Amnesty International's Troubling Collaboration with UK & US Intelligence
Alexander Rubinstein | mintpressnews.com | 2019-01-17
Some troubling connections contradict Amnesty's image as a benevolent defender of human rights and reveal key figures at the organization during its early years to be less concerned with human dignity and more concerned with the dignity of the US and UK's image in the world. | The post Amnesty International's Troubling Collaboration with UK & US Intelligence appeared first on MintPress News.
mintpressnews.com/amnesty-international-troubling-collaboration-with-uk-us-intelligence/253939/
Trump Punts on Syria: The Forever War in the Middle East is Far From Over
John Feffer | mintpressnews.com | 2019-01-17
With Bolton and Pompeo by his side and Mattis departed, Trump may well go with his gut and attack Iran militarily and he'll be encouraged in this delusion by Israel and Saudi Arabia. | The post Trump Punts on Syria: The Forever War in the Middle East is Far From Over appeared first on MintPress News.
mintpressnews.com/trump-punts-on-syria-the-forever-war-in-the-middle-east-is-far-from-over/253967/
William Barr Is a Trojan Horse
Shared by Cherise | truthout.org | 2019-01-17
Compared to Justice Brett Kavanaugh's sullen, bombastic performance last September, this week's Judiciary Committee hearing for William Barr, nominee for the post of attorney general, was almost a soporific affair. It was, in a way, a throwback to an age when nominees held in their rage and clotted grudges were not verbally vomited all over the conference table. | Of course, nothing about the Barr hearing was humdrum because it took place within the context of the chaos presidency of Donald Trump. The stakes…
truthout.org/articles/william-barr-is-a-trojan-horse/
Amnesty International's Troubling Collaboration With US and UK Intelligence
Alexander Rubinstein | theantimedia.com | 2019-01-17
(MPN) — Amnesty International, the eminent human-rights non-governmental organization, is widely known for its advocacy in that realm. It produces reports critical of the Israeli occupation in Palestine and the Saudi-led war on Yemen. But it also publishes a steady flow of indictments against countries that don't play ball with Washington — countries like Iran, China, Venezuela, …
Amnesty International’s Troubling Collaboration With US and UK Intelligence
United States Doesn't Even Make Top 20 on Global Democracy Index
Andrea Germanos | theantimedia.com | 2019-01-17
(CD) — A new index released this week offers a sobering look at how democracy is faring in the United States. According to the 2018 edition of The Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index, the U.S. doesn't even make the list of top 20–its demonstrably "flawed democracy" notching it the 25th spot. The ranking is based on 60 …
United States Doesn't Even Make Top 20 on Global Democracy Index
Was that the Onion or Reuters Quoting Mike Pompeo on Venezuela?
Joe Emersberger | zcomm.org | 2019-01-16
This Reuters article says "The Maduro regime is illegitimate and the United States will work diligently to restore a real democracy to that country," Pompeo told reporters in Abu Dhabi, where he is on a tour of Middle East countries. " [emphasis added] The Onion might have simply changed "countries" above to "dictatorships" or, Read…
zcomm.org/zblogs/was-that-the-onion-or-reuters-quoting-mike-pompeo-on-venezuela/
Trump, Bolton and the Syrian Confusion
Binoy Kampmark | counterpunch.org | 2019-01-16
It's a messy, though typical picture. US President Donald Trump wants to pull out forces in Syria. When announced in December, jaws drooped and sharp intakes of breath were registered through the Washington establishment. Members of the military industrial complex were none too pleased. The President had seemingly made his case clear: US blood and…
counterpunch.org/2019/01/16/trump-bolton-and-the-syrian-confusion/
Barr says he'll decide whether anyone sees Mueller report
John Wojcik | peoplesworld.org | 2019-01-16
WASHINGTON–Claiming "I will not be bullied," William Barr, President Trump's nominee for the post of attorney general, said he would let Special Counsel Robert Mueller finish his investigation and that he would not follow orders to fire Mueller–unless there was "cause." Citing what he called Justice Department regulations, Barr said he would not expect the …
peoplesworld.org/article/barr-says-hell-decide-whether-anyone-sees-mueller-report/
AG Nominee Barr Set Up "HIV Concentration Camp," Supported President's Unilateral War Powers
Alexander Rubinstein | mintpressnews.com | 2019-01-16
Democrats are hammering Barr over an unsolicited memo he wrote to the president that slammed the Mueller probe as "fatally misconceived," while paying far less attention to far more troubling pieces of information about his past. | The post AG Nominee Barr Set Up "HIV Concentration Camp," Supported President's Unilateral War Powers appeared first on MintPress News.
mintpressnews.com/william-barr-nominee/253926/
United States Doesn't Even Make Top 20 on Global Democracy Index
Andrea Germanos | mintpressnews.com | 2019-01-16
A new index released this week offers a sobering look at how democracy is faring in the United States. | According to the 2018 edition of The Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index, the U.S. doesn't even make the list of top 20–its demonstrably "flawed democracy" notching it the 25th spot. | The ranking is based on 60 indicators spanning five interrelated categories: electoral process and pluralism; civil liberties; the functioning of government; political participation; and political culture. Each category gets a 0-10 score, with the final s…
mintpressnews.com/united-states-democracy-index/253917/
Yemen's Houthis Refute Pompeo's Accusations of Hodeida Truce Violations
Ahmed Abdulkareem | mintpressnews.com | 2019-01-15
The Houthis boycotted a meeting chaired by the head of a UN-led ceasefire monitoring team in Hodeida, accusing the head of the team of pursuing a Saudi coalition agenda. | The post Yemen's Houthis Refute Pompeo's Accusations of Hodeida Truce Violations appeared first on MintPress News.
mintpressnews.com/yemen-houthis-refute-pompeo-accusations-of-hodeida-truce-violations/253895/
Will Trump's AG Pick William Barr Face Questions over Gitmo, Mass Incarceration & NSA Surveillance?
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2019-01-15
Senate confirmation hearings begin today for William Barr, President Trump's nominee for attorney general to replace Jeff Sessions, who was fired in November. Barr served as attorney general for George H.W. Bush from 1991 to 1993. During that time, he was involved in the pardon of six Reagan officials for the Iran-Contra scandal and oversaw the opening of the Guantánamo Bay military prison, which was initially used to indefinitely detain HIV-positive asylum seekers from Haiti. Barr also openly backed mass incarceration at home and helped develop a secret Drug Enforcement Administration program which became a "blu…
www.democracynow.org/2019/1/15/will_trumps_ag_pick_william_barr
LA Teachers Are Mad About Charter School Growth. Why Won't Democrats Acknowledge That?
Rachel M. Cohen | theintercept.com | 2019-01-15
In the first major strike since the U.S. Supreme Court struck a blow to public-sector unions last June, more than 30,000 Los Angeles public school teachers took to the rainy streets Monday to launch the LA teachers union's first labor stoppage in 30 years. It's the seventh major teacher protest over the last year, but unlike their counterparts in Arizona, Oklahoma, and West Virginia, the Los Angeles teachers are not striking against austere Republican state legislatures. Rather, they are striking against the policies of their Democratic-controlled school district, city, and state, and are framing their efforts as…
theintercept.com/2019/01/15/la-teachers-strike-charter-schools/
India: Administrative detention for facebook posts: Kishorchandra Wangkhem
amnesty | amnesty.org | 2019-01-15
Kishorchandra Wangkhem, a journalist based in Manipur, India, was arrested in August, and again in November 2018, because of Facebook posts where he criticised the government. While he was released on bail in both cases, on 27 November, he was arrested under the National Security Act (NSA). This draconian administrative detention law allows for him to be imprisoned for 12 months without charge or trial, in violation of regular criminal justice safeguards. The High Court of Manipur will hear his challenge to his detention under the NSA on 1 February 2019.
amnesty.org/en/documents/asa20/9687/2019/en/
William Barr May Be Worse on Immigration Than Jeff Sessions
John Washington | theintercept.com | 2019-01-15
Though a lot of attention will be on attorney general nominee William Barr's stance on executive power, and how it could affect the Mueller investigation, during the Senate confirmation hearings starting today, his legacy on immigration also merits strict scrutiny. Since he likely will be confirmed, Barr's hard-line immigration stance, which runs lockstep with President Donald Trump's, may set the stage for a new volley of attacks against immigrants and asylum-seekers. Migrants, attorneys, and advocates should be prepared. | Although former Attorney General Jeff Sessions was a hawk as well, Barr has a history of…
theintercept.com/2019/01/15/william-barr-confirmation-hearings-immigration/
The Twitter Smearing of Corbyn and Assange
Consortiumnews | consortiumnews.com | 2019-01-14
Historian and U.K. analyst Mark Curtis checks out the Twitter accounts of journalists whose names have been associated with the Integrity Initiative, a British "counter disinformation" program. By Mark Curtis British Foreign Policy Declassified The U.K.-financed Integrity Initiative, managed by… Read more ?…
consortiumnews.com/2019/01/14/the-twitter-smearing-of-corbyn-and-assange/
Farewell to bblum6
Dave Markland | zcomm.org | 2019-01-10
Bill Blum passed away early last month in Virginia. Many Z Net readers will know his canonical book, Killing Hope: US Military and CIA Interventions Since WWII, or remember his regular newsletter Anti-Empire Report. My first contact with Bill came in 1995 when I wrote him about something he had written on the Cold War. Read…
zcomm.org/zblogs/farewell-to-bblum6/
William Arkin on Homeland Security's Creeping Fascism and Why the CIA & FBI Won't Save Us from Trump
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2019-01-09
Longtime NBC reporter and analyst William Arkin announced he was leaving the network last week in a blistering letter that took aim at the mainstream media for encouraging perpetual warfare and bolstering the national security state. In his letter, Arkin writes of Trump,…
www.democracynow.org/2019/1/9/william_arkin_on_homeland_securitys_creeping
New Documents Reveal a Covert British Military-Intelligence Smear Machine Meddling In American Politics
Max Blumenthal | grayzoneproject.com | 2019-01-09
The Integrity Initiative has mobilized an international disinformation campaign across Europe. Now, with government and right-wing foundation money, this massive… | The post New Documents Reveal a Covert British Military-Intelligence Smear Machine Meddling In American Politics appeared first on Grayzone Project.
grayzoneproject.com/2019/01/08/new-documents-reveal-a-covert-british-military-intelligence-smear-machine-meddling-in-american-politics/
Venezuelan Ex-Magistrate Flees to Miami, Pledges to 'Collaborate' with US Authorities
Paul Dobson | venezuelanalysis.com | 2019-01-07
Venezuela's Supreme Court claims Christian Zerpa fled a sexual harassment investigation.
venezuelanalysis.com/news/14208
US Secretary of State Pompeo Enlists Allies to 'Return Democracy' to Venezuela
Ricardo Vaz | venezuelanalysis.com | 2019-01-03
US allies Brazil and Colombia have repeatedly voiced support for regime change efforts.
venezuelanalysis.com/news/14202
SPLC statement on Supreme Court's denial of Trump administration's request to immediately enforce asylum ban
Melissa Crow, Senior Supervising Attorney of the SPLC's Immigrant Justice Project | splcenter.org | 2018-12-21
splcenter.org/news/2018/12/21/splc-statement-supreme-court-denial-asylum-ban