(2018-09-20). Former MEK Official Exposes Saudi Arabia's Covert Funding of Iranian Terror Group. mintpressnews.com According to the Iranian terror group's former head of security, Saudi intelligence helped fund the group by smuggling valuables like gold and Rolex watches into Iraq and Jordan for sale on the black market.
(2018-09-20). "Kick Ass, Ask Questions Later": A Border Patrol Whistleblower Speaks Out About Culture of Abuse Against Migrants. theintercept.com 
The former agent said that he could not stand by as he saw reports that the abuses he witnessed continue — including the destruction of water jugs.
(2018-09-20). Monsanto asks judge to overturn $289m cancer verdict, claims dying man presented lack of evidence. rt.com 
Agrochemical giant Monsanto has appealed to a California judge to throw out a $289 million jury verdict awarded to a man who claimed that the Bayer-owned company's glyphosate-based weed-killers, including Roundup, gave him cancer.
(2018-09-20). US slaps Chinese arms procurer with sanctions for buying advanced Russian weapons. rt.com 
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has authorized the addition of 33 Russian defense and intelligence officials and entities to the ever-growing US sanctions list and also targeted a Chinese military entity for buying Russian arms.
(2018-09-19). Trump Is Unshackling America's Drones Thanks to Obama's Weakness. aclu.org Obama didn't do enough to curtail America's drones. Now expansion under Trump could have devastating consequences. | The piece was originally published by The Guardian. | For more than a decade, the worst-kept secret in the world has been the fact that the Central Intelligence Agency owns and operates lethal drones outside of recognized battlefields abroad. Newspapers blare it from their (2018-09-19). "A Matter of Life and Death": Trump Admin Slashes Refugee Cap to Historic Low, Imperiling Thousands. democracynow.org 
The Trump administration has once again slashed the number of refugees allowed to resettle in the United States. On Monday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the new cap on refugees would be a historic low of just 30,000 next year, down from the current level of 45,000. The actual number of refugees allowed in to the country is expected to be even lower than the 30,000 cap. Monday's announcement represents the lowest ceiling any president has imposed on the U.S. refugee program since its creation in 1980. Under President Obama, the refugee cap reached 110,000. For more on the Trump administration's refugee…
(2018-09-19). US can spy on journalists domestically using FISA warrants, declassified guidelines show. rt.com 
Newly declassified Department of Justice memos show guidelines for the US government spying on journalists and their sources using FISA warrants — the same method used to spy on Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.
(2018-09-19). New police raids and Europe-wide manhunt against G20 opponents. wsws.org While neo-Nazis are hunting down immigrants in German cities, the police ransacked 15 apartments and arrested a person for alleged involvement in "left-wing extremist" riots in Hamburg.
(2018-09-18). Seymour Hersh: a Life of Adversarial Democracy at Work. counterpunch.org 
Looking back, it's almost as if President Dwight D. Eisenhower were trying to warn the American public, in his Farewell speech of 1961, of mad doctors at work in the labs of our exceptional democracy — what we've come to call the Deep State. Said Ike: "We should take nothing for granted: Only an alert More
(2018-09-18). '71 yrs of spying & regime change': CIA tweets about birthday, gets trolled in comments. rt.com 
The CIA has tweeted a GIF marking its 71st birthday — and while some folks on Twitter took the opportunity to express their sincere thanks to the intelligence agency for the work it does, others were, let's just say, not so kind.
(2018-09-17). Congress Is Poised to Give Trump Administration Powerful New Spying Powers. aclu.org Congress is once again using "national security" as magic words to increase the government's surveillance powers in dangerous and unaccountable ways. | The Trump administration wants more spying power — and Congress appears poised to give it to them. | Touting national security to justify spying powers that jeopardize our constitutional rights is a strategy that we have seen before. It happened with the Patriot Act after 9/11, and members of Congress and government officials are now employing similar arguments again. This time it involves a drone bill that some in Congress are (2018-09-17). Government Can Spy on Journalists in the U.S. Using Invasive Foreign Intelligence Process. theintercept.com The U.S. government can monitor journalists under a foreign intelligence law that allows invasive spying and operates outside the traditional court system, according to newly released documents. | Targeting members of the press under the law, known as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, requires approval from the Justice Department's highest-ranking officials, the documents show. | In two 2015 memos for the FBI, the attorney general spells out "procedures for processing Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act applications targeting known media entities or known members of the media." The guidelines say the attorney general, the deputy attorney general, or their delegate must sign off before the bureau can bring an application to the secretive panel of judges that approves monitoring under the 1978 act, which governs intelligence-related wiretapping and other surveillance carried out domestically and against U.S. persons abroad. | The high level of supervision…
(2018-09-17). Lisa Page reveals FBI had no evidence of collusion for 'Russiagate' probe. rt.com 
By the time special counsel Robert Mueller was appointed, the FBI had found no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia during the 2016 US presidential election, according to agency lawyer Lisa Page. |
(2018-09-14). US-Europe Alliance Will Outlast Trump, No Matter What He Does. therealnews.com 
Trump's erratic behavior towards allies is causing pundits in the US and abroad to worry about the future of the Transatlantic Alliance between the US and Europe. The concern is misplaced, however, says CEPR's Mark Weisbrot
(2018-09-14). Paul Manafort pleads guilty to two criminal charges, will cooperate with Mueller. rt.com 
Former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort has pleaded guilty to two criminal charges, and will cooperate with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's 'Russiagate' investigation as part of a plea deal. |
(2018-09-13). Headlines for September 13, 2018. democracynow.org Millions Along East Coast Brace for Arrival of Hurricane Florence, Toxic Waste Sites and Nuclear Plants Lie in Path of Hurricane Florence, Puerto Rican Officials Slam Trump for Claiming Response to Maria Was "Success" | , NYT: More Migrant Children Are Detained Than at Any Other Time in U.S. History | , Parents Forcibly Separated from Children Win Second Chance to Apply for Asylum | , NYT: Scott Pruitt in Talks to Work as Consultant to Coal Tycoon, Pompeo Certifies Saudi-Led Coalition Taking Steps to Protect Yemeni Civilians, Despite Evidence, Guatemala Protests President's Effort to Shut Down U.N.-Backed Anti-Co…
(2018-09-12). Pompeo says Saudi coalition exercising caution in Yemen — facts show that's not true. rt.com 
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has told Congress that the governments of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are doing enough to protect civilians in their campaign in Yemen. The facts however, tell a different story. |