Daily Archives: October 23, 2018

2018-10-23: News Headlines

Middle East Eye (2018-10-23). EXCLUSIVE: Turkey Believes MBS Bodyguard Took Khashoggi Body Part To Riyadh. iranian.com Turkish authorities believe part of Jamal Khashoggi's body was transported out of Turkey by one of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's bodyguards, sources have told Middle East Eye. Maher Abdulaziz Mutrib, an intelligence officer implicated in the killing of the Saudi journalist, is thought to have taken the body part out in a large bag, the sources […]

Bill Blum (2018-10-23). Unequal Justice: Why Trump Picked Kavanaugh. progressive.org The Trump Administration lauded lauded Kavanaugh as a judge who "protects American businesses from illegal job-killing regulation."

wsws (2018-10-23). US State Department "socialists" discover the war in Yemen. wsws.org The ISO and the DSA respond like political weathervanes to shifting winds within the US intelligence agencies in regard to Saudi Arabia's current ruler.

RT (2018-10-23). Trump condom, anyone? President, Pence and Kavanaugh become face of college rubbers (PHOTO). rt.com A "reproductive justice" group at Georgetown University in Washington DC has used the mugs of Republican figures like US President Donald Trump and new Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh to promote student condoms.

Adam Johnson (2018-10-22). Blaming Saudis for Corrupting Otherwise Human Rights—Loving US. fair.org As FAIR has noted for years, one of the primary ideological functions of US corporate media is to maintain the mythology that the US is a noble protector of democracy and arbiter of human rights. When material facts—like wars of aggression, massive spying regimes, the funding and arming right-wing militias and the propping up of dictators—get in the way of this mythology the response by most pundits is to wave away these inconsistencies (FAIR.org, 2/1/09), ignore them altogether (FAIR.org, Christopher Brauchli (2018-10-22). The Liars' Bench. counterpunch.org No one is such a liar as the indignant man. — Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, Thus Spake Zarathustra Defense lawyers are wondering what the impact of Brett Kavanaugh's elevation to the United States Supreme Court will be on criminal law in the United States. The question is not purely academic. What we now know is that, thanks More

Gary Leupp (2018-10-22). Will Trump Split the World by Endorsing a Bold-Faced Lie? counterpunch.org The Saudi "investigation" into the Khashoggi murder, conducted on the demand of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, is not yet complete. But preliminary conclusions have been announced in the Saudi media. Turns out (surprise, surprise!) Khashoggi died while in a choke-hold following a fist-fight in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in a botched effort More

Middle East Eye (2018-10-22). Assange Should Be Thanked — Not Smeared — for WikiLeaks' Service to Journalism. theantimedia.com (MEE Op-ed) — Twelve years ago this month, WikiLeaks began publishing government secrets that the world public might otherwise never have known. What it has revealed about state duplicity, human rights abuses and corruption goes beyond anything published in the world's "mainstream" media. After over six months of being cut off from outside world, on 14 October Ecuador has partly …

wsws (2018-10-22). Julian Assange takes legal action against Ecuadorian government. wsws.org WikiLeaks lawyers will challenge Ecuador's threat to evict Assange from its London embassy if he does not accept anti-democratic conditions for continuing asylum.

RT (2018-10-22). Brooklyn witches curse Kavanaugh, but will the hex work? RT investigates (VIDEO). rt.com Twitter hashtags failed to stop Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation to the Supreme Court — but maybe a hex will prevent him from serving? RT met up with a group of witches in Brooklyn who seemed to think so.

RT (2018-10-22). 'Malicious' Mike Pompeo slammed by China after he warns Latin America to be wary of Asian powerhouse. rt.com Chinese newspapers have slammed US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo after he told the media that "when China comes calling it's not always to the good of your citizens" and warning of the hidden risks of Chinese investment.

wsws (2018-10-22). Socialist Alternative and Democratic Socialists of America hold election rally for Democrats in Chicago. wsws.org The pseudo-lefts are collaborating to refurbish the image of the increasingly right-wing Democratic Party, which is running an unprecedented number of CIA agents in the midterms.

wsws (2018-10-20). Pompeo meets with Mexican government as its police attack Honduran migrants. wsws.org Hundreds of women and children were injured in the crackdown on a narrow bridge over the river separating Mexico and Guatemala.

Consortiumnews (2018-10-19). Psyched at The American Psychological Association. consortiumnews.com Read more →>

Michael Brenner (2018-10-19). The APA Wants Back into Gitmo — and the Pentagon's Good Graces. mintpressnews.com A trip to an American Psychological Association convention revealed an attempt to get back into Guantanamo Bay after a scandal with the CIA and Pentagon as well as a profession that is enamored with its own power, reports Michael Brenner.

RT (2018-10-19). Migrant caravan using women & children as human shields to break into Mexico — Pompeo. rt.com US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had some choice words about the thousands-strong crowd of Central American migrants surging toward Mexico, urging the country to take any and all steps necessary to halt the human wave.

Belle Chesler (2018-10-18). The Indelible Pain of the Kavanaugh Hearings. thenation.com The Indelible Pain of the Kavanaugh Hearings…

aclu (2018-10-18). Meet Edward Blum, the Man Who Wants to Kill Affirmative Action in Higher Education. aclu.org Activist Edward Blum has been trying to destroy race-conscious college admissions for a long time. | In a federal lawsuit that went to trial this week, the organization Students for Fair Admissions is challenging Harvard University's admissions practices, arguing that the consideration of race in the process violates the Equal Protection Clause. | So what's at stake in this case? A lot. | Just two years ago, in Fisher v. the University of Texas, the Supreme Court reaffirmed that the consideration of race as part of a holistic admissions pr…

RT (2018-10-18). Treasury official charged with leaking classified info to feed 'Russia meddling' narrative. rt.com A US Treasury official was arrested and charged with conspiracy for leaking secret banking documents to the press, feeding a everlasting stream of often bogus 'bombshell' reports about Mueller's notorious 'Russian meddling' probe.

RT (2018-10-18). Israel overturns deportation order, will allow detained US student Alqasem to enter. rt.com Lawyers for a US student refused entry to Israel for allegedly supporting a boycott movement against the Jewish state have declared victory, after she had her deportation order overturned by Israel's Supreme Court. |

RT (2018-10-18). 'Modern exorcist' holds ritual to shield Kavanaugh from coordinated hexing by witches & sorcerers. rt.com After a Brooklyn occult shop made headlines with a public hexing of controversial Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, exorcist Father Gary Thomas has stepped up to defend the judge's spiritual flank with a well-timed mass.

RT (2018-10-18). Pompeo warned Saudis they have 72 hrs to finish probe into Khashoggi case, or risk blowback — report. rt.com Mike Pompeo told Saudi Arabia's crown prince that he had 72 hours to finish his probe into the alleged murder of Jamal Khashoggi if he wanted to avoid tarnishing the kingdom's "place on the world stage," according to Axios.

Thomas Kerr (2018-10-17). Supreme Court Hangover. thenation.com Supreme Court Hangover…

Mike Lux, Celinda Lake (2018-10-17). We Must Channel Our Fury Over Kavanaugh Before Election Day. thenation.com We Must Channel Our Fury Over Kavanaugh Before Election Day…

Jo-Marie Burt (2018-10-16). Bittersweet Justice in Guatemala. progressive.org A Guatemalan court found that the army committed genocide against the Maya Ixil, but at the same time acquitted the chief of military intelligence of wrongdoing.

Democracy Now! (2018-10-16). Ari Berman: Republicans in North Dakota Are Attempting to Disenfranchise Thousands of Native Voters. democracynow.org The Supreme Court has ruled it will allow the state of North Dakota to enforce a new voter ID requirement that will make it harder for Native Americans to vote during the midterm elections. The state's new voter ID law requires voters to show identification demonstrating a residential street address, but this has already rendered many tribal IDs invalid, since many Native Americans who live on reservations depend on post office boxes to receive mail. The law could make a difference in the close race between Democratic Senator Heidi Heitkamp and her Republican challenger Kevin Cramer. The race is expected to help…

Eric Ortiz (2018-10-16). How the FBI Silences Whistleblowers. consortiumnews.com Speaking truth to power has ruined Darin Jones, a former FBI contract specialist who reported evidence of serious procurement improprieties. He should be the last federal whistleblower victimized, writes John Kiriakou. By John Kiriakou Special to Consortium News The idea of… Read more →

Democracy Now! (2018-10-16). Trump Won in 2016 Thanks to Voter Suppression Says Carol Anderson, Author of "One Person, No Vote" democracynow.org Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election due to voter suppression. That's what professor Carol Anderson argues in her new book "One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression Is Destroying Our Democracy," which tracks the rise of restrictive voting laws across the United States. In it, Anderson examines how African-American voter participation has been systematically compromised since a 2013 Supreme Court decision that gutted the 1965 Voting Rights Act. By the 2016 election, turnout among black voters nationwide dropped from 66 percent to under 60 percent. The discrepancy was even larger in key areas like Milw…

The Progressive Magazine (2018-10-04). The Mark Judge We Knew. progressive.org Writing for us back in the 1980s, Judge, now a key figure in the Kavanaugh drama, displayed a concern for social justice, and a progressive vision for the world.

TeleSur English (2018-09-24). Trump Administration Pledges Fresh 'Action' Against Venezuela. venezuelanalysis.com Pompeo wasn't specific on which actions would be used "to increase the pressure level against the Venezuelan leadership."

2018-10-23: Social Media Postees

Unequal Justice: Why Trump Picked Kavanaugh
Bill Blum | progressive.org | 2018-10-23
The Trump Administration lauded lauded Kavanaugh as a judge who "protects American businesses from illegal job-killing regulation."
progressive.org/dispatches/unequal-justice-why-trump-picked-kavanaugh-181023/

EXCLUSIVE: Turkey Believes MBS Bodyguard Took Khashoggi Body Part To Riyadh
Middle East Eye | iranian.com | 2018-10-23
Turkish authorities believe part of Jamal Khashoggi's body was transported out of Turkey by one of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's bodyguards, sources have told Middle East Eye. Maher Abdulaziz Mutrib, an intelligence officer implicated in the killing of the Saudi journalist, is thought to have taken the body part out in a large bag, the sources […] | The post EXCLUSIVE: Turkey Believes MBS Bodyguard Took Khashoggi Body Part To Riyadh appeared first on The Irani…
iranian.com/2018/10/22/turkey-believes-mbs-bodyguard-took-khashoggi-body-part-to-riyadh/

Trump condom, anyone? President, Pence and Kavanaugh become face of college rubbers (PHOTO)
RT | rt.com | 2018-10-23
A "reproductive justice" group at Georgetown University in Washington DC has used the mugs of Republican figures like US President Donald Trump and new Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh to promote student condoms. | …
rt.com/usa/442037-trump-pence-college-condoms/

US State Department "socialists" discover the war in Yemen
wsws | wsws.org | 2018-10-23
The ISO and the DSA respond like political weathervanes to shifting winds within the US intelligence agencies in regard to Saudi Arabia's current ruler.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/10/23/yeme-o23.html

Will Trump Split the World by Endorsing a Bold-Faced Lie?
Gary Leupp | counterpunch.org | 2018-10-22
The Saudi "investigation" into the Khashoggi murder, conducted on the demand of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, is not yet complete. But preliminary conclusions have been announced in the Saudi media. Turns out (surprise, surprise!) Khashoggi died while in a choke-hold following a fist-fight in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in a botched effort…
counterpunch.org/2018/10/22/will-trump-split-the-world-by-endorsing-a-bold-faced-lie/

The Liars' Bench
Christopher Brauchli | counterpunch.org | 2018-10-22
No one is such a liar as the indignant man. — Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, Thus Spake Zarathustra Defense lawyers are wondering what the impact of Brett Kavanaugh's elevation to the United States Supreme Court will be on criminal law in the United States. The question is not purely academic. What we now know is that, thanks…
counterpunch.org/2018/10/22/the-liars-bench/

Julian Assange takes legal action against Ecuadorian government
wsws | wsws.org | 2018-10-22
WikiLeaks lawyers will challenge Ecuador's threat to evict Assange from its London embassy if he does not accept anti-democratic conditions for continuing asylum.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/10/22/assa-o22.html

Brooklyn witches curse Kavanaugh, but will the hex work? RT investigates (VIDEO)
RT | rt.com | 2018-10-22
Twitter hashtags failed to stop Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation to the Supreme Court — but maybe a hex will prevent him from serving? RT met up with a group of witches in Brooklyn who seemed to think so. | …
rt.com/usa/441951-witches-hex-brett-kavanaugh/

Socialist Alternative and Democratic Socialists of America hold election rally for Democrats in Chicago
wsws | wsws.org | 2018-10-22
The pseudo-lefts are collaborating to refurbish the image of the increasingly right-wing Democratic Party, which is running an unprecedented number of CIA agents in the midterms.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/10/22/chic-o22.html

'Malicious' Mike Pompeo slammed by China after he warns Latin America to be wary of Asian powerhouse
RT | rt.com | 2018-10-22
Chinese newspapers have slammed US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo after he told the media that "when China comes calling it's not always to the good of your citizens" and warning of the hidden risks of Chinese investment. | …
rt.com/usa/441932-china-pompeo-latin-america-criticism/

Assange Should Be Thanked — Not Smeared — for WikiLeaks' Service to Journalism
Middle East Eye | theantimedia.com | 2018-10-22
(MEE Op-ed) — Twelve years ago this month, WikiLeaks began publishing government secrets that the world public might otherwise never have known. What it has revealed about state duplicity, human rights abuses and corruption goes beyond anything published in the world's "mainstream" media. After over six months of being cut off from outside world, on 14 October Ecuador has partly …

Assange Should Be Thanked — Not Smeared — for WikiLeaks' Service to Journalism

Pompeo meets with Mexican government as its police attack Honduran migrants
wsws | wsws.org | 2018-10-20
Hundreds of women and children were injured in the crackdown on a narrow bridge over the river separating Mexico and Guatemala.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/10/20/immi-o20.html

The APA Wants Back into Gitmo — and the Pentagon's Good Graces
Michael Brenner | mintpressnews.com | 2018-10-19
A trip to an American Psychological Association convention revealed an attempt to get back into Guantanamo Bay after a scandal with the CIA and Pentagon as well as a profession that is enamored with its own power, reports Michael Brenner. | The post The APA Wants Back into Gitmo — and the Pentagon's Good Graces appeared first on MintPress News.
mintpressnews.com/the-apa-wants-back-into-gitmo-and-the-pentagons-good-graces/250883/

Migrant caravan using women & children as human shields to break into Mexico — Pompeo
RT | rt.com | 2018-10-19
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had some choice words about the thousands-strong crowd of Central American migrants surging toward Mexico, urging the country to take any and all steps necessary to halt the human wave. | …
rt.com/usa/441786-migrants-border-children-pompeo/

Meet Edward Blum, the Man Who Wants to Kill Affirmative Action in Higher Education
aclu | aclu.org | 2018-10-18
Activist Edward Blum has been trying to destroy race-conscious college admissions for a long time. | In a federal lawsuit that went to trial this week, the organization Students for Fair Admissions is challenging Harvard University's admissions practices, arguing that the consideration of race in the process violates the Equal Protection Clause. | So what's at stake in this case? A lot. | Just two years ago, in Fisher v. the University of Texas, the Supreme Court reaffirmed that the consideration of race as part of a holistic admissions pr…
aclu.org/blog/racial-justice/affirmative-action/meet-edward-blum-man-who-wants-kill-affirmative-action-higher

The Indelible Pain of the Kavanaugh Hearings
Belle Chesler | thenation.com | 2018-10-18
The Indelible Pain of the Kavanaugh Hearings…
thenation.com/article/the-indelible-pain-of-the-kavanaugh-hearings/

Israel overturns deportation order, will allow detained US student Alqasem to enter
RT | rt.com | 2018-10-18
Lawyers for a US student refused entry to Israel for allegedly supporting a boycott movement against the Jewish state have declared victory, after she had her deportation order overturned by Israel's Supreme Court. | …
rt.com/usa/441667-israel-boycott-student-victory/

'Modern exorcist' holds ritual to shield Kavanaugh from coordinated hexing by witches & sorcerers
RT | rt.com | 2018-10-18
After a Brooklyn occult shop made headlines with a public hexing of controversial Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, exorcist Father Gary Thomas has stepped up to defend the judge's spiritual flank with a well-timed mass. | …
rt.com/usa/441680-exorcist-protect-kavanaugh-hex/

Treasury official charged with leaking classified info to feed 'Russia meddling' narrative
RT | rt.com | 2018-10-18
A US Treasury official was arrested and charged with conspiracy for leaking secret banking documents to the press, feeding a everlasting stream of often bogus 'bombshell' reports about Mueller's notorious 'Russian meddling' probe. | …
rt.com/usa/441570-treasury-official-charged-leak-conspiracy/

Pompeo warned Saudis they have 72 hrs to finish probe into Khashoggi case, or risk blowback — report
RT | rt.com | 2018-10-18
Mike Pompeo told Saudi Arabia's crown prince that he had 72 hours to finish his probe into the alleged murder of Jamal Khashoggi if he wanted to avoid tarnishing the kingdom's "place on the world stage," according to Axios. | …
rt.com/usa/441618-pompeo-warned-saudis-probe/

We Must Channel Our Fury Over Kavanaugh Before Election Day
Mike Lux, Celinda Lake | thenation.com | 2018-10-17
We Must Channel Our Fury Over Kavanaugh Before Election Day…
thenation.com/article/we-must-channel-our-fury-over-kavanaugh-before-election-day/

Supreme Court Hangover
Thomas Kerr | thenation.com | 2018-10-17
Supreme Court Hangover…
thenation.com/article/supreme-court-hangover/

How the FBI Silences Whistleblowers
Eric Ortiz | consortiumnews.com | 2018-10-16
Speaking truth to power has ruined Darin Jones, a former FBI contract specialist who reported evidence of serious procurement improprieties. He should be the last federal whistleblower victimized, writes John Kiriakou. By John Kiriakou Special to Consortium News The idea of… Read more ?…
consortiumnews.com/2018/10/16/how-the-fbi-silences-whistleblowers/

Trump Won in 2016 Thanks to Voter Suppression Says Carol Anderson, Author of "One Person, No Vote"
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-10-16
Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election due to voter suppression. That's what professor Carol Anderson argues in her new book "One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression Is Destroying Our Democracy," which tracks the rise of restrictive voting laws across the United States. In it, Anderson examines how African-American voter participation has been systematically compromised since a 2013 Supreme Court decision that gutted the 1965 Voting Rights Act. By the 2016 election, turnout among black voters nationwide dropped from 66 percent to under 60 percent. The discrepancy was even larger in key areas like Milw…
www.democracynow.org/2018/10/16/trump_won_in_16_thanks_to

Ari Berman: Republicans in North Dakota Are Attempting to Disenfranchise Thousands of Native Voters
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-10-16
The Supreme Court has ruled it will allow the state of North Dakota to enforce a new voter ID requirement that will make it harder for Native Americans to vote during the midterm elections. The state's new voter ID law requires voters to show identification demonstrating a residential street address, but this has already rendered many tribal IDs invalid, since many Native Americans who live on reservations depend on post office boxes to receive mail. The law could make a difference in the close race between Democratic Senator Heidi Heitkamp and her Republican challenger Kevin Cramer. The race is expected to help…
www.democracynow.org/2018/10/16/ari_berman_republicans_in_north_dakota

Bittersweet Justice in Guatemala
Jo-Marie Burt | progressive.org | 2018-10-16
A Guatemalan court found that the army committed genocide against the Maya Ixil, but at the same time acquitted the chief of military intelligence of wrongdoing.
progressive.org/dispatches/court-delivers-bittersweet-justice-in-guatemala-181016/

The Mark Judge We Knew
The Progressive Magazine | progressive.org | 2018-10-04
Writing for us back in the 1980s, Judge, now a key figure in the Kavanaugh drama, displayed a concern for social justice, and a progressive vision for the world.
progressive.org/dispatches/the-mark-judge-we-knew-181004/

Trump Administration Pledges Fresh 'Action' Against Venezuela
TeleSur English | venezuelanalysis.com | 2018-09-24
Pompeo wasn't specific on which actions would be used "to increase the pressure level against the Venezuelan leadership."
venezuelanalysis.com/news/14064