cars were blocked from leaving the building where Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is housed for several hours at the end of the work day. At the end of the action around 30 people were cited and released by Hennepin County cops. | The protest was organized by Jewish community members opposed to the camps at the U…
fightbacknews.org/2019/7/31/never-again-…
Dolores Huerta & Cornel West Respond to Democratic Debate as Biden & Harris Face Harsh Scrutiny
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-08-01
Ten presidential hopefuls took the stage Wednesday evening for the second night of a Democratic debate in Detroit. During the night, former Vice President Joe Biden defended his record after facing numerous attacks on his record on criminal justice, the Iraq War, immigration and women’s rights. Senator Kamala Harris also faced criticism over her record as California attorney general. We speak to the legendary labor leader Dolores Huerta, who is co-chair of Kamala Harris’s campaign, and Harvard professor Cornel West, who has endorsed Bernie Sanders.
www.democracynow.org/2019/8/1/seg_1