(2018-10-29). Regime Change In Riyadh? The CIA Has Just Publicly Dumped MbS. iranian.com A fascinating FT article suggests Western intelligence agencies have now dumped Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman after he's been personally accused by world leaders — foremost among them Turkey's President Erdogan and US President Trump — for ordering the brutal murder and dismemberment of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Implicit in the article, rich with quotes from current and former US and Western intelligence […]
(2018-10-29). Julian Assange, Ecuador and the Dangers of Farce. globalresearch.ca This is the next stage of the Julian Assange chronicles: from the summit of information disclosures and meddlesome revelations on classified state matters, the Australian rabblerouser now finds himself the subject of a new round of jokes and ribbing. WikiLeaks, …
(2018-10-29). 'Movement missing voices of Dalit, Adivasi women'. zcomm.org Interview on her list, the ascension of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court and accusations about the Indian newsroom…
(2018-10-29). Spy and police chiefs demand passage of Australian encryption access law. wsws.org The heads of the "security" apparatus spoke on behalf of the US-led "Five Eyes" intelligence network, which conducts mass monitoring of the world's population.
(2018-10-29). GOP Attacks on Native American Voting Rights Have Catalyzed Resistance. truthout.org With midterms just weeks away, tribes are mobilizing voters in response to the recent Supreme Court ruling that upheld a 2017 North Dakota Voter ID law requiring residents to provide identification with a current street address to vote. | The law disproportionately affects Native voters in North Dakota and could curtail the Native vote in a state where Democratic incumbent Sen. Heidi Heitkamp is trailing Republican challenger US Rep. Kevin Cramer. Native voters typically vote for Democrats. | Tribes are now pushing back against disenfranchisement of Native voters by Republican leadership in North Dakota, but it r…
(2018-10-29). KPFA Board Won't Call for Julian Assange's Freedom. indybay.org On Saturday, October 20, the KPFA Local Station Board considered a resolution calling for the freedom of Wikileaks founder, journalist, and publisher Julian Assange. The board did not pass that resolution but it did pass one saying that it encouraged programming about Assange's case. This is the audio of that part of the board meeting.
(2018-10-28). The Rise of Shadow Parties. truthout.org 
Since the Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United ruling ushered in a new era of big money in politics, congressional party finances have dramatically shifted. The parties now increasingly rely on loosely regulated shadow parties with close ties to congressional party leaders and comparatively less on official party committees. | And a new Brennan Center analysis shows that so far in the 2018 cycle, the trend is intensifying. | Here's why this matters: | Shadow parties use super PACs to raise unlimited contributions. In fact, their revenue comes overwhelmingly from massive contributions larger than the median Ameri…
(2018-10-26). The glorious, notorious Ruth Bader Ginsburg in a traveling exhibition. peoplesworld.org 
LOS ANGELES—In July of this year, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg announced that she intended to serve "at least five more years." By that time she would be 90, the same age that her senior colleague John Paul Stevens retired. The liberal Justice RBG, as she is familiarly known, is the object of what …
(2018-10-26). Headlines for October 26, 2018. democracynow.org Investigators Narrow In on Florida in Ongoing Mail Bomb Case, Turkish President Urges Saudis to Reveal Who Ordered Khashoggi Murder, U.N. Calls for International Investigation into Khashoggi Murder, Trump Sends Troops, Threatens to Close U.S.-Mexico Border over Migrant Caravan, Caitlyn Jenner Denounces Trump's Attacks on Trans Rights in Op-ed, Trump Administration Approves Plan to Drill Off Alaska Coast, Officers Involved in Drowning Death of Two SC Women Detainees Fired, Sen. Grassley Asks DOJ to Investigate Avenatti and Julie Swetnick over Kavanaugh Statements, Reporter Body-Slammed by Rep. Gianforte Tells Cong…
(2018-10-26). Accused Bomber Cesar Sayoc Was a Fervent Trump Supporter. theintercept.com 
Cesar Sayoc was a broke and marginalized man until President Donald Trump gave him a purpose, court records and online archives suggest. | The FBI arrested Sayoc in Florida today and charged him with five counts for his alleged role in mailing pipe bombs to an array of Democratic Party politicians and Trump critics, including former President Barack Obama, former Vice President Joe Biden, and former Attorney General Eric Holder, among others. Pipe bombs addressed to former CIA Director John Brennan and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper were addressed to CNN's headquarters in New York. | The F…
(2018-10-26). Doug Wardlow, GOP Attorney General Candidate, May Have Violated Judicial Ethics With A Partisan Blog. theintercept.com 
Minnesota Republican attorney general candidate Doug Wardlow was the author of a controversial, partisan blog while he was a clerk at the Minnesota Supreme Court, The Intercept has learned. Wardlow was previously suspected of authoring the anonymous blog but has declined to comment. Only circumstantial, albeit persuasive, evidence had emerged until now. | His authorship of the blog is a critical election issue, as a key question in the race is whether each candidate can play the role of the state's top cop in a nonpartisan manner. Many have
(2018-10-25). Headlines for October 25, 2018. democracynow.org Authorities Investigating Mail Bombs Targeting High-Profile Democrats, Trump Attacks Media as NYC Mayor Says Hateful Rhetoric Fuels Violence, California Neo-Nazi Leader Arrested & Charged After Fleeing the U.S., Saudi Crown Prince Acknowledges Khashoggi Murder for First Time, CIA Director Gina Haspel Hears Audio Recording of Khashoggi Murder, Spanish PM Defends Decision to Sell Weapons to Saudi Arabia, French President Emmanuel Macron Vows to Continue Saudi Weapons Sales, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani Says U.S. Aided in Khashoggi Murder, Yemen: Saudi-Led Coalition Bombs Kill 16, Wound 12, Super Typhoon Yutu De…
(2018-10-25). My Boss Fired Me From My Funeral Home Job for Being Transgender. aclu.org 
Aimee Stephens spent most of her life struggling with her gender identity. When she finally came out to her boss, she was fired. | I was in funeral services for nearly three decades before I was fired in 2013 for being transgender. In March, a federal appeals court agreed that it was wrong to fire me just because of who I am. Now, the Supreme Court will consider whether to review that court ruling. | While studying to be a pastor in college, I needed a job, and I found one in a funeral home. There are a lot of different ministries people can pursue, and I realized comforting people during one of the most vulnerab…
(2018-10-25). Trump Blames Media for Inciting "Anger" After Bombs Sent to CNN & High-Profile Democrats. democracynow.org 
Federal authorities have launched an investigation after pipe bombs were sent to a number of prominent Democrats, all critics of President Trump. The targets identified include President Obama, Hillary Clinton, George Soros, former Attorney General Eric Holder, Congressmember Maxine Waters and former CIA Director John Brennan. The packages listed Democratic Congressmember Debbie Wasserman Schultz as the return address. Police are also investigating a suspicious package sent to former Vice President Joe Biden and a suspicious package found today at actor Robert De Niro's restaurant in New York. On Wednesday, CNN w…
(2018-10-24). Aimee Stephens Was Fired Because She Is Transgender. That's Sex Discrimination. aclu.org The ACLU is asking the Supreme Court to let stand a lower court ruling that Aimee's firing was unlawful. | Jeff Sessions and Donald Trump think federal law shouldn't protect transgender people. They think it should be legal to fire someone just because she's trans. Five federal appeals courts disagree. On Wednesday, the ACLU asked the Supreme Court to let stand one of those rulings, in the case of Aimee Stephens. | Aimee had worked at a funeral home in Detroit for nearly six years when she wrote a letter telling her boss and coworkers that she is transgender. Two weeks after she came out as a woman to her employe…
(2018-10-23). Unequal Justice: Why Trump Picked Kavanaugh. progressive.org The Trump Administration lauded Kavanaugh as a judge who "protects American businesses from illegal job-killing regulation."
(2018-10-23). Headlines for October 23, 2018. democracynow.org Turkish President: Khashoggi Murdered in Premeditated, Political Act, Mnuchin Meets Saudi Crown Prince as Trump Sends CIA Chief to Turkey, Hackers Target Saudi Investment Conference Website, Yemen: Tropical Storm Kills 12, Exacerbating Cholera Crisis, Bolton Meets with Russians as U.S. Plans Nuclear Treaty Withdrawal, Central American Caravan Continues Toward U.S. Despite Trump Threats, Mexico: Tropical Storm Vicente Kills 12 as Hurricane Willa Approaches, Human Rights Watch: British Academic Jailed by UAE Denied Rights, Trans Rights Protests Target Plans to Narrow Definition of Gender, Trump Admin to Expand Reli…
(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, (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.