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APRIL 1 THROUGH 10

APRIL 10, 2019

Was Ending the Draft a Grave Mistake?  TruthDig  

Can the Military Be Reformed?  CounterPunch  

'Unprecedented': UN Finds US-Backed Forces Killed More Afghan Civilians Than Taliban and ISIS Did So Far in 2019. ... "A shocking number of civilians continue to be killed and maimed each day."  CommonDreams  

Trump and the Global Rise of the Christian Right. ...  He and his wife have made sure to alert the press on the few times he does attend services, for instance on Christmas and St. Patrick’s Day. Otherwise, the president seems to worship regularly only at the Church of the Hole in One.  CounterPunch    Related: Trump-linked Christian fundamentalists are pouring dark money into Europe, boosting the far right. ... The rise of far-right movements in Europe aligns with a significant increase over the last five years in spending by Christian groups here in the United States.  Nation of Change  

CLICK BAIT

A Bold Stance: The U.S. Army Is Angrily Tweeting How It’s Total Bullshit That 12-Year-Olds Are Basically Considered Adults On Advil Directions But Not During Wartime.  > Go  

Netanyahu Vows To Clog The Rivers With Skulls Of His Enemies In Last-Minute Push To Win Over Undecided Voters.   > Go  

Trump Boys Defend Sending Saudi Arabia Plans For Cool Missile On Personal Etch A Sketch.  >  Go

Catholic Bishops Fund Anti-Choice ‘Clinics’ Set to Receive Trump Title X Funding, ,,, The Trump administration is funneling $5.1 million in federal Title X family planning funding to a chain of faith-based anti-abortion medical clinics called Obria. Turns out that the Catholic Church has funded them too. Guardian  

Wall Street loves socialism for bankers – but not for ordinary people. ... JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon decries socialism. Unless of course it’s the banks that need a government bailout.  Guardian  

The Political Left is Bigger Than Imagined: Ask the Feds.  CounterPunch  

The Only Way White Supremacy Is Defeated.... The election of Donald Trump has emboldened white supremacists across the country.  TruthDig  

A Cliff Note’s version of what Mueller found.MadCow 

Weaponized Social Media Is Driving the Explosion of Fascism.  TruthOut  

APRIL 9, 2019

Reckoning With Failure in the War on Terror. ... The misguided interventions by the national security apparatus have resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths, over 5 million desperate refugees fleeing to Europe, the destruction of entire cities, the squandering of some $5 trillion of U.S. taxpayer money, rampant corruption and criminality. The mandarins of national security, rather than blunt the rise of radical jihadism, have ensured its spread across the globe.  TruthDig/Hedges  

As Black Activists Protested Police Killings, Homeland Security Worried They Might Join ISIS.  Intercept   

Trump Homeland Security Official Suggested Antifascists Were ‘The Actual Threats’ ... Here’s what Katie Gorka has been up to at work.  HuffPost  

US revokes ICC prosecutor's visa over Afghanistan inquiry. ... Fatou Bensouda wants to open investigation into alleged war crimes, including by US troops.  Guardian     Related:  'Shameful': Trump Admin Revokes ICC Prosecutor's Visa Over Probe of Potential US War Crimes in Afghanistan. ... Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda's office said she will continue her work for the Hague-based tribunal "without fear or favor."  CommonDreams  

JULIAN ASSANGE UPDATE

On the Pavement with Wikileaks. ... Plainly Julian’s position within the Embassy has deteriorated fundamentally, to the extent he is now treated openly as a closely guarded prisoner.  Craig Murray 

The Guardian view on Julian Assange: it would be wrong to extradite him. ... The WikiLeaks founder has been in Ecuador’s embassy in London since 2012. Clear judgment will be required if he now leaves his self-imposed retreat.  Guardian  

UK Should Reject Extraditing Julian Assange to US.  ... Faces Possible Indictment under Outdated Espionage Act.  HRW  

Supporters gather after reports Assange may be ousted from embassy. ... Fears that WikiLeaks founder will be extradited to the US if he leaves London embassy.   Guardian    

Julian Assange: Socialists and Liberals Must Now Choose Their Side.  Craig Murray  


VIDEO: Honduras has an actual dictatorship and humanitarian crisis – Thanks to a US-backed coup.  GrayZone   

Here’s how charter schools are scamming the US government.  AlterNet   

With Middle Eastern Allies Like These. ... Pop quiz: name the two largest (by far) recipients of U.S. foreign military aid and one other country which recently negotiated the biggest American arms sale deal in world history.  TruthDig   

Students charged for border patrol protest speak out: 'I'm afraid to go to class'.  ...  University of Arizona students say they’ve been harassed and subjected to violent threats.  Guardian    Related:  University of Arizona students to face criminal charges for protesting campus CBP event.  ...  They face up to six months in jail.  ThinkProgress  

APRIL 8, 2019

The CIA: Surprise, Kill, Vanish.  CounterPunch

US Capitalism Was Born in the Destruction of the Commons.  TruthOut  

Amid Blackouts and Food Shortages, Pence Unveils New Sanctions Targeting Venezuelan Oil Exports to Cuba.  CommonDreams  

ISRAEL ELECTION

In Dramatic Shift, Netanyahu Vows To Annex West Bank Settlements If Re-Elected. ... The policy shift is apparently aimed at rallying Netanyahu’s nationalist base in the final stretch of the tight Israeli Prime Minister race.  HuffPost   

Ehud Barak Warns: Israel Faces 'Slippery Slope' Toward Apartheid. ... If Israel keeps controlling Palestinians, 'inevitable' result will be 'either non-Jewish or non-democratic' state, former Israeli PM tells Conflict Zone's Tim Sebastian in Deutsche Welle TV interview.  Haaretz    

Netanyahu vows to annex Jewish settlements in occupied West Bank. ... Israeli prime minister’s pledge seen as a rallying call in tight election race.  Guardian  

With Gantz as Election Rival, Netanyahu Competes Against an Old Version of Himself. ... The fact that the right rose to power 42 years ago and that Netanyahu has ruled for a decade doesn't stop them from arguing the real power remains in the hands of their political opponents.  Haaretz   

In Dramatic Shift, Netanyahu Vows To Annex West Bank Settlements If Re-Elected. ... The policy shift is apparently aimed at rallying Netanyahu’s nationalist base in the final stretch of the tight Israeli Prime Minister race.  HuffPost   

“This President Is Cruel”: Congresswoman Slams Trump for Fighting Against Puerto Rico Disaster Aid.  DemocracyNow   

The Case Against the CIA’s Censors. ... I have joined in a lawsuit with four former federal employees to end the government’s censorship of our writings on national security issues.  CounterPunch  

MSNBC’s Wild Ride - Thanks to Trump and the Russia investigation, the liberal network is booming. But is it selling its viewers a conspiratorial fantasy?  
The New Republic
 

'Our mantra is chaos': Republican researchers target 2020 Democrats. ... The America Rising committee monitors everything the candidates do, hoping the large field will work in Trump’s favor.   Guardian  

Weekend of April 5-7, 2019

SPECIAL ON SURVEILLANCE CAPITALISM

Weekend Read: The Revolt of the Public Podcast with Martin Gurri. Reviewing the book, The Revolt of The Public and the Crisis of Authority in the New Millennium. ... In the words of economist and scholar Arnold Kling, Martin Gurri saw it coming. Technology has categorically reversed the information balance of power between the public and the elites who manage the great hierarchical institutions of the industrial age government, political parties, the media.   The Revolt of the Public tells the story of how insurgencies, enabled by digital devices and a vast information sphere, have mobilized millions of ordinary people around the world Amazon

SURVEILLANCE CAPITALISM

Naomi Klein and Shoshana Zuboff on the Rise of Surveillance Capitalism.  Intercept  
Related:  Age of Surveillance Capitalism: “We Thought We Were Searching Google, But Google Was Searching Us”.  DemocracyNow  

American Dystopia: The State, Surveillance, and Illusion of Choice.  Intercept  

(2019) Surveillance Capitalism and the Challenge of Collective Action - Zuboff (CUNY)  Download  

(2008) Wall Street, the Election, and the Pit Bull Plague. ... Shoshana Zuboff asks if we are ready to end the pit bull politics and economics that have brought our country to its knees. Bloomberg  or Download

Creating value in the age of distributed capitalism. ... A historic transition in capitalism is unfolding as the era of mass consumption gives way to one built on individuals and their desires - Zuboff - Download  

Personal Data Spaces: An Intervention in
Surveillance Capitalism?  - Tuukka Lehtiniemi. Aalto Uni. Finland.  Download   

(2015) Research article - Big other: surveillance capitalism and the prospects of an information civilization  - Zuboff. Download  

Social Injustice in Surveillance Capitalism.  Jonathan Cinnamon  Download  

Smart talking: are our devices threatening our privacy? ...  Millions of us now have virtual assistants, in our homes and our pockets. Even children’s toys are getting smart. But when we talk to them, who is listening?  Guardian  

Surveillance Capitalism Is Destroying Our Freedom and Our Intimacy. ... Surveillance capitalism is doing to human nature what industrial capitalism has done to our planet.. (Book review)  TruthOut  

APRIL 4, 2019

The Public Library: Antidote to Everyday American Banality. ... One of the only places you can hang out and not be expected to buy something.  
CounterPunch
 

Julian Assange: Socialists and Liberals Must Now Choose Their Side.  Craig Murray  

Donald Trump Will Bankrupt America.  TruthDig  

Lyft and Other Gig-Economy Giants Cash In With IPOs Before Labor Laws Catch Up With Them.Intercept

Can the Military Be Reformed?  CounterPunch  

Right-Wing Donor Adam Milstein Has Spent Millions of Dollars to Stifle the BDS Movement and Attack Critics of Israeli Policy.  Intercept    

Muellergate and the Discreet Lies of the Bourgeoisie ...
This cartoon seems to me very apposite. The capacity of the mainstream media repeatedly to promote the myth that Russia caused Clinton’s defeat, while never mentioning what the information was that had been so damaging to Hillary, should be alarming to anybody under the illusion that we have a working “free media”.  The rest of the story at Craig Murray  

US Government's Refusal to Confirm or Deny It Put American Journalist on Drone Kill List Called 'Chilling'. ... "The government seeks to shield itself from all inquiry into the process by which it acts as prosecutor, judge, jury, and executioner."  CommonDreams  

Rich vs. Poor: Who Pays More Taxes in Each State?  HowMuch  

APRIL 3, 2019

Why the Real Migration Crisis Is in Central America, Not at the Southern U.S. Border. 
DemocracyNow

Here’s how food companies intentionally make their products addictive — and literally make us sick.  AlterNet  

Putting Numbers in Context: a Winnable Battle Our Side Doesn’t Want to Fight.  CounterPunch  

Fighting in the Forever Wars Turned Me Into a Progressive ... “Patriotism, in the trenches, was too remote a sentiment, and at once rejected as fit only for civilians, or prisoners.” -- Robert Graves, Goodbye To All That(1929).   TruthDig   

CLICK BAIT

Self-Actualized Historians Urge Nation Not To Get Hung Up On The Past.  > Go   

Military Recruiter Fondly Recalls When He Was Just A Naïve Kid Being Coaxed Into Making Binding 8-Year Commitment To Fill Quota 
> Go 

Disney Estate Uncovers Cache Of Anti-American Cartoons Intended For Release If Axis Won WWII   > Go   

Why Are the Democrats Doing Bibi’s Dirty Work? ... OF THE MANY BAD pieces of legislation being discussed in Washington at the moment, there are two particularly pungent anti-BDS bills presently winding their way through Congress—H.R. 246 and S.R. 120.   Jewish Currents  

Israel Escalates Collective Punishment of Gazan Civilians.  TruthOut  

Israeli Watchdog Says Network of Bots Is Stumping for Netanyahu  TruthDig  

Arms transfers and military spending.  SIPRI  

House Democrats on key committees receive funding from anti-single payer groups. ... Special interests try to sway Democrats. ThinkProgress

APRIL 2, 2019

Only the Struggle Matters  TruthDig/Hedges  

Liberalism as a Source of Trouble. ... Mearsheimer, who is a prominent US political theorist from the University of Chicago, had the guts to challenge the massive propaganda masking the US engineering of the overthrow of the elected Ukrainian government.CounterPunch

The Southern Poverty Law Center Is Everything That’s Wrong With Liberalism.  Current Affairs

In a destructive decade, why has no one tried to rein in Netanyahu? ... As Bibi marks 10 years in power in Israel, life for the Palestinians looks bleaker than ever.
 Guardian  

Intelligence report appeared to endorse view leftwing protesters were 'terrorists'. ... Experts say the report produced before the Charlottesville rally mischaracterizes the dynamics of the street violence.  Guardian   

White House Whistleblower Tells All On Trump Administration Security Clearance. ... Tricia Newbold, a Trump official, briefed the House oversight committee on “grave” security risks. HuffPost  

Pelosi and McConnell Are Inching Us Closer to Nuclear War. TruthDig  

MSNBC’s Trump-Russia Ratings Fizzle: ‘Time to Pivot to 2020’  ... The Mueller report and its potential implications have driven the network’s coverage—and monster ratings—for two years. Now it’s ended with a whimper, leaving execs in a bind. Daily Beast

A Very Incomplete List of Sinister Things Vladimir Putin/Russia/‘the Russians’ Have Been Accused of Doing.  ...  According to the finest minds of Western media and political life, “The Russians” have been responsible for everything from sowing discord with sex toys to weaponizing humor, sexual assault allegations, and “black America’s experiences.”  Gray Zone  

Here’s how charter schools are scamming the US government.  AlterNet  

Corporations are endangering Americans. Trump doesn't care. ... From Boeing to Monsanto and beyond: this week has revealed the tip of the iceberg of regulatory neglect.  Guardian  

APRIL 1, 2019

Here’s What Was Happening While Everyone Was Talking About Mueller.  TruthOut  

Russiagate: A Trump-Boosting Triumph of Diversion and Inauthentic Opposition?  CounterPunch  

Chuck Schumer Neglected to Name a Democratic Commissioner for the SEC. Now It’s Open Season for Wall Street, Bank Lawyers Crow.  Intercept  

In hot water: New Mexico battles the dark side of renewable energy  Guardian  

Arabs and Evangelicals Closely Eye Bolsonaro Visit to Israel.  Bloomberg  

In Leaked Recording, Cory Booker Says He and AIPAC President “Text Message Back and Forth Like Teenagers”  Intercept  

7 Reasons Progressives May Want To Avoid A Joe Biden Candidacy. ... The former vice president is “very close” to deciding whether or not he’ll join a crowded race for the 2020 Democratic nomination.  
HuffPost  

Roaming Charges: Rachel Maddow and the Muellers of Invention.  CounterPunch  

“People Are Going to Die”: The Cost of Industry Deregulation by Lobbyists Under Trump.  DemocracyNow  

US Foists ‘Humanitarian Aid’ on Venezuela, Helps Create a Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen.  ... If the US really wants to save people from a dire humanitarian crisis, why aren’t we talking about sending aid to the 23 million Yemenis facing starvation right now?   
Gray Zone  


 

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APRIL 11 THROUGH 21

Weekend of April 19-21, 2019

Weekend Read:  Operation Gladio: The Unholy Alliance Between The Vatican, The CIA, & The Mafia. by Paul L Williams. - disturbing exposé describes a secret alliance forged at the close of World War II by the CIA, the Sicilian and US mafias, and the Vatican to thwart the possibility of a Communist invasion of Europe . Amazon    See also  ZeroHedge 

Robert Mueller Did Not Merely Reject the Trump/Russia Conspiracy Theories. He Obliterated Them. ... The two-pronged conspiracy theory that has dominated U.S. political discourse for almost three years – that (1) Trump, his family and his campaign conspired or coordinated with Russia to interfere in the 2016 election, and (2) Trump is beholden to Russian President Vladimir Putin — was not merely rejected today by the final report of Special Counsel Robert Mueller. It was obliterated: in an undeniable and definitive manner. Intercept  

DEMOCRACY NOW CHOMSKY INTERVIEW
April 18, 2019

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

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

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

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

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

he Green New Deal Is Exactly the Right Idea  DemocracyNow  

ICC Makes “Dangerous Decision” to Drop Probe into U.S. War Crimes in Afghanistan After U.S. Pressure.  DemocracyNow  

Libyan Humanitarian Crisis Worsens as Over 170 Killed, 18K Displaced in Warlord Assault on Tripoli.
DemocracyNow  

This new breakdown of Trump’s approval rating will make you cringe — but also shows signs of hope. AlterNet 

Academic Freedom at Risk After Decades of Right-Wing Attacks and Cuts to Education.  DemocracyNow  

Washington’s Biggest Fairy Tale: “Truth Will Out”.  CounterPunch  

Julian Assange Honored With Journalism Award Sponsored by European ParliamentariansDaily Beast

Liberals Sold Their Souls to the War Machine on Russia  TruthDig  

Leading Liberal Think Tank Teams Up With AIPAC.  Jewish Currents  

Nearly 100,000 Pentagon Whistleblower Complaints Have Been Silenced  TruithDig  

The Official Skripal Story is a Dead Duck. ... One of the striking things about the official Skripal story is the way its more wildly improbable aspects have been released to the mainstream media over a long period, so as to manage their impact.  Craig Murray  

APRIL 18, 2019

First Julian Assange, Then Us.  TruthOut/Hedges

Julian Assange Honored With Journalism Award Sponsored by European Parliamentarians. 
Daily Beast
 

The American War Machine Is Out of Control.
 TruthDig  

US Military Base Threatens Biodiversity in Okinawa. ... In a non-binding referendum held in February, over 70 percent of votes cast were opposed to the new U.S. military installation which Tokyo and Washington call "the only solution."  TruthOut  

Liberals Sold Their Souls to the War Machine on Russia.  TruthOut  

Julian Assange Suffered Severe Psychological and Physical Harm in Ecuadorian Embassy, Doctors Say.  Intercept  

Not in it to win it: the dirty little secret of the Democrats' 2020 battle. ... The potential upside can be large for candidates who do not win – whether it’s to advance a greater profile or a signature issue or agenda.
Guardian  Related: Democrats are on the path to 4 more years of Trump — here’s why.  AlterNet

As Single-Payer Gains Traction, Industry Launches Attack Ads.  TruthOut  

Americans are increasingly abandoning organized religion.  AlterNet  

Russian investors are keen on Nevada’s copper. ... Demand for clean cars is causing an uptick in copper mining in the West, but at what cost?  HCN  

Betsy DeVos Quietly Making It Easier for Dying For-Profit Schools to Rip Off a Few More Students on the Way Out.  Intercept  

APRIL 17, 2019

How a Christian Nonprofit Helped a Controversial Minnesota Mining Company Buy Gear for Local Police.  Intercept  

Italian monastery turns into hotbed of Bannon-fueled nationalism. ... To general consternation, educational courses are to be held at a secluded monastery to create a populist political vanguard capable of "launching an assault on Europe." Megan Williams reports from Collepardo.  DW  

Netanyahu’s Victory in Israel Tells Us About the Balance of Power in the Middle East. CounterPunch  

Republicans Twist White Nationalism Hearing Into Islamophobic Forum.  TruthOut  

Allan Nairn: Indonesian General Tied to Mass Killings Plots to Arrest Critics If He Wins Presidency.  DemocracyNow  

CLICK BAIT

ISIS Adds Few Violent White Supremacists In Bid To Get U.S. To Rescind Terrorist Designation. > Go

Fox News Debuts Premium Channel For 24-Hour Coverage Of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.  > Go  

Despondent Jeff Bezos Realizes He’ll Have To Work For 9 Seconds To Earn Back Money He Lost In Divorce.  > Go  

Secret Report Reveals Saudi Incompetence and Widespread Use of U.S. Weapons in Yemen.  
Intercept    Related:  Leaked Docs Show Saudis 'Overwhelmingly Dependent' on Western Weapons to Wage War on Yemen. ... "The West can stop the carnage. But it chooses profit over life."  
CommonDreams  

“Falter”: In New Book, Bill McKibben Asks If the Human Game Has Begun to Play Itself Out. DemocracyNow

APRIL 16, 2019

'Everything Is at Stake': Global Extinction Rebellion Kicks Off Week of Civil Disobedience to Demand Climate Action.  CommonDreams  

American History for Truthdiggers: JFK's Cold War Chains.  TruthDig  

How big tech is spying on your wallet.  AlterNet

Academic Freedom at Risk After Decades of Right-Wing Attacks and Cuts to Education.  DemocracyNow  

ISRAEL

How Netanyahu Saved Assad, Helped Russia and Gave Iran the Run of Syria. ... As Assad consolidates power, Israel's prime minister is basking in plaudits for his 'prescient' strategy on Syria. But Netanyahu has been played - exposing Israel to potentially disastrous consequences.  Haaretz  

Progressive Leaders Condemn Netanyahu's Vow to Annex West Bank as Unlawful 'Moral Catastrophe'  ...  "Elected leaders should be advancing the cause of peace—not undermining it."  CommonDreams  

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

The Israeli Left's Moment of Reckoning. TruthDig

Netanyahu 2019: Radicalized by Obama, Unleashed by Trump. ... Hostilities with the previous president drove him to embrace the dark right. Infatuation with his successor made him lose his inhibitions.  
Haaretz  

Progressives Demand Democrats Prioritize People Over the Pentagon.  TruthDig  

More than 1,000 English schools turn to online donations to raise funds. ... Exclusive: cuts force schools to use crowdfunding and Amazon wish lists to pay for basics.  Guardian  

How the Media Launders Fossil Fuel Industry Propaganda Through Branded Content.  Intercept  

This new breakdown of Trump’s approval rating will make you cringe — but also shows signs of hope.AlterNet 

Rashida Tlaib Slams Democrats For Silence On Trump’s Islamophobic Attacks On Ilhan Omar. ... The Michigan congresswoman has a message for Democratic leaders: Don’t celebrate diversity while ignoring Islamophobia.  HuffPost   

APRIL 15, 2019

Leaked Emails From Pro-Clinton Group Reveal Censorship of Staff on Israel, AIPAC Pandering, Warped Militarism.  DemocracyNow  

ASSANGE UPDATE

The Assange Arrest is a Warning From History. CounterPunch/Pilger 

Chelsea and Julian are in Jail. History Trembles.  
Craig Murray
 

Julian Assange Languishes in Prison as His Journalistic Collaborators Brandish Their Prizes.  Intercept  

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

The U.S. Government’s Indictment of Julian Assange Poses Grave Threats to Press Freedoms.Intercept

Julian Assange in the Ecuadorian embassy:
Timeline.   BBC  

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

60 Top Corporations Paid $0 Federal Taxes Under Trump Tax Law. ... Amazon, Chevron, Netflix, Eli Lilly, IBM and General Motors are reaping tax cut benefits and paying nothing.  HuffPost  

'Blatant Violation of the First Amendment': Public Citizen Sues Betsy DeVos for Censoring Its Website. ... "We've been highly critical of Betsy DeVos for putting students at the mercy of predatory for-profit colleges. We won't let her silence us."  CommonDreams  

Academic Freedom at Risk After Decades of Right-Wing Attacks and Cuts to Education.  DemocracyNow  

Bezos Investigation Finds the Saudis Obtained His Private Data. ... The National Enquirer’s lawyer tried to get me to say there was no hacking.  Daily Beast

Why has Congress stalled on investigating money laundering allegations at Trump properties?  ...  
Stonewalled by investigators, interest in Trump's former projects in Panama and Azerbaijan seems to have disappeared.  ThinkProgress  

Animals and 2020. ...  Animal rights are important and should not be a secondary political issue.
Current Affairs  

Weekend of April 12-14, 2019

Weekend Read: The Management of Savagery -
By Max Blumenthal.  The rise of international jihad and Western ultra-nationalism. ... Blumenthal excavates the real story behind America’s dealings with the world and shows how the extremist forces that now threaten peace across the globe are the inevitable flowering of America’s imperial designs.  Purchase at Versobooks   
Related:  Reckoning With Failure in the War on Terror  TruthDig/Hedges  

Runaway Inequality Is a National Emergency, Billionaire Banker Warns. ...  In 2019, billionaires have more wealth than ever before while “almost half of humanity have barely escaped extreme poverty, living on less than $5.50 a day,” international charity Oxfam found in its latest survey of global inequality.  TruthDig  

Report Offers 'Bleak Picture' as Rising Inequality and Soaring Costs Drive Young People Out of Global Middle Class. ... "It looks less and less like millennials are special snowflakes, and more and more like they're caught up in broader economic forces that are squeezing out the middle class."  CommonDreams  

JULIAN ASSANGE ARREST

WikiLeaks Founder Charged in Computer Hacking Conspiracy - press release- DoJ Indictment  

Julian Assange Arrested in London After Ecuador Withdraws Asylum; U.S. Requests Extradition.(Constantly updated)  Intercept  

Julian Assange of WikiLeaks Arrested in London; Faces U.S. Charge Related to Chelsea Manning Leaks.  DemocracyNow    Related:  “Bring It On”: Julian Assange’s 2015 Message to the U.S. Justice Department About Possible Charges.
DemocracyNow
 

Inside the webchats the US hopes will get Assange behind bars. ... Prosecutors seek to show the chat logs between the WikiLeaks founder and Chelsea Manning crossed into criminal conspiracy.  
Guardian  

As Julian Assange Is Arrested, A Reminder Of What We’ve Learned From WikiLeaks. ... Assange faces an extradition charge related to WikiLeaks obtaining and releasing classified U.S. military information.
 HuffPost  

(2010) What WikiLeaks revealed to the world in 2010
The government wants you to believe it's a criminal enterprise. But here's a look back at what WikiLeaks exposed.  Salon  

Julian Assange: US justice department says he faces five years in jail.  Guardian  

October 2017 - Clinton, Assange and the War on Truth.  CounterPunch  

Trump has unleashed Stephen Miller to inflict horrors on immigrants. ... In recent days, the president has given Miller power to oversee all matters involving border and immigration. The result will be disastrous. Guardian

The Boeing scandal is an indictment of Trump’s corporate America. ... There is growing alarm in the US that Capitol Hill’s bonfire of the regulations has led to hundreds of deaths. It may be a turning point.  
Guardian  

How our phones are now Spy's in our pockets. ...  How our phones are now Spy's in our pockets.
 Dark Politricks

APRIL 11, 2019

The Militarization of Johns Hopkins Exposes a Nationwide Trend.  TruthOut  

A Colossal 21st Century Kleptocracy.  
CounterPunch
 

US Takes Illegal, Dangerous Actions Toward Regime Change in Venezuela.  TruthOut  

A Top Progressive Consulting Firm Is Doing PR for an Israeli Spy Company.  Intercept  

Reid Hoffman apologizes for funding fake Russian bot campaign in Alabama election.  SiliconAngle  

Nancy Pelosi and Cheri Bustos Continue Dividing Democratic Party, Take New Swipes at Ocasio-Cortez.  Intercept  

“The System Is Rigged”: Democrats Drop Corporate and PAC Money Amid Pressure from Progressives.     DemocracyNow

The Democratic Party Is Radicalizing. ... Extremism isn’t just affecting the GOP.  The Atlantic   

Corporate Lobbyists Providing More Bundled Donations to Dem Congressional Committee.  MapLight

Georgia House Republicans file bill to create state Journalism Ethics Board. ... A group of House Republican lawmakers filed legislation this week to create a state Journalism Ethics Board to develop “canons of ethics” for journalists in Georgia. AJC
 Related:  The Peach State or 'Banana Republic'? Critics Howl Over Georgia GOP's Proposal to Target Journalists With Secretive Ethics Panel. ..."It's not the government's role to tell journalists how to do their jobs. This bill is unnecessary state meddling with the press."  CommonDreams  

Ooeration GLADIO the Unholy Alliance between the Vatican, CIA and the Mafia.
 Exploring Real History  

The vigilante shaming influencers for bad behavior in national parks. ... The Instagram account Public Lands Hate You is part of a trend shaming irresponsible behavior on America’s public lands.  Guardian  

'Blatant Violation of the First Amendment': Public Citizen Sues Betsy DeVos for Censoring Its Website. ... "We've been highly critical of Betsy DeVos for putting students at the mercy of predatory for-profit colleges. We won't let her silence us."  CommonDreams  


 

 

 

 

APRIL 22 THROUGH 30

APRIL 30, 2019

Trump withdraws from UN arms treaty as NRA crowd cheers in delight. ... Democrats condemn Trump’s ‘myopic’ decision to withdraw... President at NRA summit vows to defend second amendment.
Guardian
  Related:  “A Shameful Week for the U.S.”: Trump Admin Guts U.N. Resolution to End Rape as Weapon of War.  DemocracyNow  

From LBJ to Robert Moses: Robert Caro on Writing About Political Power & Its Impact on the Powerless.  DemocracyNow  

New Report Shows How World Bank Enables Corporate Land Grabs.  At the World Bank’s annual meeting this month, the Bank’s new president and former Trump adviser, David Malpass, ignored research that concludes the Bank’s policies are driving large-scale corporate land grabs across the Global South, with devastating consequences for the poor.  TruthOut  

Unanswered Questions in the Mueller Report Point to a Sprawling Russian Spy Game.  Intercept  

NSA Recommends Dropping Phone-Surveillance Program. ... The program, created after 9/11, has encountered compliance challenges and questions about its efficacy in recent years. ... The National Security Agency has recommended that the White House abandon a surveillance program that collects information about U.S. phone calls and text messages, saying the logistical and legal burdens of keeping it outweigh its intelligence benefits, according to people familiar with the matter.
 WSJ   (Note: They quit, if it's true, because it was a pain in the ass, not because it was illgal and unethical)

The Monroe Doctrine is Back, and as the Latest US Attack on Cuba Shows, Its Purpose is to Serve the Neoliberal Order by Peter Bolton. CounterPunch

The US agreed to pay North Korea $2 million for its ‘care’ of dead American Otto Warmbier: report. AlterNet  

Trump’s Attacks on Census Go Well Beyond Citizenship Question.  TruthOut  

A Shameful Week for the U.S.”: Trump Admin Guts U.N. Resolution to End Rape as Weapon of War.  DemocracyNow  

Police Shoot at a Black Couple Near Yale, Prompting a Week of Protests. ... The police released video footage in response to calls for transparency over last week’s shooting in New Haven by a Yale officer and a Hamden, Conn., officer.  NY Times  

Corbyn launches bid to declare a national climate emergency. ... Labour will attempt to force Commons vote as it is revealed that the government has failed to spend anti-pollution cash. Guardian   

Enough White Tea Cups: a documentary that examines solutions for global challenges.  Design in Daba  

APRIL 29, 2019

So Where is the Swedish Warrant?  ... What is the point of demanding Assange be extradited to Sweden when there is no extradition request from Sweden? What is the point in demanding he face justice in Sweden when there are no charges? Where are the charges from Sweden?   Craig Murray  

Joe Biden Is a Fraud, Plain and Simple.   
CounterPunch  

Joe Biden Launches Presidential Bid With Fundraiser Filled With Corporate Lobbyists and GOP Donors.  Intercept  

Joe Biden: An Imperial Corporatist Wrapped in the Bloody Flag of Charlottesville. CounterPunch  

From Crime Bill to Iraq War Vote, Biden’s Legislative History Under Scrutiny as He Enters Race.  DemocracyNow  

Investigative journalist does a deep-dive into Biden’s Role during Anita Hill’s testimony — and we should all know it.  AlterNet  

Being Rupert Murdoch: How the Founder of Fox News Spreads His Brand of Destruction.Intercept

With Jailed Asylum-Seekers on the Rise, Detention Contractors Reap Profits.  TruthOut  

Jane McAlevey on How To Organize for Power  
Current Affairs  

Facebook's Hire of Patriot Act Co-Author Raises Questions on Company's Commitment to Privacy. ... "What could go wrong?"  CommonDreams  

Israel Uses Animal Rights to Distract From War Crimes.  TruthOut  

Do Democrats Prefer Trump in the White House?  TruthDig  

Democratic Refusal to Impeach Could Be Disastrous.  CounterPunch  

America's new voting machines bring new fears of election tampering. ... Many jurisdictions will offer voters a paper trail in 2020. But the systems involved are far from foolproof.  Guardian     (Part 2)  'They think they are above the law': the firms that own America's voting system. ... How a few private companies that have little oversight and keep information secret run US elections. Guardian  

Johns Hopkins Students Enter Week 4 of Sit-In Protesting ICE Contracts & Plan for Armed Campus Cops.  DemocracyNow  

Melting permafrost in Arctic will have $70tn climate impact ... Study shows how destabilised natural systems will worsen man-made problem.
 Guardian

BLM Grazing Decision Will Damage the Owyhee Canyonlands Wilderness.  CounterPunch  

Weekend of April 26-28, 2019

Weekend Read:  The Management of Savagery: How America's National Security State Fueled the Rise of Al Qaeda, ISIS, and Donald Trump.  ... by Max Blumenthal.  Washington’s secret funding of the mujahedin provoked the Russian invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. With guns and money, the United States has ever since sustained the extremists, including Osama Bin Laden, who have become its enemies. The Pentagon has trained and armed jihadist elements in Afghanistan, Syria, and Libya; it has launched military interventions to change regimes in the Middle East. In doing so, it created fertile ground for the Islamic State and brought foreign conflicts home to American soil.
 Politics & Prose Book Store

Navy SEALs Tried for Months to Report Superior for War Crimes and Were Told to “Let It Go” DemocracyNow

Kushner Talks of 'Accountability' for Crown Prince Just as Saudis Offer 'Egregious Display of Brutality' With Mass Beheadings. ... Washington's Gulf Institute director Ali Al-Ahmed called the killings "the largest mass execution of Shiites in the kingdom's history."  CommonDreams  

Benjamin Netanyahu Plans to Honor Donald Trump By Putting His Name on Something Awful.  
Intercept
 

Republican discussed violent attacks and surveillance with rightwingers. ... Washington state representative Matt Shea exchanged messages with far-right figures, chat records obtained by the Guardian reveal.
 Guardian  

The Bloody History of Border Militias Runs Deep — And Law Enforcement Is Part of It.  Intercept  

Economist Joseph Stiglitz: Capitalism Hasn’t Been Working for Most People for the Last 40 Years.  DemocracyNow     Related:  Joseph Stiglitz: Elizabeth Warren & Bernie Sanders Want to Make the Economy Work for All Americans.
DemocracyNow  

Robert Reich: Mitch McConnell’s long-term strategy of packing the Supreme Court in order to entrench the Republican Party is becoming an obscene reality.  AlterNet  

Caravan paranoia is tearing the border militia movement apart.  SPLC  

The misogynist trolls attacking Katie Bouman are the tip of the trashpile. ... Trolls latched on to Bouman’s achievement of the first black hole image with a vitriol that, in a saner world, would be shocking – but is par for the course for women.   Guardian  

The Best Chance for Israeli Right's Dream of Annexing the West Bank: The Palestinians. ... With Netanyahu victory, left's dream of a plan that would force concession on Israel seems more distant than ever.  Haaretz  

APRIL 25, 2019

Nancy Pelosi’s Drug-Pricing Talks With the Trump Administration Are About Mediating Fights Between Corporate Interests.  Intercept  

Jimmy Carter: US ‘Most Warlike Nation in History of the World’.  CounterPunch  

Who Are the Real Terrorists in the Mideast?
TruthDig  

'Unprecedented': UN Finds US-Backed Forces Killed More Afghan Civilians Than Taliban and ISIS Did So Far in 2019. ... "A shocking number of civilians continue to be killed and maimed each day." CommonDreams

RussiaGate happened on a Gangster Planet.
MadCow  

The ‘Russiagate’ Conspiracy Theorists Just Can’t Let Go.  TruthDig interview  

Federal Appeals Court Denies Chelsea Manning’s Bail Request. ... The former U.S. Army intelligence officer has been detained since March for refusing to testify in the government’s Wikileaks case. 
 HuffPost  

US threatens to veto UN resolution on rape as weapon of war, officials say. ... Exclusive: US warns it will reject measure over language on sexual health in latest example of hardline abortion stance.  Guardian  

CLICK BAIT

Unemployed Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Announce Plans To Give Baby Up For Adoption.  
> Go  

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

Diversity Fail: Admissions Statistics Show That More Than 90% Of Harvard’s Incoming Freshman Class Is Made Up Of Nerds.  > Go  

Impeachment is the wrong way to beat Trump. ... The way to defeat a rightwing political coalition is through leftwing politics, not political theater.  Guardian  

Half of England is owned by less than 1% of the population. ... Research by author reveals corporations and aristocrats are the biggest landowners.Guardian

Liberals Sold Their Souls to the War Machine on Russia.  TruthDig  

APRIL 24, 2019

Republican discussed violent attacks and surveillance with rightwingers. ... Washington state representative Matt Shea exchanged messages with far-right figures, chat records obtained by the Guardian reveal.  Guardian  

US Slides Down Annual Press Freedom Ranking, With Watchdog Calling Nation 'Problematic' for Reporters' Rights. ... "Never before have U.S. journalists been subjected to so many death threats or turned so often to private security firms for protection."  CommonDreams  

Stephen Moore Gets Something Right: It’s Capitalism vs. Democracy. ... Capitalism is a lot more important than democracy. I’m not even a big believer in democracy. - – Stephen Moore, a potential future member of the Federal Reserve Board.  CounterPunch  

CLICK BAIT

Suspicious New WikiLeaks Document Dump Exposes How Awesome And Trustworthy U.S. Government Is. > Go

Computer Scientists Say AI’s Underdeveloped Ethics Have Yet To Move Beyond Libertarian Phase.  > Go  

Pete Buttigieg Stuns Campaign Crowd By Speaking To Manufacturing Robots In Fluent Binary.  > Go  

How to Stop Grazing on Public Lands: Buy Out the Permits.  CounterPunch  

Aldo Leopold’s Land Ethic and the Need for a New Approach to Managing Wildlife. CounterPunch

Extinction Rebellion: Meet the Famed Climate Attorney Who Superglued Herself Outside Shell’s U.K. HQ.  DemocracyNow  

20 years after the Columbine shooting, its brutality is routine. ... Have school shootings become part of the American psyche?  HCN  

APRIL 23, 2019

Trump's immigration moves are straight from the dictator's playbook. ... Demonising the ‘other’, confecting a crisis to entrench power and using cruelty to spread fear are all part of an assault on democracy.  Guardian  

The NYTs Tries to Rehabilitate Bloody Gina Haspel.  CounterPunch  

Israeli Soldiers Shoot Bound, Blindfolded Palestinian Teen Trying to Flee. ...The minor was detained for suspected stone throwing in the West Bank, then shot in the groin. Palestinians managed to evacuate the suspect to receive medical treatment after arguments with the soldiers.  Haaretz  

Noam Chomsky - Why They Hate the West.  YouTube  

American History for Truthdiggers: Vietnam, a U.S. Tragedy.  TruthDig  

Is the American Psychological Association Addicted to Militarism and War?  
CounterPunch
 

The Destruction of the Palestinians Will Be Israel’s Undoing.  TruthDig  

The Chief review: John Roberts and the decline of American democracy ... The chief justice presided over Citizens United, gutting voting rights and more. An admiring biography leaves a bitter taste
 Guardian  

Pentagon Spending Set to Hit Near-Record Levels, But 'Establishment Says We Can't Afford' Progressive Policies.  CommonDreams  

Trump’s Veto on Yemen War Is a Sign That the Strongmen in the U.S. and Saudi Arabia Are Winning.  Intercept  

Church Membership Has Dropped Sharply Over The Past 2 Decades: Gallup. ... Even Americans who identify with a specific religion aren’t necessarily choosing to join a church, synagogue or mosque.  HuffPost  

APRIL 22, 2019

Noam Chomsky on Trump-Russia Collusion  YouTube  

Nancy Pelosi shows no restraint in disparaging young progressive women. ... The House speaker refused to comment on Trump while traveling, but has been openly critical of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar.  Guardian  

The Mueller Report: Glenn Greenwald vs. David Cay Johnston on Trump-Russia Ties, Obstruction & More.  DemocracyNow  

After Mueller Report, Progressives Say 'Begin Impeachment Hearings Now'. ... "Politicians in Washington must not continue to conduct business as usual."  CommonDreams  

NEW MEXICO VIGILANTES

Videos appear to show armed militia detaining migrants at US-Mexico border. ... The American Civil Liberties Union is calling the actions a ‘kidnapping’ and a flagrant violation of the law.  Guardian    

New Mexico Governor Demands Right-Wing Militia Stop Illegally Holding Migrants. ... Armed vigilantes in camouflage rounded up about 300 immigrants, many of them children, in a video posted by the United Constitutional Patriots. HuffPost    Update:  FBI Arrests Leader Of Right-Wing Anti-Immigrant Militia In New Mexico
“This is a dangerous felon who should not have weapons around children and families,” New Mexico’s attorney general said after the arrest of Larry Mitchell Hopkins.  HuffPost 

Armed civilians living off the grid to catch migrants illegally crossing the border. ... The group doesn't consider themselves vigilantes or a militia, and says their mission is simply "to document the crisis on the border."  KTVB

‘An armed fascist militia organization’: ACLU calls for investigation of far-right ‘vigilantes’ who ‘kidnap’ immigrants at the border.  AlterNet

Stephen Moore Gets Something Right: It’s Capitalism vs. Democracy.  CounterPunch  

Dear Democrats: Mueller Just Handed You a Road Map for Impeachment. Follow It.  Intercept  


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
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