Jared Porter (2018-07-14). Trump's Real NATO Agenda? More Money for War. therealnews.com As prominent US media and political figures warned that he might dismantle NATO, President Trump wrapped up the summit by bragging that he had convinced allied members to spend more on the military. We speak to Bill Hartung, Director of Arms & Security Project, Center for International Policy

RT (2018-07-14). Insults, demands & advice: Trump's whirlwind European tour causes stir online. rt.com On his EU visit, US President Donald Trump lectured Germany on doing business with Russia, demanded tribute from NATO and offered advice on British politics. Many Europeans were having none of it, venting their spleen on Twitter.

amnesty.org (2018-07-14). Russia and USA must use Putin-Trump summit to show they are responsible international players. amnesty.org Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump must use their upcoming summit in Helsinki to tackle the world's most urgent human rights issues and restore their nations' credibility as responsible international players, Amnesty International said ahead of the meeting between the Russian and US presidents in Finland's capital on Monday. | The organization calls on the two leaders to put the international refugee situation and the war in Syria at the top of their agenda during the summit, as well as violations taking place in their own countries. | "Presidents Putin and Trump have been toxic for human rights. Their respective policies have resulted in broken families, children being held in cages, continuing atrocities in a prolonged war in Syria and the torture and killing of LGBTI people in Chechnya, to name just a few of the horrors that have unfolded under their watch," said…

RT (2018-07-14). Call the midwife: Maddow goes to meddling & collusion expert Nuland for tips on Trump-Putin puppetry. rt.com Rachel Maddow, the star MSNBC anchor who is obsessed with the Trump-Russia collusion conspiracy theory, found the perfect 'expert' to ask about orders Vladimir Putin might give to Donald Trump: Victoria 'F**k the EU' Nuland.

Aidan O'Brien (2018-07-13). Ireland's Intellectuals Bow to the Queen of Chaos. counterpunch.org "It is the responsibility of intellectuals to speak the truth and to expose lies." — Noam Chomsky (1967) Ireland's oldest university — Trinity College Dublin — gave Hillary Clinton an honorary doctorate in late June. It was one big love in. Clinton was paraded and praised like a people's champion. And in return Clinton fawned More

Robert Hunziker (2018-07-13). Three Climatic Monsters with Asteroid Impact. counterpunch.org Continuing from Part 1: Monster #2 Greenhouse Gases ("GHG") alter ecosystems. The biggest impact of anthropogenic GHG hits the oceans. There is no doubt about the importance of the oceans as a great sink, 2/3rds of the planet. After all, the oceans have saved humanity's butt ever since industrialization started emitting CO2 over 200 years More

Jason Ditz (2018-07-13). Trump Expects Iran To Call Him And Ask For A New Deal. iranian.com In comments on Thursday, President Trump revealed that he believes that having withdrawn from the P5+1 nuclear deal and started imposing new sanctions means Iranians are "feeling a lot of pain right now." He predicted they would have to call him and ask for a deal. Trump withdrew from the deal in May, and claims now Iranians are […]

Ilana Novick (2018-07-13). Standing Rock Activists Face Harsh Prison Sentences. truthdig.com Two years after the media left, hundreds of "water protectors" who participated in protests over the Dakota Access pipeline in North Dakota struggle to rebuild their lives.

Nick Pemberton (2018-07-13). A Letter For Scarlett JoManDaughter. counterpunch.org "She had wandered, without rule or guidance, into a moral wilderness. Her intellect and heart had their home, as it were, in desert places, where she roamed as freely as the wild Indian in his woods. The scarlet letter was her passport into regions where other women dared not tread. Shame, Despair, Solitude! These had More

Graham Peebles (2018-07-13). Education and the Mental Health Epidemic. counterpunch.org Across the western world June is exam time in secondary schools; in Britain, written tests taken halls of silence and tension have triggered a mini-epidemic of anxiety-rooted conditions. Pupils have reported mental exhaustion, panic attacks, crying, nosebleeds, sleepless nights, hair loss and outbreaks of acne. Over the past 25 years, depression and anxiety amongst teenagers More

Michelle Chen (2018-07-13). Can New York Rein in Uber? thenation.com Can New York Rein in Uber? appeared first on The Nation.

Samantha Borek (2018-07-13). Caravan of Grandmothers Heads to Mexico Border. truthout.org Tina Bernstein remembers the Birmingham Church bombings in 1963 that killed four young school girls. She remembers the fear she felt during the Cuban Missile Crisis. | "I remember nightmares of being separated from my family, unable to reach them," the Beacon, New York, resident recalls. "In recent months, those nightmares have come back… they are nightmares of losing my children and granddaughter." | When she learned about a caravan of concerned grandmothers heading to the Mexico border to deliver grandmotherly love to the migrant families there, she saw an opportunity to challenge this nightmare. | Grannies Respond/Abuelas Responden is a movement of grandmothers and their allies who have been similarly spurred to action by the humanitarian crisis unfolding on the southern border. Over six days, beginning July 31, their caravan will journey more than 2,000 miles, onboarding other "grannies" along the…

Staff (2018-07-13). McCain Calls on Trump to Confront Putin. truthdig.com Republican Sen. John McCain says if the president is not prepared to hold Putin accountable for Russian interference in the 2016 elections, the Helsinki summit should not take place.

Ed Meek (2018-07-13). Dershowitz the Sophist. counterpunch.org It's late at night, snowing and the roads are slick. You are in the back seat of a car with Alan Dershowitz. His driver is doing 65, the speed limit, and the car is having trouble holding the road. You see on your maps app, there is black ice up ahead. You ask the driver More

Chris Wright (2018-07-13). The American Oligarchy: A Review. counterpunch.org Consumers of left-wing media are well aware that America is an oligarchy, not a democracy. Everyone with a functioning cerebrum, in fact, should be aware of it by now: even mainstream political scientists recognize it, as shown by a famous 2014 study by Martin Gilens and Benjamin I. Page. Nevertheless, it is important to continue More

Manuel E. Yepe (2018-07-13). Korea After the Handshake. counterpunch.org The recent easing of tensions between North and South Korea, two countries that are still technically at war, has given new life to the debate on the unification of the two countries, which have been divided and confronted since the 1950s. In my opinion, the most favored part of the development of the events that More

Merula Furtado (2018-07-13). Armenian Youth End Soviet-Era Inertia in Velvet Revolution. truthout.org It is a rare moment for Armenia: There is a resurgence of optimism, in no small part, because of the country's youth. | This past April and May, it was the youth, under the leadership of opposition leader and journalist Nikol Pashinyan, who organized the country's Velvet Revolution. The movement developed in response to President Serzh Sargsyan's announcement that he would seek a third consecutive term as the most powerful figure in Armenia. Hundreds of thousands of citizens gathered in the capital's Republic Square, some having walked for hours from neighboring rural towns to participate. | The protests began unassumingly. Even as sizable crowds took to the streets, there still remained widespread disbelief that Sargsyan would carry through on appointing himself prime minister after having already served two presidential terms. Demonstrations began more as a fervent reaction to the audacity of the…

John Carroll Md (2018-07-13). Dispatch From Haiti: Trump and Breastfeeding. counterpunch.org When the late Dr. Paul Blough retired from his private OB-Gyn practice in Peoria, Illinois in the mid-80s, he moved to Haiti. And over the next couple of decades "Dr. Paul" delivered over 10,000 babies in Cite Soleil. I remember his eyes moistening in the delivery room of St. Catherine Laboure Hospital, when he told More

Jocelyn Dombroski (2018-07-13). Communism and Consumerism — RAI with A. Buzgalin (3/12). therealnews.com On Reality Asserts Itself, Prof. Alexander Buzgalin says that "market fetishism", the hunger for commodities, became a major obstacle to building socialism — with host Paul Jay

Kevin Zeese, Nils McCune (2018-07-13). Correcting The Record: What Is Really Happening In Nicaragua? counterpunch.org There is a great deal of false and inaccurate information about Nicaragua in the media. Even on the left some have simply repeated the dubious claims of CNN and Nicaragua's oligarchic media to support removal of President Ortega. This article seeks to correct the record, describe what is happening in Nicaragua and why. As we More

Patrick Cockburn (2018-07-13). Is ISIS About to Lose Its Last Stronghold in Syria? counterpunch.org Several hundred suicide bombers and 4,000 fighters belonging to Isis are preparing to defend Hajin in eastern Syria close to the border with Iraq. The town is the last stronghold of the Islamic State, the militarised Islamic cult that three years ago controlled territory the size of Great Britain. The struggle for Hajin comes exactly a year More

Cody Fenwick, AlterNet (2018-07-13). 12 Russian Intelligence Officers Indicted by Mueller Probe for Hacking DNC and Infiltrating State Election Databases. alternet.org The deputy attorney general held a press conference to discuss the latest developments. | Special counsel Robert Mueller's team has indicted 12 Russian intelligence officers for the hacking of the Democratic National Committee during the 2016 election, according to a briefing by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. Rosenstein noted that the people named in the indictments hacked the DNC and the chairman of Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman John Podesta. Some in the indictments also hacked into state election board databases. He also said that the intelligence officers used the data obtained in the hack to influence the election by funneling it through another party. Though that party is unnamed in the indictment, it has been widely reported that WikiLeaks was used to disseminate the hacked info. No American is indicted in the new court documents. Rosenstein also insisted that there's no evidence that the election. . .

Cody Fenwick, AlterNet (2018-07-13). 'A Moment in American History': Ex-GOP Lawmaker Argues Mueller's Latest Charges Should Make Us 'Fearful' of the President. alternet.org "We should eject Russian diplomats and we should bring our U. S. diplomats home from Russia. " | After the U. S. Justice Department announced an indictment of twelve Russian hackers involved in the Kremlin's attacks on the 2016 election, a former GOP lawmaker warned that the charges represent a landmark moment — and not in a good way. "What we saw today from [Deputy Attorney General Rod] Rosenstein is a moment in American history, and we should be unequivocal in our response," David Jolly, who served as a Florida congressman, said on MSNBC Friday. "And the president of the United States should be unequivocal. The Monday meeting should be canceled — the bilateral meeting with Putin. We should eject Russian diplomats and we should bring our U. S. diplomats home from Russia. "However, he acknowledged, there's no way Trump will do that. "The president has known for days. . .

Whitney Webb (2018-07-13). US Airstrike Kills 54 Civilians Near Abu Kamal in Push to Control Syrian Border. mintpressnews.com With the U.S. now unable to prevent Syrian government control of the Syria-Jordan border, Friday's strikes are a sign that the U.S. effort to oust the Syrian government from Abu Kamal is likely to only grow stronger as its occupation of Syrian territory faces an uncertain future.

candice (2018-07-13). Will Parents at the Border Be Forced to Separate Again to Win Asylum? truthout.org Two days after a court-imposed deadline, the Trump administration said Thursday that just 57 of more than 100 children under the age of 5 have been reunited with their parents after they were separated at the border under the "zero tolerance" policy. This comes as the Trump administration has announced a new asylum policy at the US-Mexico border, which instructs immigration officers to immediately reject asylum seekers who say they are fleeing gangs or domestic violence. We're joined by Renée Feltz, Democracy Now! correspondent and producer who has long reported on the criminalization of immigrants, family detention, and the business of detention. Her new story for The Nation, reported in partnership with The Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute, is headlined "For Some Migrant Families, a Second Separation Awaits." | TRANSCRIPT: | This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in…

Andrew Levine (2018-07-13). Tipping Points. counterpunch.org It is an axiom of American politics that there is one born every minute. Even so, it boggles the mind to think that so many Americans fell for Donald Trump's con two years ago. Many did, however, and now he is president of the United States. To be sure, it was the Electoral College, not the popular vote, that put him in office. Still, some sixty-three million Americans voted for him. More

Seth Sandronsky (2018-07-13). A Fraught Century. counterpunch.org Colonies and the political economy are two sides of the same coin. In The Apocalypse of Settler Colonialism: The Roots of Slavery, White Supremacy, and Capitalism in Seventeenth-Century North America and the Caribbean (Monthly Review Press, 2018), historian Gerald Horne reveals the actors and factors behind the origin of a racial capitalism that haunts us More…

Cody Fenwick, AlteNet (2018-07-13). 'There Are More Indictments to Come': Former Federal Prosecutor Explains What the Pattern of Mueller's Charges Shows. alternet.org He said that the investigation is following the pattern of a corruption investigation. | Special counsel Robert Mueller's indictment of 12 Russian intelligence agents involved in the 2016 election hacks and meddling represents a major development in the investigation, but it's also a sign that there's much more to come from the investigators, according to one former federal prosecutor. Glenn Kirschner said on CNN Friday that Mueller's work has proceeded in the standard fashion of RICO cases — which stands for the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. The law is designed to fight criminal organizations. "This is yet, sort of, another intermediate step," Kirschner said. "The president's lawyer can certainly say he's fully exonerated by this, but I can tell you as a career prosecutor, when we investigate and indict the larger cases, for instance, the Rico cases — racketeer influenced corrupt organization. . .

Olivia Alperstein (2018-07-13). Kavanaugh and the Supremes: It's About Much More Than Abortion. counterpunch.org President Donald Trump has nominated Judge Brett Kavanaugh to replace former Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy. Why should you care? Because everything from reproductive rights to voting, education, and health care is now at stake. Kavanaugh, a judicial ideologue committed to pulling the Court further to the right, may also reverse decades of key rulings More

Rachel Leah, Salon (2018-07-13). Watch Stephen Colbert's Hilarious Re-Enactment of FBI Agent Peter Strzok's Explosive House Hearing. alternet.org He dedicated the entire opening monologue to the battle in Congress Thursday. | Stephen Colbert isn't one for deep dives, but Thursday night on "The Late Show," the host ripped into House Republicans over the dysfunctional, combative hearing in which FBI agent Peter Strzok was questioned extensively in front of the House Judiciary Committee, with digs into both his credibility and his judgement. Colbert dedicated his entire opening monologue to the battle in Congress Thursday. "It was a parliamentary smackdown. The Capitol dome became the Thunderdome," Colbert began. "And it's all during the testimony of FBI agent and man thinking about Cold Stone Creamery, Peter Strzok. Back in 2016, Strzok was part of the FBI's investigations into both Hillary Clinton and the Trump campaign. and since then it's come out that he exchanged anti-Trump text messages with his mistress, an FBI. . .

The Conversation (2018-07-13). Here's Why The Simpsons Are Needed More Than Ever in the Age of Donald Trump. alternet.org In an era of fast news, The Simpsons' slow satire continues to reveal new truths about America. | Writing on The Conversation in 2016, Travis Holland declared that The Simpsons had lost its way. He suggested the show was living on a legacy and needed to adapt or face growing demands for its cancellation. But two years later, the show is still on air and remains loved and hated in equal measure. Questions about its continuing relevance, however, remain. Certainly, the show's audience has declined in recent years — but this is in line with a broader pattern of declining American television audiences. Increasing numbers of young people are moving away from television to streaming services and social media. But on all of these platforms, political satire remains prolific. The Simpsons remains the longest-running primetime scripted television show and. . .

Binoy Kampmark (2018-07-13). Soft Brexits and Hard Realities: The Tory Revolt. counterpunch.org It was meant to be an away day at Chequers in total hermetic isolation, an effort on the part of UK Prime Minister Theresa May to sketch some common ground in a cabinet that has struggled to agree on much regarding the imminent departure of Britain from the European Union. The clock is ticking, for More

Ramzy Baroud (2018-07-13). Europe's Iron Curtain: The Refugee Crisis is about to Worsen. counterpunch.org More>

Brian Cloughley (2018-07-13). Lessons That Should Have Been Learned From NATO's Destruction of Libya. counterpunch.org The summit meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the military alliance that is expanding its deployments of troops, combat and surveillance aircraft and missile ships around Russia's borders, took place on July 11-12 and was a farce, with Trump behaving in his usual way, insulting individuals and nations with characteristic vulgarity. More

Jeffrey St. Clair (2018-07-13). Roaming Charges: In the Land of Formula and Honey. counterpunch.org So Trump came Brussels not to kill off NATO, as both liberals and neocons feared, but to further weaponize it. He played the part of a blustery arms dealer, demanding that all NATO countries increase defense spending to 4% of GDP (double the current commitment), which would come as welcome news to Raytheon, Lockheed & Boeing. Of course, feeding defense corporations is what NATO has been about since the alliance became operationally obsolete in 1990. More

Ron Jacobs (2018-07-13). Vermont: Can It Happen Here? counterpunch.org Vermont communard and organic farmer Robert Houriet once stated that after the violence of 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago, the counterculture/new left had two possible choices—to go to Vermont or join the Weatherman organization. While Houriet's statement was certainly exaggerated in order to make a point, it was founded in a truth of the times. More

candice (2018-07-13). Activist: Piers Morgan Is Wrong for Criticizing British Anti-Trump Protests. truthout.org President Donald Trump said Friday that immigrants fleeing violence and seeking asylum in Europe are changing "the fabric of Europe. … And I don't mean that in a positive way." Trump's xenophobic comments came during a shocking interview with the Rupert Murdoch-owned British tabloid The Sun. Massive protests have greeted President Trump during his two-day trip to Britain — including a 20-foot-long giant baby Trump blimp outside Parliament. We go to the streets of London to speak with Ash Sarkar, the anti-Trump coalition organizer who confronted Piers Morgan during a "Good Morning Britain" interview Thursday that went viral. | TRANSCRIPT: | This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form. | AMY GOODMAN: We begin our show in Britain, where President Trump is meeting with Prime Minister Theresa May today, just hours after warning that a "soft Brexit"

Rob Jacobs (2018-07-13). Make America Great Again. thenation.com Make America Great Again appeared first on The Nation.

Richard Falk (2018-07-13). I Was Robert Mueller's Undergraduate Thesis Adviser—and What He Wrote Gives Some Hints About What He'll Do as Special Counsel. thenation.com I Was Robert Mueller's Undergraduate Thesis Adviser—and What He Wrote Gives Some Hints About What He'll Do as Special Counsel appeared first on The Nation.

Elliott Gabriel (2018-07-13). Walmart Hopes to Track Employees' Every Move with New Checkstand Surveillance Tech. mintpressnews.com Walmart's move is just the latest in the rolling-out of surveillance technology across workplaces in the United States, which merges the use of technology for generating metrics with spying technology that further creeps into the lives of already hard-pressed, cash-strapped workers.

Cody Fenwick, AlterNet (2018-07-13). 'It's Not a Joke': CNN's Jake Tapper Breaks Down Mueller's Bombshell Indictments — And What It Means for Trump. alternet.org Twelve intelligence officers were charged for their involvement in 2016 election meddling. | CNN's Jake Tapper explained why the bombshell indictments from special counsel Robert Mueller on Friday were such a significant development in the 2016 election interference case, calling it a "remarkable turn of events. "Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announced that Mueller's team has indicted 12 Russian intelligence officials for the hack of Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman John Podesta. "It comes just hours after President Trump referred to the Mueller probe, again, as a witch hunt, and just a few days before his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin," Tapper said. "The president has said he will bring up the election meddling of 2016, but he has. . . said it in terms of almost as if he's going to reluctantly bring it up. "He continued:. . .

Staff (2018-07-13). 132 Die in Pakistan Election Violence Ahead of Sharif Return. truthdig.com The deadliest attacks in Pakistan's troubled election campaign occurred Friday, hours before former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif returned to face a 10-year prison sentence on corruption charges.

Whitney Webb (2018-07-13). After Trump Pushed NATO Members to Spend More, Lockheed Doubles Production as Orders "Explode" mintpressnews.com The precipitous increase in Lockheed missile sales comes after the launch of Trump's "Buy American" weapons-selling initiative to foreign allies, as well as his efforts to rewrite U.S. policy and regulations in order to make it easier to export more military-grade weapons.

Christopher Brauchli (2018-07-13). The Defenestration of Scott Pruitt. counterpunch.org It was such a nicely written letter, beautifully typed, and of impeccable logic. In it Scott Pruitt explained why he resigned, and it had nothing to do with his behavior while serving as Administrator of the EPA. In the second sentence of his letter of resignation he said, in what was probably an unintentional but More

CounterSpin (2018-07-13). Jacinta Gonzalez on Immigration Rights, Jocelyn McCalla on Haiti Uprising. fair.org Media…

Hezvo Mpunga (2018-07-13). The History of American Resistance. therealnews.com On the Marc Steiner Show, Marc talks to Jeff Biggers, author of the new book Resistance: Reclaiming An American Tradition, about the American history of uprisings from Thomas Paine to Black Lives Matter

Joseph Grosso (2018-07-13). The Invisible Class: Workers in America. counterpunch.org How much more lucid would American politics be if the term 'working class' entered and remained in the everyday lexicon? After all, could there be a more fitting concept in an economy where the five largest private employers are currently Wal-Mart, Amazon, Kroger, Yum! Brands (the corporation that operates Taco Bell, KFC, and Pizza Hut), More

Lynn Parramore, Institute for New Economic Thinking (2018-07-13). Was Martin Luther King a Socialist? alternet.org He actually addressed the issue head-on. | "The Millennial socialists are coming," declared a June 30 New York Times headline, describing a surprise surge of young female candidates endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America who beat their establishment opponents in primary races in New York and Pennsylvania. No longer is being a socialist considered scary — at least if you came of age after the Fall of the Wall. For many, it's a breath of fresh air. Martin Luther King, Jr. , if he were around today, would likely be smiling. The image of the handsome, be-suited King, looking like a middle-class messenger of the American Dream as he mesmerized the masses on the steps of the Lincoln memorial with his famous "I Have a Dream" speech, has been embraced by everyone from Coca-Cola executives to Donald Trump. It's part of America's cultural. . .

Staff (2018-07-13). Papa John's to Pull Founder's Image From Its Marketing. truthdig.com NEW YORK—Papa John's, which has featured founder John Schnatter in logos and TV ads, is pulling his image from its marketing after reports he used a racial slur. | His face was off at least some materials by late morning Friday, though the company said the details and exact timing for everything were still being worked out. The pizza chain said Friday there are no plans to change its name. | Schnatter has long been the face of the brand, and Papa John's has acknowledged in regulatory filings that its business could be hurt if Schnatter's reputation was damaged. Papa John's got a taste of that last year, when Schnatter stepped down as CEO after blaming disappointing pizza sales on the outcry surrounding football players kneeling during the national anthem. | This week, Papa John's was already trying to further publicly distance itself…

Patricia J. Williams (2018-07-13). Judge Kavanaugh: An Originalist With a New—and Terrifying—Interpretation of Executive Power. thenation.com Judge Kavanaugh: An Originalist With a New—and Terrifying—Interpretation of Executive Power appeared first on The Nation.

Paul Street (2018-07-13). Time to Stop Playing "Simon Says" with James Madison and Alexander Hamilton. counterpunch.org As the United States' depressed, distracted, disorganized, and demobilized populace watches the vicious white-nationalist and authoritarian Donald Trump and the arch-reactionary Republican Party craft a Supreme Court yet further to the right of majority public opinion, the worst of the nation's slave-owning Founders might just be heard chuckling in their graves. More

Marilyn Garson (2018-07-13). Netanyahu's War on Transcendence. counterpunch.org Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has closed the only crossing point for commercial goods to enter and leave the Gaza Strip. He is unhappy that Palestinian protestors have deployed incendiary kites. Rather than address the illegal blockade which gave rise to the protests, Netanyahu has decreed that Gazan Palestinians will be permitted no trade, no shops More

Lauren Walker (2018-07-13). Backfire. truthout.org Thanks to Trump's wildfire tariffs, an iconic American brand is moving jobs overseas.

Saurav Sarkar (2018-07-13). I Got Arrested This Summer (and So Should You). counterpunch.org In his famous essay "On Civil Disobedience," Henry David Thoreau explained why he went to jail in 1846. He said he refused to pay taxes to a government that was pursuing the extension of slavery. To support such a government, Thoreau argued, was to be complicit in its worst deeds. With this essay, Thoreau helped More

Ken Levy (2018-07-13). The McConnell Rule: Nasty, Brutish, and Unconstitutional. counterpunch.org On Feb. 13, 2016, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced what is now referred to as the "McConnell Rule": "The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice." Between mid-February 2016 and mid-January 2017, McConnell used this rule to deny Pres. Obama's SCOTUS nominee, Judge Merrick Garland, the More

Bob Lord (2018-07-13). How to Level the Playing Field for Workers in a Time of Waning Union Power. counterpunch.org The Supreme Court's decision in Janus vs. AFSCME dealt organized labor, already on its heels, a crushing blow. Public employees who choose not to join unions now cannot be required to pay so-called "fair share" fees to compensate unions for the cost of representing them in wage and benefit negotiations. With only 6.5 percent of More

Howard Lisnoff (2018-07-13). Liberal Massachusetts and Recreational Marijuana. counterpunch.org Seeing recreational marijuana come to fruition in Massachusetts is like watching the actors in Luis Bunuel's movie The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie repeatedly walking along the same road without reaching any destination. In 2016, Massachusetts residents voted overwhelmingly for the ballot initiative—Question 4—to make marijuana available for recreational use to those 18 years old and older. More

candice (2018-07-13). Exploiting Pensions, Wall Street Cost Taxpayers $624 Billion Over Last Decade. truthout.org In a frenzied bid for higher profits in the decade following the 2008 financial crisis, Wall Street pension fund managers have siphoned as much as $624 billion from Americans' retirement savings — and, as a direct result, taxpayer coffers — through a vicious combination of high fees and foolish investment strategies, according to an analysis published Thursday by Yahoo Finance. | The steepest costs to taxpayers have stemmed from Wall Street pension managers' commitment to so-called alternative funds, which invest in private equity and hedge funds rather than traditional stocks and bonds. | "The total amount pension funds could have saved by simply investing in index funds could be more than $1 trillion," notes Yahoo Finance reporter Dion Rabouin. "Because pensions are guaranteed, the underperformance has hit taxpayers in the form of budget cuts for schools, hospitals, and libraries…

Winslow Myers (2018-07-13). President Trump's Useful Idiocy. counterpunch.org Though the president still has many supporters, there is a growing consensus, especially as the Trump-initiated trade war heats up, that he does not have their best interests in mind, never mind the best interests of the nation as a whole. While I think I understand why so many people voted for Trump, my sympathy More

Chris Sosa, AlterNet (2018-07-13). 'To Call Her Dishonest Is Unfair': Fox News Reporter Condemns Trump for Attacking NBC Colleague and CNN. alternet.org He directly condemned the president's use of the term "fake news" to inaccurately denigrate coverage he doesn't like. | Fox News chief White House correspondent John Roberts criticized President Donald Trump on Friday for calling competing networks dishonest and 'fake news' during a U. K. press conference. He directly condemned the president's use of the term "fake news" to inaccurately denigrate coverage he doesn't like. "Something happened at the press conference that I think needs addressing. The president called out one of my colleagues Kristen Welker of NBC as dishonest and said that NBC New was dishonest. He also called out CNN as not a real network: "'fake news,'" Roberts said. "I know Kristen Wwlker. She's a friend of mine. She's as honest as the day is long. To call her dishonest is unfair. "Roberts also referenced his own previous role at CNN. "I used to work. . .

Mike Lux (2018-07-13). Left Politics Can Win All Over the Country. thenation.com Left Politics Can Win All Over the Country appeared first on The Nation.

Cody Fenwick, AlterNet (2018-07-13). 'No, Goodbye!': Newt Gingrich Shamefully Dodges When Asked to Apologize for Debunked and Harmful Seth Rich Conspiracy Theory. alternet.org Fox News pushed the theory, despite the family's objections. | Former Speaker of the House and Fox News pundit Newt Gingrich was among those on the right pushing a wild conspiracy theory that a slain Democratic National Committee staffer was involved in the hacking of the organization's emails during the 2016 campaign. With the release of a new Justice Department indictment of 12 Russian intelligence officers who are now charged with the attack, CNN reporter Oliver Darcy wanted to know if Gingrich to reflect on the new evidence. Observers had long noted that the Seth Rich conspiracy theory was based on wild speculation with little regard for the facts, and Friday's indictment shows decisively that top law enforcement officials and a grand jury believe the Russian government is responsible for the cyberattack. "In light of the Mueller indictments, I called @newtgingrich

candice (2018-07-13). Donald Trump Threatens Theresa May as Republicans Stage Peter Strzok Circus. truthout.org After all the fireworks at the NATO meeting on Wednesday, I assumed they would wind down on Thursday and President Trump would head off to jolly old England with a smile on his face for a nice visit with the queen and a few rounds of golf in Scotland. By acting like an unpredictable imbecile he had made his point: He's got the biggest swinging hands in the free world and there's nothing these pipsqueak allies can do about it. | Unfortunately, Trump wasn't finished. He showed up late for another meeting, took it over and started browbeating everyone again about spending and trade, demanding they embark on a massive military buildup and insisting they spend that money on American equipment because it's the best. Then he held a press conference and, much like the one he held after his Singapore pageant with…

Jared Porter (2018-07-13). New U.S. Sanctions Fuel Protests and Economic Mayhem in Iran. therealnews.com New U.S. sanctions on Iran, combined with secondary sanctions and withdrawal from the JCPOA, are having a profound effect on the Iranian economy. Dr. Ali Fathollah-Nejad, Visting Fellow at the Brookings Doha Center, says a combination of internal and external factors are driving the downturn

The Conversation (2018-07-13). Here's Why Emmett Till's Life Remains Relevant Today. alternet.org The Till case continues to resonate with audiences around the world because the case represents an egregious case of justice denied. | The U. S. federal government is again investigating the case of Emmett Till's murder, the Department of Justice has announced, bringing optimism that some measure of justice might ultimately prevail. Nearly 63 years after he was kidnapped, brutally tortured, murdered and then dumped into the Tallahatchie River in Mississippi, the Till case continues to resonate with audiences around the world because the case represents an egregious case of justice denied. As an historian of the Mississippi civil rights movements, I quickly learned that most Mississippi civil rights history leads back to the widespread outrage over the Till case in the summer of 1955. Emmett in MoneyFourteen-year-old Emmett arrived in Mississippi on Aug. 20, 1955 from Chicago to visit his mother's family, who. . .

Victoria Law (2018-07-13). 'As Long As Solitary Exists, They Will Find a Way to Use It'. thenation.com 'As Long As Solitary Exists, They Will Find a Way to Use It' appeared first on The Nation.

Ralph Nader (2018-07-13). Universal Voting Dissolves the Obstacles Facing Voters. counterpunch.org When will the authoritarians and their political henchmen stop harassing American voters and let all citizens vote? No other Western country comes close to imposing so many obstructions for certain categories of people to keep them from the voting booth. In Canada, England, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, it is very easy to vote. Voter More

David Yearsley (2018-07-13). Ducks and Études. counterpunch.org In early 1746 the parfumier and glovemaker Pierre Dumoulin left his native Lyon and headed north towards Germany, on his way to foreign lands to exhibit three remarkable objects constructed by the celebrated maker of automata, Jacques de Vaucanson. This unlikely trio was made up of two robotic musicians and a mechanical duck. One musical More

Chris Sosa, AlterNet (2018-07-13). U.S. Congressional Candidate Solicited Stolen Documents from Russians: Mueller Indictment. alternet.org See the portion of the indictment containing the explosive claim. | According to the indictment of 12 Russian intelligence officers released by the office of special counsel Robert Mueller on Friday, a U. S. congressional candidate solicited stolen documents from "Gucifer 2. 0," an account run by Russian intelligence forces. "On or about Aug 15, 2016, the Conspirators, posing as Guccifer 2. 0, received a request for stolen docs from a candidate for U. S. Congress," the indictment reads. "The Conspirators responded using the Guccifer 2. 0 persona and sent the candidate stolen docs related to the candidate's opponent. "The candidate has not yet been publicly identified. See the portion of the indictment containing the explosive claim below. 43. a "On or about Aug 15, 2016, the Conspirators, posing as Guccifer 2. 0, received a request for stolen docs from a candidate for U. S. Congress. The Conspirators responded using the Guccifer 2. 0 persona. . .

Jared Porter (2018-07-13). President's UK Visit 'An Opportunity for British People to Unite' Against Trump. therealnews.com President Trump's visit to the UK caused important upheavals both in British politics and society, when over 250,000 took to the streets against his visit. Thomas Barlow, of Real Media, talks about the visit's impact

Louis Proyect (2018-07-13). Survival of the Fittest in the London Underground. counterpunch.org The name Tony McKenna might ring a bell with CounterPunch readers since he has written a number of very informative articles here over the years, the most recent being one on "Trump, Obama and the Nature of Fascism". When I learned that he had written a novel titled "The Dying Light", I requested a review More

Hezvo Mpunga (2018-07-13). Has Mueller Caught the Hackers? therealnews.com Special Counsel Robert Mueller has indicted 12 officials with the GRU, Russia's main foreign intelligence agency, for allegedly meddling in the 2016 election, including hacking Democratic Party emails. Case closed? Author and investigative journalist Michael Isikoff of Yahoo News joins TRNN's Aaron Mate to discuss

Robert Fisk (2018-07-13). Will Those Killed by NATO 19 Years Ago in Serbia Ever Get Justice? counterpunch.org The bridge is new, of course. And of the shrapnel and blood we found here 19 years ago — and the bicycle draped with human remains and the decapitated priest — there is little trace. Sanja Milenkovic, the 15-year old girl and potential mathematics genius who died when Nato returned to bomb the narrow, crowded bridge a More

Robert Kosuth (2018-07-13). Militarized Nationalism: Pernicious and Pervasive. counterpunch.org I live in Duluth, Minnesota, a medium-sized city in what's considered to be the most "progressive" congressional district in maybe the only "liberal" state in the Midwest. Yet this scenic, quiet city on the shores of Lake Superior is a case study in how classic feel-good American liberalism can coexist with an undercurrent of militaristic More

Cody Fenwick, AlterNet (2018-07-13). Conservative Writer George Will Scorches the Entire GOP: 'There's One Republican Leader and the Rest Are Followers'. alternet.org Trump has subsumed the entire party. | The Republican Party once positioned itself as the party that was strong against foreign adversaries — including Russia in particular. But those days, since the rise of President Donald Trump, are over. Conservative writer George Will made the point succinctly Friday on MSNBC's "Meet the Press with Chuck Todd. " On a panel discussion about the recent indictments of 12 Russian intelligence officers interfering in the 2016 election and Trump's upcoming one-on-one meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the group wondered where the usual Russia hawks in the GOP had disappeared to. "We need American leadership to step up and say, 'Not on our watch. You will feel the blow of the American people if something happens," said Maria Teresa Kumar, the CEO of Voto Latino. "This is not in President Trump's DNA, but why aren't more Republicans telling. . .

Brad Reed, Raw Story (2018-07-13). Jill Stein Is Using the 2016 Election 'Recount' Money She Solicited to Pay for Her Russia-related Legal Bills. alternet.org She originally tried to reassure her donors that their money would still be well spent by promising to give them a say in how it got used. | Former Green Party presidential nominee Jill Stein raised millions of dollars in 2016 to pay for a recount after the electoral victory of President Donald Trump. However, Stein's fundraising for the recount significantly exceeded what was actually needed to pay for it — and she tried to reassure her donors that their money would still be well spent by promising to give them a say in how it got used. However, the Daily Beast reports that Stein has so far not kept that promise and is instead using money raised from her "recount" campaign to pay for legal bills related to investigations into her possible contacts with Russia. "In June, The Daily Beast reported that. . .

Christine Cave, Aeon (2018-07-13). Did Everyone Actually Die Young in Ancient Societies? alternet.org Our ideas are often based on myth. | You might have seen the cartoon: two cavemen sitting outside their cave knapping stone tools. One says to the other: 'Something's just not right — our air is clean, our water is pure, we all get plenty of exercise, everything we eat is organic and free-range, and yet nobody lives past 30. 'This cartoon reflects a very common view of ancient lifespans, but it is based on a myth. People in the past were not all dead by 30. Ancient documents confirm this. In the 24th century BCE, the Egyptian Vizier Ptahhotep wrote verses about the disintegrations of old age. The ancient Greeks classed old age among the divine curses, and their tombstones attest to survival well past 80 years. Ancient artworks and figurines also depict elderly people: stooped, flabby, wrinkled. This is not the only. . .

David Rosen (2018-07-13). The New McCarthyism: Is the Electric Chair Next for the Left? counterpunch.org In a recent piece for CounterPunch, Melvin Goodman invoked the memory of Sen. Joseph McCarthy as a jumping-off point for a critique of the political situation in the era of Trump & company. He wrote, "it is no surprise that the past 17 years of warfare have been accompanied by a series of lost liberties; a revival More

Samantha Borek (2018-07-13). Bradley Foundation Funds Web of Climate Change Deniers. truthout.org Bradley Foundation internal documents reviewed by the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) reveal a concerted effort by the organization to delegitimize climate science, while promoting fossil fuel energy development in the United States. | An analysis of Bradley's climate-related activities shows that the foundation has made significant grants to support energy policy think tanks, attack-dog groups that target environmentalists, and efforts to discredit climate science. | A 2013 internal foundation document details how Bradley "instructed staff to explore options…to make more energy-related grants." The document also notes that the Board gave a "terminal grant" of $263,591 to the Sand County Foundation (SCF), which previously administered the Bradley Fund for the Environment. | The documents do not reveal Bradley's motivation in splitting from SCF, but they do outline a serious effort to promote fossil fuel industry interests at the expense of the environment.

Michael Collins (2018-07-13). The Affirmative Action Silo. counterpunch.org One of the hidden sources of division in the United States is the conceptual silo: the habits of thought, jurisprudence and reporting that segregates issues that feed on each other into separate debates, news reports and court cases. The segregation of debates and decisions about affirmative action, on the one hand, and mass incarceration, on More

Jacob Sugarman (2018-07-13). Trump Weighs Drastic Measure to Lower Gas Prices Ahead of Midterms. truthdig.com Less than four months from the midterm elections, the Democratic Party enjoys an eight-point lead in a generic congressional vote, and Donald Trump's approval rating hovers around 42 percent, according to FiveThirtyEight's weighted polling average. Meanwhile, the average price of unleaded gasoline sits at $2.89 per gallon, up 63 cents from one year ago. Now the Trump administration is considering tapping into the country's strategic reserve of crude oil to prevent those numbers from rising any higher before November. | "No decision has been made to release crude from the 660-million-barrel stockpile, known as the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, but options under review range from a 5-million-barrel test sale to a larger release of 30 million barrels, said the people who requested anonymity to discuss non-public deliberations," reports Bloomberg's Ari Natter. "An even larger release is possible if it were to be…

Janine Jackson (2018-07-13). 'It Is Really Crucial That People Stand Up for What They Believe In'. fair.org On its July 6, 2018, episode, CounterSpin reaired Janine Jackson's interview with Mara Verheyden-Hilliard about the right to protest, originally heard on the July 14, 2017, broadcast. This is a lightly edited transcript. | Media…

Robert Reich (2018-07-13). 4 Ways to Combat Trump's Endless Mendacity. truthdig.com As the political season heats up, the president is ramping up his lies through his three amplifiers, Fox News, rallies and Twitter. But there are methods for countering him.

Juan Cole (2018-07-13). Trump Threatens Iran With "Escalation;" Could it Spin Out Of Control? iranian.com Both Trump and his hyperactive but ineffectual secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, ratcheted up their rhetoric on Iran on Thursday. In fact, Pompeo has been more or less threatening acts of war for the past week. Trump said at a NATO news conference, "I would say there might be an escalation between us and the […]

John Nichols (2018-07-13). Jamie Raskin Just Delivered a Devastating Takedown of GOP Hypocrisy. thenation.com Jamie Raskin Just Delivered a Devastating Takedown of GOP Hypocrisy appeared first on The Nation.

Kweli Nzito (2018-07-13). Imperial Gangster Nations: Peddling "Democracy" and Other Goodies to the Untutored. counterpunch.org Gangsters are adept at convincing you of your binding need for their protection, to guard against impending perils — largely of their own creation. The fee for this unsolicited service is that it must be reimbursed in recurrent fashion. This mobster tactic has become the preferred model of economic relationships between imperial financial institutions and the More

Alex Henderson, AlterNet (2018-07-13). Healthy Eating During a Trade War: Here's How Trump's Reckless Foreign Policy Could Squeeze the Poor Even More. alternet.org Eating healthy could become even more cost-prohibitive for America's poor and lower-middle classes in a trade war. | Eating a healthy diet on a budget is not impossible in the United States, but it's certainly challenging—especially if one lives in a food desert where fresh produce is hard to come by. Sadly, fresh fruits and vegetables can be more costly than unhealthy processed foods, which is one of the reasons why America's poor are more likely to become obese or suffer from diabetes, heart disease, cancer and other chronic diseases. And if President Trump gets the U. S. into a series of trade wars—which is looking more and more like a strong possibility—eating healthy could become even more cost-prohibitive for America's poor and lower-middle classes. The aggressive hyper-nationalism that Trump has championed as president is alienating some of the U. S. 's closest friends and allies—even. . .

Kim C. Domenico (2018-07-13). Outing the Dark Beast Hiding Behind Liberal Hope. counterpunch.org By doing what had to be done (disobey) in the only way it could be done (collectively) survivors kept their social being, and therefore their essential humanity, intact. — Terrence Des Pres, The Survivor: An Anatomy of Life In the Death Camps(1976) "White liberals are not seeking justice…they're seeking absolution. Anything that absolves them of More

Thomas Knapp (2018-07-13). Helsinki: How About a Fresh START? counterpunch.org As US President Donald Trump heads to Helsinki for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump's critics continue to inveigh against what they consider an illicitly close relationship between the two, a perspective stemming from the "Russiagate" scandal drummed up by supporters of Hillary Clinton to explain her defeat in the 2016 presidential election. More

Ike Nahem (2018-07-13). Trump, Trade Wars, and the Class Struggle. counterpunch.org All fixed, fast-frozen relations, with their train of ancient and venerable prejudices and opinions, are swept away, all new-formed ones become antiquated before they can ossify. All that is solid melts into air, all that is holy is profaned, and [humans are] at last compelled to face with sober senses [our] real conditions of life, More

Dave Zirin (2018-07-13). Pro Wrestler Sami Zayn Aims to Save Lives In Syria. thenation.com Pro Wrestler Sami Zayn Aims to Save Lives In Syria appeared first on The Nation.

David Badash, The New Civil Rights Movement (2018-07-13). These 6 Crucial Details in Mueller's Latest Indictments Show There Are Many Shoes Left to Drop. alternet.org This is a major development in the case. | Friday afternoon Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein unveiled that Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe has just led to a grand jury indicting 12 Russian government officials for criminal hacking related to the 2016 presidential election. They successfully hacked the Democratic National Committee, the Hillary Clinton campaign, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, various state government offices and the election systems of several states. 500,000 voters' data was accessed, according to Rosenstein. The indictment itself, which can be read via the Dept. of Justice website, makes even more stunning revelations, like these: On July 27, 2016, then-candidate Trump made his now-infamous and very public request to hack Hillary Clinton's email accounts: "Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing. "Via the indictment, the Russian officials that same evening. . .

CP Editor (2018-07-13). Please Support Palestine Chronicle. counterpunch.org DONATE TODAY

Mark Gruenberg (2018-07-13). Trump executive order lets bosses bully federal workers. peoplesworld.org PHILADELPHIA—Is your boss a bully? That occurs often in private companies, less so in governments—and when the union is there, it can defend you. Not anymore at the Social Security Administration, says Berri Sue Bryant, president of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 2908 in Philadelphia, who represents the workers there. "Our workers have been serving the […]…

Lornet Turnbull, Yes! Magazine (2018-07-13). A Caravan of Grandmas Are Headed to the Mexican Border to Support Immigrant Families. alternet.org The idea of the cross-country journey spread in much the way other movements have, taking root on social media and growing from there. | Tina Bernstein remembers the Birmingham Church bombings in 1963 that killed four young school girls. She remembers the fear she felt during the Cuban Missile Crisis. "I remember nightmares of being separated from my family, unable to reach them," the Beacon, New York, resident recalls. "In recent months, those nightmares have come back. . . they are nightmares of losing my children and granddaughter. "When she learned about a caravan of concerned grandmothers heading to the Mexico border to deliver grandmotherly love to the migrant families there, she saw an opportunity to challenge this nightmare. Grannies Respond/Abuelas Responden is a movement of grandmothers and their allies who have been similarly spurred to action by the humanitarian crisis unfolding on the southern. . .

Rebecca Buckwalter-Poza, Daily Kos (2018-07-13). This Disgusting Scheme to Enrich Cops by Starving Prisoners May Soon Be Scuttled. alternet.org Alabama's sheriffs have been getting rich off of prisoners for decades thanks to pre-World War II statutory language. | Alabama's sheriffs have been getting rich off of prisoners for decades thanks to purportedly ambiguous pre-World War II statutory language that lets them keep "excess" food funds. With that distorted incentive to keep expenditures low, sheriffs have been subjecting prisoners to sustenance that ranges from unappetizing to inadequate to unsafe. Now, Republican Gov. Kay Ivey is trying to put a stop to that practice with a memo to the state comptroller. "Public funds should be used for public purposes—it's that simple," Ivey said. Ivey's memo was likely inspired by the Southern Center for Human Rights's move to gather information about the sheriffs' use of funds and develop a legal challenge. They have a strong argument, after all: "This archaic system. . .

Hezvo Mpunga (2018-07-13). The Baltimore Bureau Podcast Show: July 13, 2018. therealnews.com This Friday the 13th, Dharna and Khalilah discuss residents' and the City Council's resistance to both Baltimore Police Department and ICE

Ajamu Baraka (2018-07-13). Cultural and Ideological Struggle in the US: a Final Comment on Ocasio-Cortez. counterpunch.org There is no question that there is an acute, ongoing social, political, and economic crisis in the United States and the colonial/capitalist world. Liberal democracy along with the institutions and ideological justifications for the neoliberal order are under tremendous strain in the U.S. In the cultural and ideological sphere commonsense assumptions that provided meaning and More

Staff (2018-07-13). 12 Russians Accused of Hacking DNC and Hillary Clinton During 2016 Elections. truthdig.com WASHINGTON — Twelve Russian intelligence officers hacked into the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton presidential campaign in the run-up to the 2016 election and released tens of thousands of stolen communications in a brazen effort by a foreign government to meddle in U.S. politics, according to a grand jury indictment announced Friday. | The indictment stands as the clearest Justice Department allegation yet of Russian efforts to interfere, through illegal hacking, in the U.S. presidential election before Americans went to the polls — and the first to implicate the Russian government directly. It had been sought by special counsel Robert Mueller and comes days before President Donald Trump holds a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. | U.S. intelligence agencies have said the meddling was aimed at helping the Trump campaign and harming the election bid of his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton.

Kim Ives (2018-07-13). Haiti's Popular Uprising Calls for President Jovenel MoàØse's Removal. counterpunch.org Haiti exploded this past week in a nationwide uprising whose watchwords are "nou bouke," meaning "we are fed up" in Kreyà≤l. Like a volcano, the explosion of anger and violence was building up over the past 17 months of President Jovenel MoàØse's rule, which has been characterized by corruption, waste, double-talk, repression, and subservience to More