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MARCH 1 THROUGH 10

Weekend of March 8-10, 2019

Weekend Read: The Revolt of The Public and the Crisis of Authority in the New Millennium ... 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. ... This book tells the story of how insurgencies, enabled by digital devices and a vast information sphere, have mobilized millions of ordinary people around the world.  Related: Trump and Brexit Proved This Book Prophetic — What Calamity Will Befall Us Next?  Intercept  
Book available at  Amazon

American Misdirection: Militarism and Capitalism Reign as Spotlight Stays on Russia Conspiracy.
Intercept  

Greg Grandin on “The End of the Myth: From the Frontier to the Border Wall in the Mind of America”.  DemocracyNow  

The CIA’s View of Venezuela: What We Learn From the Archives.  CounterPunch  

VIDEO: The US Humanitarian Aid Ploy to Venezuela Explained. ... Washington’s claim that Venezuela’s government has refused humanitarian aid is a gigantic lie. Kei Pritsker explains how the US deployed a mere $20 million in aid as a Trojan Horse for regime change.  Gray Zone  

ISRAEL

Questioning U.S.- Israel Ties Has Long Been Impermissible in Congress, But That’s Changing.  DemocracyNow  

Israel is Playing a Big Role in India’s Escalating Conflict with Pakistan.  CounterPunch   

U.N. Finds Israel Intentionally Shot Children, Journalists & the Disabled During Gaza Protests.  DemocracyNow  

It Is Time to Indict Israel: Norman Finkelstein on Growing Push for ICC to File War Crimes Charges.  DemocracyNow  

Breaking the Silence - Inside the Israeli Right’s Campaign to Silence an Anti-Occupation Group.  Intercept  

Kevin McCarthy Promises ‘Action’ Against Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib. ... Republican leader in House says statements by the congresswomen are equal to ones by Steve King, who said he doesn't understand why 'white supremacy' is stigmatized.  Haaretz  

Do any of the Democratic presidential candidates understand the power of peace?  AlterNet  

Here’s The Pro-Israel Lobby’s New Plan To Preserve Its Political Influence. ... AIPAC allies are launching a group aimed at collecting small-dollar donations for pro-Israel politicians.  HuffPost  

In Latest Assault on Palestinian Rights, US Shutters Jerusalem Consulate. ... Critics say so-called merger "is nothing more than a smokescreen trying to camouflage what is essentially an opening of American embassy in Jerusalem"  CommonDreams  

The “Humboldt Three” Take Israel to Court.  
TruthOut
 

Rep. Pramila Jayapal: Medicare for All Will Lower Costs & Expand Healthcare Coverage to Everyone.  DemocracyNow  

Trump just made sure you won’t hear about how many civilians are killed in U.S. drone strikes
U.S. intelligence is no longer required to publicly report data on the number of people killed by U.S. drone strikes.  ThinkProgress  

War Crimes in Yemen? U.S. & U.K. Arms Killed & Injured Nearly 1,000 Civilians in Saudi-Led Attack.  DemocracyNow  

The U.S.-Saudi Relationship Is a Principal Source of Instability in the Middle East.  DemocracyNow  

March 7, 2019

“How to Hide an Empire”: Daniel Immerwahr on the History of the Greater United States.  
DemocracyNow  

Joe Biden’s Biggest 2020 Problem Is Joe Biden. ... Despite cultivating a populist image, the former vice president has spent his career championing policies favored by Republicans and the corporate elite.
 HuffPost  

The Viral Confrontation With Dianne Feinstein Had a Political Impact Most Pundits Missed. Intercept

The Biggest Obstacle for Bernie Isn't the DNC
TruthDig  

MEDIA

(Written 19 years ago)  How the C.I.A. Played Dirty Tricks With Culture. NY Times  

The Uncomfortable Truth About Journalism's Glory Days.  TruthDig  

Carey McWilliams: The Most Important American Author Many Don't Know.
TruthDig  

 

The House Democrats’ “Rebuke” of Rep. Ilhan Omar is a Fraud For Many Reasons, Including its Wild Distortion of Her Comments.  Intercept   Related: Republicans and Democrats Say Their Criticism of Ilhan Omar Is About Anti-Semitism. They’re Gaslighting You.  Intercept  

Stupid, Stupid, Stupid English.  CounterPunch  

CLICK BAIT

Trump Solemnly Lays Wreath At Site Where He Would Have Died During Vietnam War If He Weren’t Rich.  > Go  

Netanyahu Defends New Alliance With Israel’s Far-Right Aryan Supremacy Party. > Go  

Mike Pence Criticizes Venezuela’s Use Of Torture, Starvation On Non-Homosexual Citizens.  > Go  

House Votes Against Trump’s National Emergency On Grounds That Only Congress Allowed To Misappropriate Funds.  > Go  

Donald and Ivanka Trump donated thousands to Kamala Harris as she rose in California politics, ,,, Senator says she donated Trump contributions to a Central American advocacy group.  Independent

Disputed N.S.A. Phone Program Is Shut Down, Aide Says.  NY Times  

Democrats Introduce 'Bold and Vital' Bill to Fully Restore Net Neutrality. ... "The Save the Internet Act is one of the few pieces of congressional legislation that actually does what it says in the title."  CommonDreams

March 6, 2019

“Moderate” Democrats Are Really Conservatives — and They Are Dangerous.  TruthOut  

Inside the Secretive U.S. Air War in Somalia: How Many Civilians Have Died as Strikes Escalate?.  DemocracyNow  

The Killing Times: the massacres of Aboriginal people Australia must confront.  Guardian  

House Dems will take floor action to confront Omar’s latest Israel comments. ... The freshman Democrat is clashing with senior lawmakers who view her remarks as anti-Semitic.  Politico  

Disclosing Subpoena for Testimony, Chelsea Manning Vows to Fight.  NY Times  

MONEY

The Growing Wealth Gap Marks the Return of Oligarchy.  TruthOut  

“Democratic Socialism Is the Only Way to Challenge the System We Have”.  Jacobin

How unchecked capitalism and massive inequality made America a bully nation. 
AlterNet  


Warning 'Every Option Is On the Table,' Pompeo Stokes Fears of Military Force in Venezuela. ... Comments from secretary of state come day before Vice President Mike Pence heads to the Colombian capital for an emergency summit.  
CommonDreams
 

Steve King Promotes White Nationalist On Twitter … For The Third Time. ... The congressman from Iowa quote-tweeted Faith Goldy, a Canadian white nationalist who once recommended a book calling for the “elimination of Jews.”  HuffPost   

The ‘Steely-Eyed Killer’ Who Became a Star on Fox News – Then Lost It All. ... For years, Bill Cowan ran top-secret programs for the Pentagon and appeared regularly on Fox as a military analyst. Today, he’s on the run.  Politico  

March 5, 2019

Democratic oversight is 'bullshit': Trump goes off-script at CPAC. ... President slams Russia investigation and Green New Deal ... Trump is a national security risk – still Republicans back him   Guardian  

The View From the End of the American Empire.  Intercept  

'No One Should Be Surprised': After Long Career Stiffing Workers, Trump Blocks Back Pay for Federal Contractors. ...Lack of back pay for low-wage contractors also called a "policy and political failure" for Democratic leaders, who were accused of failing to publicly fight the president's cruelty.  CommonDreams  

The Global Assault on Indigenous Peoples.  CounterPunch  

The Infiltrators: How Undocumented Activists Snuck Into Immigration Jail to Fight Deportations. DemocracyNow  

Here’s how the drug industry funds ‘experts’ to discredit efforts to lower prices. ... Big Pharma dresses wolves in sheep's clothing to keep drug prices high. Don't be deceived. Learn how to sniff them out. Tar Bell    Related:  How to spot the health insurance industry’s favorite Democrats.  
Tar Bell  

Giving the Bomb to Saudi Arabia’s Dr. Strangelove.
TruthDig/Hedges  

The Secrets of American Power: Unitary Executive Theory, Guantánamo Bay Prison, and Extraordinary Rendition.  Intercept  

Trump’s HUD wants to expand flawed program that is ‘privatizing public housing’
It leaves vulnerable residents at the mercy of developers.  ThinkProgress   

Republicans Have Been Smearing Democrats As Socialists Since Way Before You Were Born. ... From FDR to Barack Obama to Bernie Sanders, conservatives are reading from the same playbook.  HuffPost  

The English are blindly driving Northern Ireland to conflict – the fear is that they are too stupid to care. ... A return to violence is not a worst-case scenario but an inevitability if a hard border returns, as it will if there is a full Brexit.  Independent  

March 4, 2019

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  

Cohen’s Overlooked Warning – and Other Media Silences Worth Hearing.  CounterPunch    Related:  If Trump loses, we know what to expect: anger, fear and disruption ... Michael Cohen says the president will not go quietly if he is beaten in 2020. We should believe him   Guardian    Related:  Trump May Want to Be President Forever. Take the Threat Seriously.  TruthOut  

Is Israel’s Tax Grab a Prelude to Further Hollowing Out the Palestinian Authority?  CounterPunch  

Israel Is an Extremist Enterprise.  Jacobin  

WAR

'Incessant Warmongering' Pays Off: Critics Respond to Nikki Haley Joining Boeing's Board. ... "The 'adult in the room' who could 'talk tough' at the UN just became a war profiteer. Love this country!"  CommonDreams  

What War Films Never Show You.  CounterPunch  

Womp! This Country Was Named The Greatest Threat To World Peace. HuffPost  

MSNBC Yet Again Broadcasts Blatant Lies, This Time About Bernie Sanders’ Opening Speech, and Refuses to Correct Them.  Intercept   

The neo-Nazi plot against America is much bigger than we realize. ... Lt Christopher Hasson is the product of traditions in white supremacist circles, and experts say there are ‘thousands like him’  Guardian  

How Police Violence Paves The Way To Authoritarianism. ... Brazil’s new president, Jair Bolsonaro, believes the only good criminal is a dead one. Many Brazilians agree.  HuffPost  

Carlos Slim, the NY Times, & the trial of El Chapo Guzman. Madcow Productions  

Weekend of March 1-3, 2019

Weekend Read: The Watchdogs Didn't Bark: The CIA, NSA, and the Crimes of the War on Terror. ... In 2009, documentarians John Duffy and Ray Nowosielski arrived at the offices of Richard Clarke, the former counterterror adviser to Presidents Clinton and Bush. In the meeting, Clarke boldly accused one-time Central Intelligence Agency director George Tenet of "malfeasance and misfeasance" in the pre-war on terror. Thus began an incredible--never-before-told--investigative journey of intrigue about America's intelligence community and two 9/11 hijackers. Better Books  

Analysis: Michael Cohen’s testimony reportedly implicates Donald Trump in 5 alleged felonies. ... Michael Cohen’s testimony to Congress on Wednesday turned out to be a blockbuster performance.  Salon  

A Criminal in the Oval Office? Michael Cohen Accuses Trump of Lying, Racism & Illegal Activity.  DemocracyNow  

Michael Cohen didn’t just reveal Trump’s alleged past crimes — he gave dire warnings about the president’s future plans. AlterNet  

UN says Israel's killings at Gaza protests may amount to war crimes. ... Inquiry accuses army of killing demonstrators ‘who were not posing an imminent threat’  Guardian  

A Clash Is Coming Over America’s Place in the World. ... Is it time for the U.S. to confront other great powers -- or to retreat?  NY Times  

Michael Cohen and Donald Trump Are Exactly the Same Person.  TruthOut  

UK Rejects International Court of Justice Opinion on the Chagos Islands.  Craig Murray  

After Raising the Stakes for North Korea Summit, Trump Walks Away. ... It seemed history was about to be made. Then the second meeting between the U.S. and North Korean leaders concluded abruptly.  The Atlantic  

Why Are Democrats Trying to Torpedo the Korea Peace Talks? ... There is a growing split between liberal US politicians and South Korean progressives on the peace process.  The Nation   

The Right May Finally Get Its War on Iran
TruthDig
 

How Health Insurers Use Cash and Gifts to Manipulate Employers.  TruthDig  

The Growing Wealth Gap Marks the Return of Oligarchy.  TruthOut  

Robert Reich schools ousted GOP lawmaker after she freaks out over ‘socialist Democrats’ 
AlterNet


 

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MARCH 11 THROUGH 21

March 21, 2019

Video: As Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro Prepares to Meet Donald Trump, His Family’s Close Ties to Notorious Paramilitary Gangs Draw Scrutiny and Outrage.  Intercept  

Manning and the New Inquisition. ...  The U.S. government, determined to extradite and try Julian Assange for espionage, must find a way to separate what Assange and WikiLeaks did in publishing classified material leaked to them by Chelsea Manning from what The New York Times and The Washington Post did in publishing the same material.  TruthDig/Hedges  

Trump administration ignoring human rights monitors, ACLU tells UN.  Guardian  

ENVIROMENT

Rethink Activism in the Face of Catastrophic Biological Collapse.  TruthOut  

Dead whale washed up in Philippines had 40kg of plastic bags in its stomach. ... Marine biologists horrified to find 16 rice sacks and multiple shopping bags inside Cuvier’s beaked whale.  Guardian  

Citing 'Permanent Oil Price Decline,' Norwegian Fund's Fossil Fuel Divestment Could Spark Global 'Shockwave' ... "The decision should sound like a red alert for private banks and investors whose oil and gas assets are becoming increasingly risky and morally untenable," say climate campaigners.  CommonDreams  

The Ocean Is Coming.  TruthOut  

Why eating less meat is the best thing you can do for the planet in 2019. ... Eating meat has a hefty impact on the environment from fueling climate change to polluting landscapes and waterways.  Guardian  

Concrete: the most destructive material on Earth. ... After water, concrete is the most widely used substance on the planet. But its benefits mask enormous dangers to the planet, to human health – and to culture itself.  Guardian  

Heatwaves sweeping oceans ‘like wildfires’, scientists reveal. ... Extreme temperatures destroy kelp, seagrass and corals – with alarming impacts for humanity.  Guardian  

Most US coal plants are contaminating groundwater with toxins, analysis finds. ... Of 265 US power plants that monitor groundwater, 242 report unsafe levels of at least one pollutant derived from coal ash.  Guardian  


Saudis Join With US to Kill EU Effort to Create Dirty Money Blacklist. ... "Governments must ask themselves whether they are on the side of autocrats or their citizens!"  CommonDreams  

The Neoliberal Road to Serfdom. ... The oldest refrain of the Right is that socialism leads to tyranny. Yet for the last four decades, it’s neoliberalism that’s been inching us closer to a police state.  Jacobin  

Ricardo Hausmann’s “Morning After” for Venezuela: The Neoliberal Brain Behind Juan Guaido’s Economic Agenda.  Gray Zone  

March 20, 2019

Fewer Than 20 Percent Of Americans Say Trump Opposes White Nationalism. ... Most of the president’s supporters said white Americans face a lot of discrimination.  HuffPost  

'Why Educate the Public When You Can Give Billionaires Tax Cuts': Trump Budget Would Slash All Federal Funding for Media, Arts, Libraries, Museums. ... "We should be spending more, not less," argued one critic.  CommonDreams    Related:  With Trillions in Safety Net Cuts, Bernie Sanders Says Trump Budget 'Breathtaking in Its Degree of Cruelty' ... "This is a budget for the military industrial complex, for corporate CEOs, for Wall Street, and for the billionaire class."  CommonDreams  

Will Decentralization of Neo-Nazism Spur More Right-Wing Terrorism?  TruthOut  

Brazil President’s U.S. Visit Kicks Off With Steve Bannon-Sponsored Paranoia Fest. ... At the Trump hotel event, anti-globalist advocates pushed for even greater influence over Jair Bolsonaro’s government.  HuffPost  

'One of the World's Most Respected Intelligence Services': Bolsonaro's Bring-Your-Son-to-the-CIA Day. ... "This is the perfect symbol for Latin America's far right, which has for decades drowned the left in blood thanks to the help of its CIA benefactor."
 CommonDreams  

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

 Social Media Companies “Struggle” to Help Censors Keep us in the Dark. ... According to CNN Business, “Facebook, YouTube and Twitter struggle to deal with New Zealand shooting video.”  CounterPunch  

Saudi Crown Prince’s Brutal Drive to Crush Dissenters Began Before Khashoggi.  NY Times  

Raging white woman spits at black people as she spews the N-word — and quickly loses her job.  RawStory  

Ilhan Omar Speaks Out On Israel In New Op-Ed
“A balanced, inclusive approach to the conflict recognizes the shared desire for security and freedom of both peoples,” the Minnesota Democrat wrote.  HuffPost  

March 19, 2019

Why Trump’s comments about the New Zealand attacks are so disturbing.   AlterNet  

Former Neo-Nazi: Trump May Be Complicit in Growing Threat of White Supremacy.DemocracyNow  
Related:
State-Sponsored Islamophobia & Trump’s Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric Embolden Right-Wing Terrorists.  DemocracyNow  

Despite Crackdowns, White Supremacist And Neo-Nazi Videos Take Stubborn Root On YouTube. ... The ideas in a treatise by Brenton Tarrant, the alleged gunman responsible for the massacres at two New Zealand mosques, are also circulating on many of the world’s most popular social media platforms.  
HuffPost  
   Related:   Exclusive: 7 U.S. Military Members Identified As Part Of White Nationalist Group, ,,, Leaked chat logs revealed military servicemen with ties to the extremist group Identity Evropa.  HuffPost  

America's Economy Is Rigged From Top to Bottom. ... The children of working stiffs learned a brutal lesson this week as federal prosecutors criminally charged rich people with buying admission to elite universities for their less-than-stellar children. The lesson is that no matter how hard you work, no matter how smart or talented you are, a dumb, lazy rich kid is going to beat you. TruthDig  

Don’t Let Mueller Restore Your Faith in the FBI.
TruthOut  

CLICK BAIT

Religious Conservatives Argue Adam And Eve Would Never Have Been Banished From Eden If They’d Had Guns.  > Go  

Antonio Brown Buys Pittsburgh Billboard To Thank Antonio Brown For Putting Up With City. > Go

5 things to know about Beto O'Rourke  > Go  

ICE Is Illegally Detaining Kids As Young As 5, Who Are Suffering ‘Horrendous’ Effects. ... Lawyers said the children are experiencing depression, physical illnesses and appetite loss.  HuffPost  

'Endless Trip to Hell': Israel Jails Hundreds of Palestinian Boys a Year. These Are Their Testimonies. ... They’re seized in the dead of night, blindfolded and cuffed, abused and manipulated to confess to crimes they didn't commit. Every year Israel arrests almost 1,000 Palestinian youngsters, some of them not yet 13.  Haaretz  

Gold King Mine wastewater contaminating the rivers once again.  Navajo Times  

Trump 2020: a huge war chest, a million volunteers and a revamped digital campaign.  ... He came into 2016 as an outsider but now he has the Republican party support, big money donors and a new digital guru to power his 2020 campaign. Guardian  

Establishment Democrats Are Undermining Medicare for All.  TruthOut  

Trump is cornered, with violence on his mind. We must be on red alert. ... Investigators close in, the president invokes the support of the military, police and vigilantes. This is a perilous moment.  
Guardian
 

March 18, 2019

“A Fundamentally Illegitimate Choice”: Shoshana Zuboff on the Age of Surveillance Capitalism.  Intercept   Related:  Zuboff website    -  Related:  'The goal is to automate us': welcome to the age of surveillance capitalism.  Guardian  -   Related:  Amazon product list   -  Related  Google product list  

Venezuela Coup Leader’s Oil Plans Revealed: Guaidó Hopes to Privatize State-Controlled Industry.  ...  US-appointed coup leader Juan Guaidó and his right-wing economic advisers drafted plans to privatize Venezuela’s oil industry and open up the oil-rich country to foreign corporations, Reuters reported.  Gray Zone  

US official reveals Atlantic drilling plan while hailing Trump’s ability to distract public. ... Revealed: Interior department official says he is ‘thrilled’ by Trump’s ‘knack for keeping the attention of the media and public focused somewhere else’  Guardian  

‘Jesus didn’t come to make us rich’ — and Trump’s popularity among evangelicals exposes them for what they really are: Chris Hedges.  RawStory  

Don’t Just Condemn the New Zealand Attacks — Politicians and Pundits Must Stop Their Anti-Muslim Rhetoric.  Intercept  

GOP congressman releases statement that appears sympathetic to the New Zealand shooter’s motives. ... Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) suggests the New Zealand shooter had reasonable concerns about immigrants.  ThinkProgress  

If the Filibuster Remains, the Progressive Agenda Is Doomed. .. It takes 60 votes for Democrats to build something, but only 50 for the GOP to tear it down.  
The Nation
 

US to deny visas for ICC members investigating alleged war crimes.  Washington also threatened economic sanctions if war crimes court goes ahead with inquiry into US troops in Afghanistan.  
Guardian  

Did Dallas Police and Local Media Collude to Cover Up Terrorist Threats against Journalist Barrett Brown?  CounterPunch  

Weekend of March 15-17, 2019

Regime Change Via Sanctions? U.S. Uses International Finance System to Strangle Venezuelan Economy.  DemocracyNow  

US backed coups/invasions in Latin America

Guatemala, 1954
Bolivia, 1963  
Brazil, 1964 
Dominican Republic, 1965
Chile, 1973  
Argentina, 1976
El Salvador, 1980s
Nicaragua, 1980s
Grenada, 1983
Panama, 1989  
Honduras, 2009
Uruguay, 1973, 
Paraguay (twice)
Venezuela, 2002, 2019 (in progress)
Haiti, 1991 and 2004 (Elected president kidnapped by US embassy staff and flown to Africa on a US Steel executive jet)

No matter how paranoid or conspiracy-minded you are, what the government is actually doing is far worse than you can imagine - William Blum, US State Department

Tribunal Declares Trump and Duterte Guilty of Crimes Against Humanity. ...Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and his government committed war crimes and crimes against humanity, aided and abetted by U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration, according to a recent ruling from the International Peoples’ Tribunal on the Philippines.  TruthOut  

Will New Mexico’s Historic Labor Win Spark Change in Other States?.  TruthOut  

The Boeing 737 Max 8: a Case Study in Uncreative Destruction.  CounterPunch   Related:  (2016) Crash: how computers are setting us up for disaster. Guardian  

Animal Right is the Nex Frontier for the Left. ... As the left hardens its commitment to fighting climate change, social injustice, and rampant capitalism, the question of what to do about animals will become inescapable.  The New Republic  

Brazil to Open Indigenous Reserves to Mining Without Indigenous Consent. ... For many years, international and Brazilian mining companies have dreamed of getting access to the mineral wealth lying beneath indigenous lands. Finally, the government of Jair Bolsonaro seems determined to give them that opportunity.  CommonDreams  

Who ordered Marielle Franco's murder?
David Miranda. ... Finding who ordered her death is key to the most important political cause of our time: stopping authoritarianism in Brazil.  Guardian  

Republican congressman says Green New Deal is ‘tantamount to genocide’. ... Calling the Green New Deal resolution a “fantasy-land proposal” and “tantamount to genocide,” House Republicans said they want to have a public debate on the plan in order to “pull the curtain back.”  ThinkProgress  

March 14, 2019

Intercept Investigation Leads to Record Fines Over Foreign Campaign Contributions  Intercept  

Trump’s New Budget Slashes Medicare and Bolsters Military in an “Attack on the Poor & Middle Class”. DemocracyNow  

Right-Wing State Legislators Working to Destroy Climate and Science Education, Analysis Warns. ... "The only way to be sure they don't pass is to raise public awareness."  CommonDreams  

Military Moves into Environmental Management in South America.  CounterPunch  

The High-Powered Names In The College Admissions Bribery Scandal. ... The scheme involves a slew of wealthy parents, from Hollywood actresses to Wall Street and Silicon Valley executives.  HuffPost  

The American Machine: Police Torture to Drone Assassinations.  Intercept  

As Web Turns 30, Pioneer Tim Berners-Lee Says 'You Should Have Complete Control of Your Data'. ... "The fight for the web is one of the most important causes of our time."  CommonDreams  

Exxon, Big Pharma, and Wall Street Lobbyists to Host Fundraiser for Mark Kelly in Washington.  Intercept  

A Tribal Camp in South Texas Is Vowing to Resist Trump’s Wall.  TruthOut  

March 13, 2019

"Privacy is a threat to surveillance revenue"

“I Know No One More Patriotic”: Daniel Ellsberg Praises Chelsea Manning After She Is Jailed Again.  DemocracyNow  

While Hiking Bloated Military Spending, Trump Budget Would Slash Medicaid By $1.1 Trillion.  CommonDreams  

China approves Donald Trump-branded spas, escort services, hotels and massage parlours without US Congress permission. ... Preliminary approval has been granted for 38 trademarks which raises further questions about conflicts of interest.  
Independent  

CLICK BAIT

5 Things To Know About The Orchids Of Asia Day Spa Controversy  > Go  

What’s In The Green New Deal.  > Go  

Tucker Carlson Spends Entire Show Screaming Over Child Bride He Invited On To Debate Him.  > GO  

Deus Ex…Artificial Intelligence? WAMU audio

Trump impeachment: Pelosi rules out attempt to oust president from office because ‘he’s not worth it’.  ... House speaker prefers getting political,
 Independent  

Journalists, Lawyers & Activists Targeted in Sweeping U.S. Intelligence Gathering Effort on Border.  DemocracyNow  

GOING BACKWARDS: Trump To Slash Renewables Funding in New Budget. ... Trump Escalates War On Renewable Energy, Slashes DOE Budget By 70%.  CommonDreams  

Pure: Ten Points I Just Can’t Believe About the Official Skripal Narrative.  Craig Murray  

Why record job growth in America hides a troubling reality. ... High employment rates gloss over a ‘much more complicated story’ of stagnant wages and vanishing mid-level jobs.  Guardian  

March 12, 2019

Israel’s Stranglehold on American Politics. ... The Israel lobby’s buying off of nearly every senior politician in the United States, facilitated by our system of legalized bribery, is not an anti-Semitic trope. It is a fact.  TruthDig/Hedges  

Netanyahu: Israel Is The National State ‘Only Of The Jewish People’ ... The prime minister addressed “slightly confused people” after an Israeli celebrity defended the rights of Israel’s Arab population.  HuffPost  

Facebook’s new move isn't about privacy. It’s about domination.  Mark Zuckerberg announced on Wednesday that Facebook would be ‘pivoting to privacy’. That’s an empty pledge.  Guardian  

Yes, Let’s Defeat or Impeach Donald Trump. But What If He Refuses to Leave the White House?  Intercept  

Defense Tech Startup Founded by Trump’s Most Prominent Silicon Valley Supporters Wins Secretive Military AI Contract.  Intercept  

Russell Brand, Henry Giroux and Brad Evans on Fighting Fascism.  TruthOut  

We Are Being Lied Into War Again . TruthDig  

Rebellious southern women face stigmatization for rejecting Trump: ‘White men aren’t going to want you'.  RawStory  

Judging U.S. War Crimes.  CounterPunch  

NYT’s Exposé on the Lies About Burning Aid Trucks in Venezuela Shows How U.S. Government and Media Spread Pro-War Propaganda.  Intercept

Hillary Clinton Is Still Deeply Confused About What Happened in Wisconsin. Here’s Why That Matters.  Intercept  

March 11, 2019

‘She was decapitated a block from a police station’: Indigenous women are going missing and no one listens. ... Thousands of Native American females disappeared last year – so where is the international outcry for justice. Independent  

Robert Reich: America Is Rotting From the Top.  TruthDig  

Chelsea Manning jailed for 'refusing to testify before grand jury' in Wikileaks case. ... Former intelligence officer tells judge she 'will accept whatever you bring upon me'  Independent    Related: A Tale of Two Incarcerated Women  Craig Murray  

ISRAEL

This Jew Tells Speaker Pelosi: “You May Well Prove Ilhan Omar Correct”.  CounterPunch  

Israel is Playing a Big Role in India’s Escalating Conflict with Pakistan.  CounterPunch   

U.N. Finds Israel Intentionally Shot Children, Journalists & the Disabled During Gaza Protests.  DemocracyNow  

It Is Time to Indict Israel: Norman Finkelstein on Growing Push for ICC to File War Crimes Charges.  DemocracyNow  

Breaking the Silence
Inside the Israeli Right’s Campaign to Silence an Anti-Occupation Group.  Intercept  

Kevin McCarthy Promises ‘Action’ Against Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib. ... Republican leader in House says statements by the congresswomen are equal to ones by Steve King, who said he doesn't understand why 'white supremacy' is stigmatized.  Haaretz  

Here’s The Pro-Israel Lobby’s New Plan To Preserve Its Political Influence. ...
AIPAC allies are launching a group aimed at collecting small-dollar donations for pro-Israel politicians.  HuffPost  

In Latest Assault on Palestinian Rights, US Shutters Jerusalem Consulate. ... Critics say so-called merger "is nothing more than a smokescreen trying to camouflage what is essentially an opening of American embassy in Jerusalem"  CommonDreams  

The “Humboldt Three” Take Israel to Court.  TruthOut  

A Plan to Win Socialism In America.  Jacobin  

In Condemning Ilhan Omar, Democrats Have Proved Her Right.  TruthOut   Related:  Ilhan Omar’s Critics Are Not Your Friends.  TruthDig  

Trump supporters portrayed as the stupidest, most gullible people on earth in merciless column.  RawStory  

Two NYPD Cops Coerced Sex With a Teen in Their Custody — and Prosecutors Just Dropped Rape Charges.  Intercept  

Andrew Bacevich: The US-Saudi Relationship Is a Principal Source of Instability in the Middle East.  DemocracyNow  


 

 

 

 

 

MARCH 22 THROUGH 31

Weekend of March 29-31, 2019

Weekend Read: The Case Against Israel - by Michael Neumann. (Digital Book)  The Case Against Israel systematically dismantles the rationales for Israel put forward by Alan Dershowitz and other defenders of the Zionist state.  CounterPunch  

Trump’s Green Light to Israel: First the Golan, Then the West Bank?  CounterPunch  

The Green Scare - How a Movement That Never Killed Anyone Became the FBI’s No. 1 Domestic Terrorism Threat.  Intercept  

LGBT+ people to be stoned or whipped to death in Brunei under new sex law. ... Amnesty International condemn ‘heinous’ rules introduced as part of sharia reforms in tiny kingdom.  Independent  

DEMOCRATS

Progressive Caucus Slams DCCC Head Cheri Bustos for Her Assault on Primary Challengers.
 Intercept  

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

Progressives Refuse to Back Down as DCCC Moves to Kneecap Primary Challengers. ... "Don't think for one second that it'll stop us—or the grassroots army we stand with—from backing bold, inclusive populists who will better represent their districts in Congress over neoliberal corporate Dems."  CommonDreams  

Pete Buttigieg: 2020 Democratic candidate surges to third place in new poll.  Guardian  

House Democratic Leadership Warns It Will Cut Off Any Firms That Challenge Incumbents.  
Intercept
 

The Young Left’s Anti-Capitalist Manifesto. ... Its goal is to remake our economic system — and the Democratic Party. FiveThirtyEight  

(2018) The Path Forward For Progressives.  
Data for Progress  

Banking on Climate Change.  Fossil Fuel Finance Report Card 2018  Rain Forest Action  

Chagos and the Dark Soul of the British Labour Party.  Craig Murray  

Trump wants to give 62 cents of every dollar to the military. That's immoral. ... A budget shows our values more clearly than any tweet, campaign speech, or political slogan.  Guardian  

Paula White: the pastor who helps Trump hear 'what God has to say'  Guardian  

Junk Planet: Is Earth the Largest Garbage Dump in the Universe?  CounterPunch  

Let Chelsea Go. ... The US government is holding Chelsea Manning in solitary confinement again. It’s a vindictive, unconscionable attack on a brave truth teller.  Jacobin  

March 28, 2019

“Hold Israel Accountable”: Palestinians Call on Int’l Community to Oppose Golan Heights Annexation.  DemocracyNow    Related:  Fears of New Gaza Invasion Rise as Israel Launches Airstrikes and Mobilizes Along Border.  DemocracyNow  

What the GOP learned when the wealthy tried to overthrow FDR and install a fascist dictator.  
AlterNet  

The FBI Is the Enemy of the Left.  TruthOut

Pentagon Says All of Google’s Work on Drones Is Exempt From the Freedom of Information Act.  Intercept  

Why are Police in the USA so Terrified?  
CounterPunch
 

How ISIS’s Brutal Project in the Middle East was Finally Overthrown.  CounterPunch/Cockburn  

Kushner, Inc review: Jared, Ivanka Trump and the rise of the American kakistocracy ... Like Donald Trump, Americans are displeased with Jared Kushner, the president’s squeaky sounding son-in-law.
Guardian
 

Mueller Report Ends a Shameful Period for the Press.   TruthDig   

CLICK BAIT


Scotland Yard Frees 163-Year-Old British Man After DNA Evidence Clears Him Of Being Jack The Ripper.  > Go  

William Barr Declares Mueller Investigation Fully Exonerates Members Of Reagan Administration From Iran-Contra Involvement.  > Go  

5 Things To Know About Pete Buttigieg.> Go

'Coal is on the way out': study finds fossil fuel now pricier than solar or wind. ... Around 75% of coal production is more expensive than renewables, with industry out-competed on cost by 2025.
 Guardian  

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

March 27, 2019

Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns, why should we let them have ideas. - Stalin

Mueller Report Ends a Shameful Period for the Press. ... The Mueller report’s categorical statement that Donald Trump and his campaign did not collude with Russia ends one of the most shameful periods in modern American journalism, one that rivals the mindless cheerleading for the Iraq War by most of the press.  TruthDig/Hedges  

The Grayzone’s Max Blumenthal and Anya Parampil spoke about Venezuela at a side event at a United Nations Human Rights Council session in Geneva on March 19. They joined former special rapporteur Alfred de Zayas on a panel titled “Humanitarian crisis in Venezuela: Propaganda vs. reality.”  Graystone  

Leading Democrat Under Fire for 'Shameful' AIPAC Speech  TruthDig  

U.S. Mercenaries Arrested in Haiti Were Part of a Half-Baked Scheme to Move $80 Million for Embattled President.  Intercept  

Millennials Are the Most Indebted Generation. They Can Thank Joe Biden.  TruthOut  

Why People In Finland Are So Much Happier Than Americans. ... To be the happiest country, having the top economic growth isn’t necessarily the answer. Are you listening, U.S.?  HuffPost  

Deutsche Bank execs repeatedly ignored major ‘red flags’ around Trump’s shady finances: NYT.
 RawStory  

The Crux of the Accusations Against David Sirota From the Atlantic’s  Related:  Edward-Isaac Dovere is False.  Intercept  

Leaked Audio Exposes Oil & Gas Execs Laughing With Joy Over Cozy Access to Trump Officials. ... "It's really a new world for us and very, very helpful," said powerful fossil fuel lobby group's CEO during closed-door meeting.  CommonDreams  

The Roots of Police Violence in Chicago: How Cops Have Targeted Communities of Color for Decades.  DemocracyNow  

'Momentum Is Shifting': MoveOn Calls for Democratic Presidential Candidates to Boycott AIPAC Conference. ... "This is a huge step in the right direction. AIPAC upholds the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, and second class citizenship for non-Jews in Israel."  CommonDreams  

March 26, 2019

Guns and Liberty . ... The proliferation of guns in American society is not only profitable for gun manufacturers, it fools the disempowered into fetishizing weapons as a guarantor of political agency.  TruthDig/Hedges   

Veterans Demand Congress End the Forever Wars. TruthOut

MUELLER TIME

Robert Mueller Was Never Going to Save Us.  TruthDig/Sheer  

As Mueller Finds No Collusion, Did Press Overhype Russiagate? Glenn Greenwald vs. David Cay Johnston.  DemocracyNow  

Never forget the Trump-Russia moral panic: By fearmongering far beyond the evidence, the media and politicians did a huge disservice to the public.  NY Daily News  

No collusion, plenty of corruption: Trump is not in the clear.  Guardian  

It's official: Russiagate is this generation's WMD
The Iraq war faceplant damaged the reputation of the press. Russiagate just destroyed it. ... As has long been rumored, the former FBI chief’s independent probe will result in multiple indictments and convictions, but no “presidency-wrecking” conspiracy charges, or anything that would meet the layman’s definition of “collusion” with Russia.  Tabbi  

 

A Pox on the Houses of Trump and McCain, Huxleyan Media, and the Myth of “The Vietnam War”  CounterPunch  

ACLU: The U.S. Is Acting Like an Authoritarian Regime by Barring ICC Officials Probing War Crimes.  DemocracyNow  

“Say It Ain’t So, Joe:” the Latest Neoliberal from the War and Wall Street Party.  CounterPunch  

White Nationalists Have Infiltrated the Military, Report Reveals  TruthDig  

Trump & Bolsonaro Join Forces to Back Regime Change in Venezuela & to Attack Media as “Fake News”  DemocracyNow  

Inside the Video Surveillance Program IBM Built for Philippine Strongman Rodrigo Duterte.  Intercept  

The Torture Machine: Flint Taylor on Chicago Police Brutality from Fred Hampton to Today.
DemocracyNow  

Israel's Netanyahu to play Trump card in tight election. ... PM gets Washington photo ops after Trump recognises Israeli sovereignty over Golan Heights.  Guardian     Related:  Israel’s Moves to the Right. ... Why does the right keep winning elections in Israel? The answer offered was “because Israelis are right wing.” Simple enough, and apparently, quite true.  CounterPunch  

March 25, 2019

The U.S. Deserves Its Own Nuremberg Trials. ... if America’s actions in the Middle East, especially in Iraq, were to be scrutinized the way Nazi Germany’s crimes were probed in the aftermath of World War II, the U.S. would likely also be found guilty of crimes against humanity.  TruthDig/Sheer  

House Democratic Leadership Warns It Will Cut Off Any Firms That Challenge Incumbents.  Intercept

The Ghost of Fascism in the Post-Truth Era.  ...   We do not live in a post-truth world and never have. On the contrary, we live in a pre-truth world where the truth has yet to arrive. As one of the primary currencies of politics, lies have a long history in the United States.   CounterPunch/Hedges  

Anti-Government Protests Continue in Haiti; New Details Emerge About Role of U.S. Mercenaries.  DemocracyNow  

Teachers Reportedly Shot ‘Execution Style’ With Pellets In Active Shooter Drill
Teachers at an Indiana elementary school said they were told to kneel against a wall and then were shot from behind with an airsoft gun without warning.  HuffPost  

Wyoming’s coal plants are so unprofitable Republicans turned to a ‘socialist program’ to save them. ... Wyoming lawmakers pass bill forcing ratepayers to buy dirty, uneconomic coal power.  ThinkProgress  

Thom Hartmann: America Has Forgotten the Warnings of FDR   TruthDig  

Social Democratic Nations Rank Happiest on Global Index (Again). US Ranking Falls (Again).  ... Out-sized corporate power and wealth inequality were named as reasons for Americans' chronic unhappiness in the UN's annual report.  CommonDreams  

World united in condemnation of Trump over call to recognise Israel’s claim to Golan Heights. ... ‘Illegal and unacceptable recognition does not change the fact that it belongs to Syria’     Independent    Related: Human Rights Attorney to Trump: “Israel Is Not Interested in the Golan Heights for Security”  DemocracyNow  

'Military Keynesianism is Back!': Democrats and Trump Agree on Pentagon Increase, Quibble on Details. ... "Killing people in the Global South is 'Good for the Economy'™"  CommonDreams  

A Boost To Big Banks Draws Democratic Support
Leverage rules were supposed to be the last line of defense. Now even Democratic appointees are calling to weaken them.  HuffPost  

Weekend of March 22-24, 2019

Weekend read:  The End of Ice - by Dahr Jamail. ...... Readers of The End of Ice are taken on a journey to see what is happening in Alaska, the mountain forests of California, the coral reefs of Australia, the heavily populated lowlands of South Florida, the critical Amazon forest, and other areas threatened by our corporate-driven climate crisis.  Related:  Who will Displace the Omniciders?  CounterPunch/Nader  
Buy End of Ice here  

Joe Biden Is Hillary Clinton 2.0 — Democrats Would Be Mad to Nominate Him.  Intercept  

Meet your local anti-government extremist groups
With violent rhetoric surging since Trump’s election, it helps to know your neighbors.  HCN  

Trump Threatens to Unleash Paramilitary Violence in the US.  TruthOut   Related: (2016)  I Went Undercover With a Border Militia. Here’s What I Saw.
A firsthand look inside America’s resurgent paramilitary movement.  Mother Jones  

SUNY Uses Taxpayer Dollars to Torture Kittens in Useless Experiments.  TruthOut  

Endangered species face 'disaster' under Trump administration  Guardian  

South Dakota pushes bills to prosecute ‘riot-boosting’ ahead of pipeline construction
The bills would allow the state to sue protesters — and their supporters — and use the money for pipeline-related costs.  High Country News  

The Viral Confrontation With Dianne Feinstein Had a Political Impact Most Pundits Missed.  Intercept

US and Saudi Arabia blocking regulation of geoengineering, sources say. ... Delegates at UN environment assembly say the oil producers are protecting their industries.  Guardian  

Deutsche Bank execs repeatedly ignored major ‘red flags’ around Trump’s shady finances: NYT. 
RawStory  

2018 was a year of alarming climate reports, but you wouldn’t know it watching TV news
The networks mostly ignored climate solution in 2018, but that's changing in 2019 thanks to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.  ThinkProgress  

Lawmaker Who Compared Green New Deal to Genocide Rakes in Oil Money.  TruthDig    

Socialism Curiously Trumps Fascism in U.S. Political Threat Reporting.  CounterPunch  

Cambridge Analytica a year on: ‘a lesson in institutional failure’ ,,, One year after she broke the scandal, Carole Cadwalladr talks to whistleblower Christopher Wylie about the fallout for big tech, and the fight to hold the culprits to account.  Guardian  

Cambridge Analytica was the Chernobyl of privacy. ... There was evidence as early as 2011 that Facebook had acquired data on millions of users, but it took the Cambridge Analytica scandal to give the privacy meltdown story a villian.  Guardian     Related:  The Cambridge Analytica scandal changed the world – but it didn't change Facebook  Guardian  

A digital gangster destroying democracy: the damning verdict on Facebook. ... Parliament’s report into fake news raises many questions, but will the government act?  Guardian  

On the Ground in Venezuela vs. the Media Spectacle.  CounterPunch    Related: The Reality Behind Trump’s Venezuela Regime Change Coalition.  CounterPunch


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
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