Poultry towns devastated as workers and students disappear after ICE raids
Jeff Amy, Rogelio V. Solis | peoplesworld.org | 2019-08-09
MORTON, Miss. (AP)–Effects of the largest immigration raid in at least a decade are likely to ripple for years through six Mississippi small towns that host poultry plants. A store owner who caters to Latino poultry plant workers fears he will have to close. A school superintendent is trying to rebuild trust with the Spanish-speaking …
peoplesworld.org/article/poultry-towns-d…
This Week’s ICE Raids Show Trump’s Tacit Support for El Paso Shooter
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-08-09
| The Trump administration cares about optics. It always has. So we can assume it was no accident that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were conducting one of the largest immigration raids in U.S. history this Wednesday, even as Trump traveled to El Paso to supposedly honor and comfort the victims of the explicitly racist and anti-immigrant mass shooting perpetrated by a gunman whose manifesto echoed Trump’s own words decrying the bogeyman of an “invasion” of Latinx immigrants. | T…
truthout.org/articles/this-weeks-ice-rai…
Mass ICE Raids in Mississippi After Workers Fought for Better Conditions Leave Kids Without Parents
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-08-09
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents swept through seven poultry processing plants in Mississippi this week and arrested 680 people. It was the largest single-state raid in U.S. history.The mass arrests also came on the first day of the school year, and some children walked home from school only to find their doors locked and their family members missing. Wednesday’s raids targeted chicken processing plants operated by Koch Foods, one of the largest poultry producers in the U.S. Last year, the company paid out $3.75 million to settle an Equal Employment Opportunities Commission class-action suit charging th…
www.democracynow.org/2019/8/9/mississipp…
This Is How We Defend Immigrants From Trump
Sonali Kolhatkar | truthdig.com | 2019-08-09
There is seemingly no limit to the cruelty President Trump inflicts on immigrants. Just days after a horrific mass shooting claimed the lives of 22 people in the immigrant-rich border town of El Paso, Texas, the Trump administration carried out the largest workplace raids in the nation’s history. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents rounded up nearly 700 people in cities…
truthdig.com/articles/this-is-how-we-def…
Mississippi ICE Raids Targeted Workers Who Fought for Better Conditions
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-08-09
| Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents swept through seven poultry processing plants in Mississippi this week and arrested 680 people. It was the largest single-state raid in U.S. history. The mass arrests also came on the first day of the school year, and some children walked home from school only to find their doors locked and their family members missing. Wednesday’s raids targeted chicken processing plants operated by Koch Foods, one of the largest poultry producers in the U.S. Last ye…
truthout.org/video/mississippi-ice-raids…
ICE Raids on Undocumented Immigrants Create Fear and Enable Exploitation
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-08-09
The recent ICE raids that detained 680 food workers in Mississippi not only strike fear and terror in the hearts of immigrants, but are a calculated move to enable greater exploitation of immigrants because it increases their insecurity and makes organizing more difficult…
therealnews.com/stories/ice-raids-on-und…
The Mississippi raid: Trump’s attack on immigrants and his Democratic enablers
wsws.org | 2019-08-09
Hundreds of children have been traumatized by having their parents ripped away from them and, in many cases, shipped to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement prison 150 miles away.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/08/09/pers…
A Lack of Migrant Labor is Forcing Farmers in the US to Stop Growing Crops
CGTN | dissidentvoice.org | 2019-08-09
The immigration policies of the U.S. government are once again igniting opposition. This time from members of the agriculture industry who say that blocking immigrants from entering the country is doing more harm than good. U.S. farmers who depend on migrants as “guest workers” for their harvest are facing considerable financial losses. It’s the result …
dissidentvoice.org/2019/08/a-lack-of-mig…
This Is How We Defend Immigrants From Trump
Sonali Kolhatkar | commondreams.org | 2019-08-09
Handcuffed workers at the Koch Foods Inc. plant in Morton, Miss. await transportation to a processing center following an Aug. 7 raid by U.S. immigration officials. (Photo: Rogelio V. Solis / AP) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/views/2019/08/09/how-we…
Reframing the Issues and Taking Direction of the Nation
Charles McKelvey | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-09
In El Paso, Texas, twenty-two persons were killed in a Walmart store, allegedly by a white supremacist gunman who had posted online a manifesto that railed against immigrants and an “Hispanic invasion of Texas.” The attack has been described by Richard Parker, in an editorial in The New York Times, as the worst massacre of…
counterpunch.org/2019/08/09/reframing-th…
Indo-Pakistani conflict sharpens with New Delhi’s assault on Kashmir
wsws.org | 2019-08-09
In response to India’s aggressive and patently illegal moves to tighten its control over disputed Kashmir, Pakistan has taken a raft of retaliatory measures and issued thinly-veiled war threats.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/08/09/kash…
Emergency doctor to Trump: You are wrong, mental illness is not to blame for gun violence epidemic
Nermeen Shaikh | nationofchange.org | 2019-08-09
President Trump went to Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas, Wednesday, where he was met by hundreds of protesters condemning his presence after the mass shootings over the weekend, which killed at least 32 people. Prior to his visits, Trump hinted at the need to strengthen background checks for gun purchases, and doubled down on …
nationofchange.org/2019/08/09/emergency-…
Is Trump Building a White Ethnostate?
Robert Scheer | truthdig.com | 2019-08-09
On Saturday, a 21-year-old white man entered a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, with an automatic rifle and opened fire. By the time he was finished, 20 people were killed and dozens of others were gravely wounded. Two more would die as a result of the injuries they suffered during the carnage. | The suspect left behind a manifesto citing the shooter at a Christchurch, New Zealand, mosque in March as the inspiration for his massacre. Similarly, the document made repeated reference to the “great replacement,” a theory among white nationalists that immigration threatens the demographic future of their race. As “Proud Boy…
truthdig.com/articles/is-trump-building-…
Nothing Less Than a Revolution Can Save Us
Paul Street | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-09
Is there no limit to the lethal and authoritarian absurdity of America, land of mass gun massacres like Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook, Aurora, Orlando, Las Vegas, Parkland, and now El Paso and Dayton among other pockmarked sites? Here is a society that claims to be the beacon to the world of civilized decency and democracy…
counterpunch.org/2019/08/09/nothing-less…
Hate, Murder and Perversity: El Paso 2019, Mississippi 1964
Daniel Beaumont | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-09
Hate, Lacan observed, is–like love–a career without limit.[1] The massacre on Saturday August 3 in an El Paso Walmart ended with the arrest of 21 year-old Patrick Crusius, a white supremacist from Dallas. Crusius was likely the source of what the media began to call a “manifesto” posted on the website 8chan, a site linked…
counterpunch.org/2019/08/09/hate-murder-…
Barber: “Words” of white supremacy “lead to acts of physical violence”
Mark Gruenberg | peoplesworld.org | 2019-08-09
EL PASO, Texas–Five religious leaders who journeyed to El Paso to investigate — and discuss — awful conditions migrants face, just before the white supremacist terrorist massacred 22 people in that Texas border city, unveiled an open pastoral letter to the entire nation linking racist words and policies to the murders, and demanding a massive …
peoplesworld.org/article/barber-words-of…
“Culture Of Violence?” You Betcha, Mr. Trump, But It’s Not The Video Games
Mike Ferner | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-09
On the day after America’s weekend shooting rampage that killed 31 people and wounded dozens more in El Paso and Dayton, president Trump told the nation in a 10-minute address, what he sees as the causes of and cures for gun violence in the U.S. As causes, he mentioned: + “Racism, bigotry and white supremacy”
counterpunch.org/2019/08/09/culture-of-v…
How Real is the “Eco-Fascist” Threat?
Louis Proyect | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-09
In a manifesto that was posted to 8Chan just before he carried out his murderous attack on Walmart shoppers in El Paso, Patrick Crusius expressed “Green” values that are widespread on the left: The American lifestyle affords our citizens an incredible quality of life. However, our lifestyle is destroying the environment of our country. The…
counterpunch.org/2019/08/09/how-real-is-…
U.S. Imperialism, Iran and the Context for War
Margot Patterson | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-09
The Trump administration’s efforts to collapse Iran’s economy can’t be divorced from the history of U.S. imperialism. If Americans remember the 1979 student takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and the 444 days in which 52 U.S. diplomats and embassy staff were held hostage, Iranians remember the 1953 CIA coup that brought down the…
counterpunch.org/2019/08/09/u-s-imperial…
How Pervasive Is Saudi Penetration of Western Political Systems?
Padraig McGrath | globalresearch.ca | 2019-08-09
When the Royal Marines seized the Iranian-owned Grace 1 supertanker off Gibraltar on July 4th, then British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt hailed the seizure as a sign that Iran had “no place to hide.” On July 19th, when the Iranian …
globalresearch.ca/how-pervasive-saudi-pe…
The NYT’s Pro-War Arguments Against War With Iran
Gregory Shupak | fair.org | 2019-08-09
by Gregory Shupak Once you’re debating who ought to start a war, you’ve abandoned the anti-war argument (New York Times, 6/20/19). | The New York Times has published five editorials since the beginning of May that are ostensibly critical of a possible military war between the United States and Iran. As anti-war arguments, however, they are woefully lacking–vilifying Iran without subjecting the US to comparable scrutiny, and hiding US aggression towards Iran. | The editorials regurgitate the same anti-Iran demonology pro-war voi…
fair.org/home/the-nyts-pro-war-arguments…
France Fires Back at Trump Over Iran Comments
telesurenglish.net | 2019-08-09
France’s Foreign Ministry has fired back at U.S. President Donald Trump over his recent comments about Paris’ relationship with Iran, which the American leader criticized in a Twitter rant. | RELATED: | France: Police Repress Yellow Vest Protest in Nantes | In a written statement on Friday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said that his country does not need Trump’s opinion on Iran. | “France speaks for itself on Iran as a sovereign power,” Le Drian stated. “France is deeply committed…
telesurenglish.net/news/France-Fires-Bac…
US Leaves INF Because of “Russia Violations,” Now Encircles China with Offensive Missiles
Ulson Gunnar | globalresearch.ca | 2019-08-09
We’re told that the US withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty singed in 1987 between the US and Soviet Union was based on claims that Russia had violated it. | While we continue waiting for Washington to provide evidence …
globalresearch.ca/us-leaves-inf-because-…
Nagasaki mayor hits out at nuclear powers on 74th anniversary of bombing
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2019-08-09
The mayor of Nagasaki has criticised nuclear states including the US and Russia as the city marked the 74th anniversary of the atomic bombing which ended the Second World War.Tomihisa Taue said nuclear powers are undermining the survivors’ efforts towards building a nuclear-free world.The mayor lamented that the idea of “useful” nuclear weapons appears to be gaining traction.People attend a mass at the Urakami Cathedral in Nagasaki to mark the 74th anniversary of the world’s second atomic bomb attack (Kyodo/AP)He said both the US and Russia are returning to the development and deployment of nuclear weapons, as th…
thecanary.co/global/world-news/2019/08/0…
The Tragic Story of Jimmy Aldaoud, Deported From the Streets of Detroit to His Death in Iraq
Chris Gelardi | theintercept.com | 2019-08-09
Aldaoud was targeted as part of an ongoing ICE crackdown on Iraqi communities. His family and supporters say the agency bears responsibility for his death.
theintercept.com/2019/08/08/ice-deportat…
Guatemala Cannot Be ‘Safe Third Country’, US Congresswoman Says
telesurenglish.net | 2019-08-09
U.S. Congresswoman Norma Torres (D-CA) said Thursday that Guatemala does not have the capacity nor the conditions to become a “Safe Third Country” (STC) because it is not able to accommodate asylum seekers that the United States would send to stay there while they process their immigration requests. | RELATED: | Guatemala Farmers Strike Against US Migration Deal | “I believe that I have been very clear in my opinion about this … Guatemala is not prepared to receive thousands of people,”
telesurenglish.net/news/Guatemala-Cannot…
New IPCC Report Warns of Vicious Cycle Between Soil Degradation and Climate Change
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-08-09
Greenpeace’s Diana Ruiz discusses the new IPCC Climate report, “Climate Change and Land,” which issues a dire warning about how climate change and destructive land use reinforce each other, leading to serious threats for human survival…
therealnews.com/stories/new-ipcc-report-…
On anniversary of Hiroshima, demands for end to nuclear weapons
Marilyn Bechtel | peoplesworld.org | 2019-08-09
LIVERMORE, Calif. — Determined to oppose the Trump administration’s drive to develop new nuclear weapons and to strengthen the fight to eliminate nuclear weapons worldwide, some 200 demonstrators gathered here on Aug. 6 to rally against what they term “Designing Armageddon” at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Over three dozen peace, justice and faith-based organizations …
peoplesworld.org/article/on-anniversary-…
US and Turkey Collude to Steal Northern Syrian Territory
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2019-08-09
Troops of both countries illegally occupy northern Syrian territory bordering Turkey, including its oil rich area. | On the phony pretext of protecting Turkey’s security, President Erdogan is intermittently battling Kurdish YPG fighters cross-border in Syria — despite their posing no …
globalresearch.ca/us-turkey-collude-stea…
US vs. China: A Clash of Civilizations?
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2019-08-09
In promoting destructive “Western values,” hardline academic Samuel Huntington once said the following: | “The West must exploit differences and conflicts among Confucian and Islamic states to support in other civilizations groups sympathetic to Western values and interests — to strengthen | …
globalresearch.ca/us-china-clash-civiliz…
Big Pharma: Gouges, Casualties, and the Congressional Remedy!
Ralph Nader | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-09
The Congress can overturn the abuses of Big Pharma and its “pay or die,” subsidized business model for its drugs. Big Pharma’s trail of greed, power, and cruelty gets worse every year. Its products and practices take hundreds of thousands of lives in the U.S. from over-prescriptions, lethal combinations of prescriptions, ineffective or contaminated drugs,…
counterpunch.org/2019/08/09/big-pharma-g…
John Pilger warns: “Do not forget Assange. Or you will lose him”
wsws.org | 2019-08-09
The well-known journalist outlined the WikiLeaks founder’s deteriorating health, and the draconian conditions in which he is being held in a British prison.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/08/09/pilg…
Bolsonaro’s War on the Amazon: Mass Mining Invasion of Yanomami Lands in Brazil Threatens Their Survival
Marcus Colchester | globalresearch.ca | 2019-08-09
Acting in response to public statements from the President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, on the need to open up indigenous lands in the Amazon Basin to extractive industries, an estimated 20,000 illegal miners are reported to have invaded the …
globalresearch.ca/bolsonaros-war-on-the-…
Militarized Observers: Institutional Daydreams of Ethics End Runs to Weaponize Culture
David Price | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-09
A significant limitation facing scholars studying US military uses of anthropology and other social sciences is that while the existence and activities of various military programs are known, and some related documents are available, there is much about these programs that remains unknown to outsiders. Yet, even with these gaps in knowledge, it is possible…
counterpunch.org/2019/08/09/militarized-…
European ‘Fridays for Future’ Movement Takes to Swiss Streets
telesurenglish.net | 2019-08-09
Thousands of environmental activists from 38 European countries brought their “Fridays for Future” movement to the Swiss city of Lausanne, calling for swift action from politicians and businesses to reduce emissions linked to global warming. | RELATED: | Endangered Condors Face Fragile Existence in Andes | “We are all united coming from different countries, and despite the fact it’s holidays we are ready to sacrifice our time to have politics change, to raise awareness about what’s happeni…
telesurenglish.net/news/European-Fridays…
‘Arm to the teeth & pretend to be Canadian’: McAfee’s savage tactical advice for next US Civil War
rt.com | 2019-08-09
Scandalously famous tech millionaire John McAfee has offered some cheeky advice for both blue and red states in case a civil war erupts in the US: hoard guns, pretend to be Canadian, and sell useless states to Mexico and Cuba. | …
rt.com/usa/466119-mcafee-guns-civil-war/
How We Learned to Hate the Bomb
Norman Stockwell | progressive.org | 2019-08-09
For nearly three-quarters of a century, “The Progressive” has been a consistent voice against nuclear madness.
progressive.org/dispatches/how-we-learne…
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
wsws.org | 2019-08-09
Ryanair pilots in Britain have given an 80 percent strike mandate while south African bank workers plan to protest massive job losses and Kenyan workers struck the multi-billion-shilling Thwake Dam construction project.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/08/09/work…
The Right Wing Is Trying to Make It a Crime to Oppose Fascism
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-08-09
| Conservatives in the U.S. have long sought to reframe grassroots political activism as dangerously radical, but efforts to criminalize protests have rapidly intensified since Donald Trump’s election. Most recently, Senators Ted Cruz and Bill Cassidy introduced a resolution that names “Antifa” as a “domestic terrorist organization.” | “This was a move designed to punish dissent against both racist groups and policies of the government,” David Rose, a member of Portland’s Rose City Antifa, told Truthou…
truthout.org/articles/the-right-wing-is-…
Defense Contractor Builds Lobbying Team With Firms Tied to Mueller Probe
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-08-09
| A Kuwaiti defense contractor that pleaded guilty to stealing U.S. government funds is assembling a team of lobbyists and foreign influence operatives from high-profile, and sometimes controversial, firms. | Agility Public Warehousing recently inked contracts with three firms to represent its interests through lobbying and foreign influence campaigns, the first time the Kuwaiti defense contractor has been listed as a foreign principal under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. All of the fi…
truthout.org/articles/defense-contractor…
Embattled Kuwaiti defense contractor building foreign influence operation with firms tied to Mueller probe
Anna Massoglia | nationofchange.org | 2019-08-09
A Kuwaiti defense contractor that plead guilty to stealing U.S. government funds is assembling a team of lobbyists and foreign influence operatives from high-profile, and sometimes controversial, firms. Agility Public Warehousing recently inked contracts with three firms to represent its interests through lobbying and foreign influence campaigns, the first time the Kuwaiti defense contractor has …
nationofchange.org/2019/08/09/embattled-…
Trump’s New Coal Rules Will Bury Rural America
Gloria Oladipo | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-09
New coal standards proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are threatening to permanently undermine the federal government’s power to control power plant pollution. The new rule — which would empower states to decide how much they want to reduce their emissions, if at all — will be devastating for all Americans. Especially vulnerable are…
counterpunch.org/2019/08/09/trumps-new-c…
The Sixties: De-tripping, Yeah
John Kendall Hawkins | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-09
I had intentions of watching Quentin Tarantino’s new film, Once Upon A Time … in Hollywood, and then writing a review, keened up, like most of his aficionados, with the anticipation it might be his last film, and eager to see how QT handled the Sixties, with limited retrospection, given that he was only six…
counterpunch.org/2019/08/09/the-sixties-…
Blood in Our Eyes
John Steppling | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-09
“As the business grew, Sturm Ruger CEO Michael Fifer lobbied personally against a Connecticut ban on high-capacity magazines, commonly used with the company’s semi-automatic rifles. “The regulation of magazine capacity will not deter crime, but will instead put law-abiding citizens at risk of harm,” Fifer wrote to state lawmakers in early 2011. The legislation died…
counterpunch.org/2019/08/09/blood-in-our…
Mass-Shootings as Expressions of U.S. Racism
Gary Leupp | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-09
Nineteenth century U.S. racism, resting in part on biblical myth (the curse of Ham) and Social Darwinist notions of racial hierarchies, focused on the defense of slavery and suppression of uppity blacks. Its cruelest, most terrorist tool was the lynching. Twenty-first century racism rests on the myth of a lost golden era of white (“White”)…
counterpunch.org/2019/08/09/mass-shootin…
David Horowitz’s Hate Group, Civil War and the White House
Jonah Raskin | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-09
“People are scared and frightened. The country is on the verge of a war between people of color and law enforcement, and the White House seems to be spurring it on.” — Greg Sarris, Chairman the Federated Indians of the Graton Rancheria Last month, I wrote an article about the 1970s clandestine organization, the Weather Underground,…
counterpunch.org/2019/08/09/david-horowi…
Tweeting Publicly Available Information isn’t “Shameful and Dangerous”
Thomas Knapp | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-09
On August 5, US Representative Joaquin Castro (D-TX) posted an infographic to Twitter naming and shaming his city’s most generous supporters of President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign:…
counterpunch.org/2019/08/09/tweeting-pub…
The Global Lockdown
Ron Jacobs | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-09
When a visitor to the United States enters the airport they plan to leave from they expect to show their passport and declare their baggage. However, it used to be that most passengers expected these interactions to be conducted by customs officials only in their own country. This is often no longer the case. Instead,…
counterpunch.org/2019/08/09/the-global-l…
Where Have All The Racists Gone?
Andrew Levine | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-09
When people in his base hear Donald Trump say that he is “a very stable genius” or that he is not a racist do they believe a word of it? Or do they simply not care that he lies and spews nonsense? I am not thinking about the Trump supporters at the very bottom of…
counterpunch.org/2019/08/09/where-have-a…
Paul Krassner: Nun Smooching In America
Michael Simmons | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-09
When I was 12-years old in 1967, my father Matty Simmons published Cheetah — a slick magazine designed for what the press called “hippies.” It was a fine publication — top-shelf scribes like Tom Nolan, Robert Christgau and Ellen Willis contributed, editor Jules Siegel ran his legendary “Goodbye Surfing, Hello God” profile that announced to…
counterpunch.org/2019/08/09/paul-krassne…
Climate Crisis Means the Ruling Class has Failed. Can the Working Class Inherit the Earth?
Richard Moser | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-09
The climate crisis is proof positive that the ruling class is an utter failure — but it will not fall on its own. Can the working class rise to the challenge? It sure will help if we understand that our class interests are not merely the economic needs of working people — no matter how important…
counterpunch.org/2019/08/09/climate-cris…
The Mexican as Endangered Species
Alvaro Huerta | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-09
Mexicans have official become members of an endangered or hunted species in the U.S. (I’m not referring to our enormous demographics, as we’ll continue to multiply in el norte–where individuals of Mexican origin represent over 40 million citizens/residents–despite the racist fantasies of Donald J. Trump and his immoral ilk. Throughout the early 1800s to the…
counterpunch.org/2019/08/09/the-mexican-…
The “Trump Recovery”: Behind Right-Wing Populism’s Radical Transformation
Anthony DiMaggio | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-09
Trump’s unique brand of right-wing populism has long been sold in “mainstream” discourse via a narrative that his supporters are angry as hell over mounting personal and economic insecurity, in an age that affords fewer and fewer opportunities to the “working class.” This story was popularized in part because of Trump’s rhetoric, and because of…
counterpunch.org/2019/08/09/the-trump-re…
Democrats and the Politics of Change
Rob Urie | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-09
With the political season underway, the question of an effective politics is the subtext of the debates and speeches intended to motivate constituencies and movements. This should read as odd: in the U.S., it is the act of getting elected that defines effective politics. But as neoliberalism has crept into every aspect of modern life, elections have become an anti-politics, a way of working against the democratic will.
counterpunch.org/2019/08/09/democrats-an…
Resolving the Democrats’ Dilemma
Richard Rubenstein | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-09
When it comes to thinking about the 2020 presidential election, a dominant theme among both commentators and candidates is the “Democrats’ Dilemma”: an alleged contradiction between the party’s ideological interests and its electoral ambitions. Energized by a new crop of progressive lawmakers, the Dems are leaning left on issues ranging from “tax the rich” and…
counterpunch.org/2019/08/09/resolving-th…
Atomic Bombs Are Not Lifesavers
Timothy Braatz | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-09
One shouldn’t have to state the obvious. It is well known that two atomic detonations, in early August, 1945, killed over 100,000 Hiroshima and Nagasaki residents, revealing the unlimited human capacity for atrocity in wartime. But it seems many U.S. history teachers are still telling students that the atomic bombings somehow saved lives. Whence cometh…
counterpunch.org/2019/08/09/atomic-bombs…
Pentagon Warns of Resurgence of ISIS in Syria and Iraq
Steven Sahiounie | globalresearch.ca | 2019-08-09
A recent report issued by the U.S. Pentagon’s Inspector General warns of conditions in Syria and Iraq which potentially could allow for ISIS to spread once again. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had not read the report but recalled the …
globalresearch.ca/pentagon-warns-resurge…
Video: Syrian Army Makes Fresh Gains in Battle for Northern Hama
South Front | globalresearch.ca | 2019-08-09
On the morning of August 7, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and the Tiger Forces advanced on positions of radical militants in northwestern Hama. During the day, units of the SAA and the Tiger Forces liberated the villages of Arbeen …
globalresearch.ca/video-army-makes-fresh…
Crisis in Kyrgzyztan: Another Color Revolution or Even Civil War?
Andrew Korybko | globalresearch.ca | 2019-08-09
The historically unstable Central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan was suddenly thrown into yet another crisis after the former president and his supporters opened fire on the special forces that were dispatched to serve a warrant for his arrest on corruption …
globalresearch.ca/will-kyrgz-crisis-lead…
“Worst Year Ever”: The Chinese Ban on U.S. Agricultural Products Will be a Death Blow for Countless U.S. Farms
Michael Snyder | globalresearch.ca | 2019-08-09
U.S. farmers have never experienced a year quite like this. During the first half of 2019, endless rain and unprecedented flooding were the major problems. As a result of the incredibly wet conditions, millions of acres of prime farmland didn’t …
globalresearch.ca/chinese-ban-u-s-agricu…
US Empire: The Reality of the “Greater United States”
Makia Freeman | globalresearch.ca | 2019-08-09
The US Empire is not a term you will commonly hear when people refer to the United States of America. Nor is the Greater United States, American Empire or even just Empire. There is something of a taboo quality …
globalresearch.ca/us-empire-reality-grea…
Mobility and Maginot Lines: China Hysteria Down Under
Dr. Binoy Kampmark | globalresearch.ca | 2019-08-09
The blinkered security establishment is standard fare in politics. From Washington to Manila, we hear of terrors and concerns which tend to more spectral than not. Legitimate concerns such as catastrophic environmental failure, or a nuclear accident, are treated with …
globalresearch.ca/mobility-maginot-lines…
A Cross Taken from a Nagasaki Cathedral after the Atomic Bombing Gets Returned 74 Years Later
Matt Field | globalresearch.ca | 2019-08-09
Short on time and fuel, the crew members of the B-29 bomber Bockscar flew over Nagasaki, Japan, scanning for an opening in the clouds. They had already abandoned their initial target, the city of Kokura, due to low visibility. Over …
globalresearch.ca/cross-taken-nagasaki-c…
Will China Trigger Next Financial Tsunami?
F. William Engdahl | globalresearch.ca | 2019-08-09
With the US decision to impose added tariffs on more than $300 billion of China trade, and the US Treasury declaring China a “currency manipulator”, global financial markets have reacted with sharp selling. The question is whether this is the …
globalresearch.ca/will-china-trigger-nex…
Neoliberalism Has Met Its Match in China. We’re in a Trade and Currency War
Ellen Brown | globalresearch.ca | 2019-08-09
When the Federal Reserve cut interest rates on July 31st for the first time in more than a decade, commentators were asking why. According to official data, the economy was rebounding, unemployment was below 4%, and GDP growth was …
globalresearch.ca/neoliberalism-met-matc…
Conversations with Fidel Castro: The Dangers of a Nuclear War
Fidel Castro Ruz | globalresearch.ca | 2019-08-09
“In a nuclear war the collateral damage would be the life of humankind. Let us have the courage to proclaim that all nuclear or conventional weapons, everything that is used to make war, must disappear!” “It is about demanding that the world is not led into a nuclear catastrophe, it is to preserve life.” (Fidel Castro, 15 October 2010)…
globalresearch.ca/conversations-with-fid…
Trump Endorses Bolsonaro’s Son as Brazilian Ambassador
telesurenglish.net | 2019-08-09
The U.S. administration announced on Thursday that they have formally endorsed Eduardo Bolsonaro’s nomination to the Brazilian embassy in Washington, as reported by Folha de Sao Paulo. | RELATED: | Brazil’s Bolsonaro Calls Convicted Torturer ‘National Hero’ | “Besides being an act of nepotism, it is the appointment of someone who will lead a strategic sector of the country’s foreign relations [by assuming] a view in which Brazil must subordinate itself to the U.S. geopolitical and ec…
telesurenglish.net/news/Trump-Endorses-B…
Unions, workers, EPI back Warren bill to crack down on ‘private equity’ funds
Mark Gruenberg | peoplesworld.org | 2019-08-09
BOYNTON BEACH, Fla.–So-called “private equity” investment funds, one of the worst manifestations of anti-worker corrupt corporate capitalism, left Madelyn Garcia and her co-workers without jobs. And she came to Washington in August to help launch legislation to curb their robberies. Garcia, you see, spent 30 years at a Toys “R” Us store in Boynton Beach, …
peoplesworld.org/article/unions-workers-…
Jeremy Corbyn is at a crossroads. The decision he makes now will change everything
James Wright | thecanary.co | 2019-08-09
Jeremy Corbyn is at a crossroads. And with scientists warning we have 18 months to begin a green industrial revolution to avoid climate catastrophe, the stakes have never been higher. The decision the Labour leadership makes now will change everything. | The stakes: | Britain may be a small country, but if it elects Corbyn as the prime minister of a genuinely progressive government on the promise to deliver a green new deal, that will have global repercussions. It will be a tu…
thecanary.co/opinion/2019/08/09/jeremy-c…
Jacksonville, Florida officials move forward with electrical utility privatization plan
wsws.org | 2019-08-09
The Jacksonville Electrical Authority board has laid the groundwork for the approval of the sale of the largest public utility in the state through months of crisis mongering.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/08/09/priv…
Heroes in their Own Minds
Peter Breschard | dissidentvoice.org | 2019-08-09
There are thousands of faceless heroes out there on the Internet and on the airwaves. It’s about time they came forward and claimed the recognition they so justly deserve. These brave soldiers battle for their and others’ freedoms each and every day. When events occur which will forever justify their labors, they are all too …
dissidentvoice.org/2019/08/heroes-in-the…
Surging in Polls, Elizabeth Warren Now Has a Path to the Nomination
Ed Kilgore | commondreams.org | 2019-08-09
Elizabeth Warren, looking more and more viable. (Photo: Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/views/2019/08/09/surgin…
‘I Am My Own Mother’ shows finding birth families an awkward business
Jo Allen-Eure | peoplesworld.org | 2019-08-09
What child would not want to know their DNA origins? In the experience of adopted children, most of them do want to know, Where do I come from? That was the case with Dionne Audain, playing the part of Esther, the lead character in I Am My Own Mother, written and directed by Andrew Zox, …
peoplesworld.org/article/i-am-my-own-mot…
Australian High Court scraps free speech for workers
wsws.org | 2019-08-09
The judges’ support for the sacking of a public servant is part of an assault on free speech under conditions of escalating social, geo-strategic and war tensions.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/08/09/high…
‘Hispanic man armed with AR-15’ guns down 2 in Texas rush hour, flees as witness fires back
rt.com | 2019-08-09
A typical Houston rush hour has turned into a major gun battle after a gunman armed with a semi-automatic rifle killed two people and was forced to flee the scene when one of the witnesses opened return fire. | …
rt.com/usa/466121-texas-houston-freeway-…
Heavily-armed man in body armor arrested after casually walking into Missouri Walmart (PHOTOS)
rt.com | 2019-08-09
A man strapped with “tactical weapons,” sporting body armor and carrying 100 rounds of ammunition has been arrested at a Missouri Walmart just days after another heavily-armed man killed 22 people at a Walmart in Texas. | …
rt.com/usa/466118-walmart-armed-man-arre…
Malaysia charges 17 Goldman Sachs figures over 1MDB scandal
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2019-08-09
Malaysian prosecutors have filed criminal charges against 17 more current and former directors at three Goldman Sachs subsidiaries over their role in the alleged multibillion-dollar ransacking of state investment fund 1MDB. | Malaysian and US prosecutors allege that bond sales organised by Goldman Sachs for 1MDB provided one of the means for associates of former Malaysian leader Najib Razak to steal billions over several years from a fund that was ostensibly set up to accelerate Malaysia’s economic development. | The government filed criminal charges in December against Goldman Sachs and two former executives for…
thecanary.co/breaking-news/2019/08/09/ma…
Facebook Settlement Breaks a Record, But Not the Cycle of Exploitation
Amos Toh | progressive.org | 2019-08-09
For years, Facebook engaged in a pattern of deceptive conduct that misled users about how their data was being handled. Now, despite a $5 billion fine imposed by the U.S. government, it promises to do little to guarantee a change in behavior.
progressive.org/dispatches/facebook-sett…
How Israel’s Erasure of Palestinian History Perpetuates Occupation
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-08-09
Prof. Ilan Pappe discusses why Israel’s agency in charge of nuclear security hid documents about the Nakba, the catastrophe in which Palestinians were driven from their land in 1948, explaining that it was an effort to eliminate the Palestinian narrative…
therealnews.com/stories/how-israels-eras…
Trump’s EPA Sued for Not Banning Brain-Damaging Pesticide
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2019-08-09
Chlorpyrifos producer Dow Chemical falsely claims the pesticide “protects.” It’s been poisoning the earth and people for nearly half a century. | The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) “for a healthy planet and safer world” said Dow is the main beneficiary …
globalresearch.ca/trump-epa-sued-not-ban…
Roaming Charges: Small Stains on the Pavement
Jeffrey St. Clair | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-09
Many of the liberals talking the loudest about “white supremacy” on MSDNC have only known its privileges, thus they would have us believe white supremacy resides only in the vile minds of the KKK and Aryan Nations, instead of the racist forces operating inside the banks, the school boards, the police, the FBI, the Pentagon that degrade, impoverish and kill people every single day.
counterpunch.org/2019/08/09/roaming-char…
Example of ‘Unknown Unknowns,’ Study Detailing ‘Almost Instant Mortality of Corals’ Suggests Crisis Worse Than Previously Understood
Jessica Corbett, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-08-09
As the human-caused climate crisis drives up ocean temperatures at a rate that has scientists worried, a study published Thursday in the journal Current Biology reveals that warming waters are an even bigger threat to coral reefs than experts previously realized. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/news/2019/08/09/example…
Gaffe nucleare della Nato
Manlio Dinucci | globalresearch.ca | 2019-08-09
Che gli Stati uniti mantengano bombe nucleari in cinque paesi della Nato — Italia, Germania, Belgio, Olanda e Turchia — è provato da tempo (in particolare dalla Federazione degli scienziati americani). La Nato perà≤ non l’ha mai ammesso ufficialmente. Qualcosa …
globalresearch.ca/gaffe-nucleare-della-n…
A ‘gaffe’ nuclear da NATO
Manlio Dinucci | globalresearch.ca | 2019-08-09
Que os EUA mantém bombas nucleares em cinco países da NATO — Itália, Alemanha, Bélgica, Holanda e Turquia — está há muito comprovado (em especial pela Federaàßà£o dos Cientistas Americanos). No entanto, a NATO nunca o admitiu oficialmente. No entanto, …
globalresearch.ca/a-gaffe-nuclear-da-nat…
Is armed community self-defense the answer to white supremacist terrorism?
Joe Sims | peoplesworld.org | 2019-08-09
Trump’s hate speech and actions have resulted in horrific casualties in recent days and weeks. Violent words have begotten violent acts. Time and again, domestic terrorists have been encouraged and set loose upon the land. Grief, fear, and intimidation have followed, but so have outrage, determination, and indignation at the deliberate incitement of white supremacist …
peoplesworld.org/article/is-armed-commun…
USA Homegrown Terrorism
Edel Rodriguez | thenation.com | 2019-08-09
USA Homegrown Terrorism…
thenation.com/article/usa-homegrown-terr…
UN Human Rights Chief Condemns Trump Embargo Against Venezuela
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-08-09
| The United Nations’ high commissioner for human rights on Thursday condemned the Trump administration’s embargo against Venezuela and warned the far-reaching sanctions could deny food, medicine, and other necessities to millions of people. | “I am deeply worried about the pote…
truthout.org/articles/un-human-rights-ch…
Friday’s Daily Brief: Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Yemen food aid, IDs for Rohingya, protect fleeing Malians, Nagasaki Peace Ceremony
United Nations | un.org | 2019-08-09
Our main stories: ‘Promote’ indigenous peoples’ languages urges Guterres; WFP resumes Yemen food aid; 500,000 Rohingya ID cards issued; Malians fleeing violence need protection; Nagasaki Peace Ceremony message…
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/08/1…
UN: Global food and water crisis threatens 3 billion people
wsws.org | 2019-08-09
A new report by the United Nations warns that anthropogenic climate change, if left unchecked, will render a steadily increasing portion of Earth essentially uninhabitable.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/08/09/clim…
Turkish and Greek Cypriot leaders ready for talks with UN chief on improved relations
United Nations | un.org | 2019-08-09
Leaders of the Greek and Turkish parts of the divided island of Cyprus have agreed to meet with the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, in order to “plan the way forward”, and improve the daily lives of all Cypriots, a statement from the UN Mission in Cyprus, declared on Friday.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/08/1…
The Media Have Missed a Crucial Message of the UN’s Biodiversity Report
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-08-09
| This article was originally published by The Nation magazine and is republished here with permission. Read the full text of the author’s article here.Earlier this summer, the United Nations released a report warning of the immine…
truthout.org/articles/the-media-have-mis…
Supersizing Climate Change: U.N. Says Meat Production Destroys Land & Diminishes Key Water Sources
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-08-09
The United Nations’ top panel of climate scientists warns that humans are consuming land and water resources at an unprecedented rate, with the destructive effects of the climate crisis increasingly threatening the planet’s biodiversity and the food security of hundreds of millions of people. In its latest climate change and land special report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns that without dramatic action, extreme weather and rising temperatures will turn even more fertile land into desert, shrinking the global food supply, even as the world’s population rises to more than 7.5 billion people.
www.democracynow.org/2019/8/9/ipcc_repor…
UN food aid to Yemen will fully resume after two-month break, as Houthis ‘guarantee’ delivery
United Nations | un.org | 2019-08-09
Life-saving food aid distribution is set to resume to 850,000 people in the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, following guarantees by Houthi opposition forces that the supplies will reach those who need them most, the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/08/1…
Judiciary as Continuation of Warfare: How the West Uses Srebrenica to Implement Thought-crime Legislation
Hannes Hofbauer | globalresearch.ca | 2019-08-09
The battle over Srebrenica in the 1990s was part of the Bosnian civil war, which had been brutally waged from both the Serb and the Muslim side. To use the definition of genocide exclusively for the killing that took place | …
globalresearch.ca/judiciary-continuation…
The War on Innocence: Palestinian Children in Israeli Military Court
Ramzy Baroud | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-09
On July 29, 4-year-old Muhammad Rabi’ Elayyan was reportedly summoned for interrogation by the Israeli police in occupied Jerusalem. The news, originally reported by the Palestinian News Agency (WAFA), was later denied by the Israeli police, likely to lessen the impact of the PR disaster that followed. The Israelis are not denying the story in…
counterpunch.org/2019/08/09/the-war-on-i…
New Fears for Julian Assange
Consortiumnews | globalresearch.ca | 2019-08-09
Legendary journalist John Pilger has been to see Assange in Belmarsh Prison in London and his report is not encouraging. | Journalist John Pilger visited imprisoned WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Tuesday and has raised an alarm about Assange’s “deteriorated” health….
globalresearch.ca/new-fears-julian-assan…
Peace for Colombia
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2019-08-09
Latin American solidarity activists rallied for peace and justice in Colombia, in Sydney on August 3. | Speakers called for an end to the killings of social leaders. More than 600 social leaders, including indigenous land rights activists and human rights advocates, have been killed since 2016. | Photos and stories of many of the activists were displayed in Sydney’s iconic Circular Quay. | The action was organised by United for Colombia and included a cultural festival of music, dance, theatre and poetry. | international solidarity…
greenleft.org.au/content/peace-colombia
Socialist seminar discusses anti-capitalist solutions
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2019-08-09
Socialism. Today. was the theme of a lively day-long seminar about critical issues facing the movements for social and ecological change, hosted by the Socialist Alliance on August 4. | Extinction Rebellion and Student Strike 4 Climate activist Parker Craig said support for the September 20 student climate strike is growing, despite attempts by some school authorities to stifle it. | Maritime Union of Australia activist and author Penny McCall Howard said the recent student climate strikes had helped shift politics, including in the union movement. | She said: “We now face the task of building a class-conscious e…
greenleft.org.au/content/socialist-semin…
Coalition seeks to further unleash fossil fuel industry
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2019-08-09
Lock the Gate Alliance has warned that a recently announced federal government review of current mining assessment regulation will further reduce regional communities’ ability to fight inappropriate and unwanted resource exploitation. | Federal resources minister Matt Canavan announced at the NSW Minerals Council conference on August 5 that the government had asked the Productivity Commission to hold a 12-month review into what he thinks is the over-regulation of the resources sector. | He said there had been “far too many delays” in the approval of mining projects, singling out Adani’s contested Carmichael coal…
greenleft.org.au/content/coalition-seeks…
NSW one step closer to decriminalising abortion
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2019-08-09
“It is simple, straight forward: stay out of the lives of women”, implored one Liberal MLA as debate in the NSW Legislative Assembly on a bill to decriminalise abortion entered its second day on August 7. | Eventually, after eleven and a half hours of debate, the Reproductive Health Care Reform Bill 2019 was passed in the lower house 59 to 31 on August 8. | Speaking to Green Left Weekly the day after, NSW Greens spokesperson for women Jenny Leong said it was clear from…
greenleft.org.au/content/nsw-one-step-cl…