(2019-01-09). William Arkin on Homeland Security's Creeping Fascism and Why the CIA & FBI Won't Save Us from Trump. democracynow.org 
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, "Of course he is an ignorant and incompetent impostor. And yet I'm alarmed at how quick NBC is to mechanically argue the contrary, to be in favor of policies that just spell more conflict and more war. Really? We shouldn't get out Syria? We shouldn't go for the bold move of denuclearizing the Korean peninsula? Even on Russia, though we should be…
(2019-01-09). Pompeo says Syria's Kurdish fighters will be protected. aljazeera.com The Secretary of State visits Baghdad and Erbil as part of his trip to reassure allies on planned US troop pullout.
(2019-01-09). Iranian FM Slams Bolton, Pompeo's "Psychotic," "Pure Obsession" With Iran. mintpressnews.com "While ordinarily it might be flattering, [Secretary Pompeo] and [John Bolton's] pure obsession with Iran is more and more like the behavior of persistently failing psychotic stalkers." – Javad Zarif
(2019-01-09). Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller, to leave DOJ soon: reports. aljazeera.com Deputy attorney general, who oversaw Mueller probe, will leave post after new attorney general confirmed, US media say.
(2019-01-09). William Barr Helped Build America's Surveillance State. aclu.org Senators should ask Barr about his support for unconstitutional spying that endangers our rights. | William Barr, President Trump's nominee for attorney general, has a history of getting it wrong. From designing warrantless surveillance programs to justifying the president's power to disregard acts of Congress, Barr has advanced dubious legal theories that have been rejected by the courts, Congress, and the public. | As Barr begins the confirmation process, senators must question Barr on his record regarding the right to privacy and the Fourth Amendment — which raises serious concerns about his suitability…
(2019-01-09). New Documents Reveal a Covert British Military-Intelligence Smear Machine Meddling In American Politics. grayzoneproject.com The Integrity Initiative has mobilized an international disinformation campaign across Europe. Now, with government and right-wing foundation money, this massive…
(2019-01-09). Trump's Neocons Reverse His Syria Withdrawal Plan. globalresearch.ca I'm starting to wonder whether President Trump has any power over US foreign policy at all. Many people believe that the US president is just a figurehead, with actual foreign policy firmly in the hands of the deep state. Trump's …
(2019-01-09). New Documents Reveal Covert UK Military-Intelligence Smear Machine Meddling In US Politics. mintpressnews.com 
The Integrity Initiative has mobilized an international disinformation campaign across Europe. Now, with government and right-wing foundation money, this massive "political smear unit" is infiltrating the US.
(2019-01-09). RBG hits the big screen again in 'On the Basis of Sex'. peoplesworld.org 
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has so many fervent admirers, she's practically become a cottage industry in America. Aside from the comprehensive exhibition about her still running at Los Angeles's Skirball Cultural Center through March 10, there was the documentary film Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, which helped stoke …
(2019-01-09). The Case for the Legitimacy of Maduro's Second Term. telesurenglish.net Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro Moros will be sworn-in for his second mandate (2019-2025) on Thursday, Jan. 10, in front of the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) in Caracas. Days before being inaugurated, Maduro has called for unity among Venezuelans and against clear interventionist attempts. "The Bolivarian Revolution is about more that one man: it's about a people that chose to be free," he tweeted. | RELATED: | Consistent, Free, Fair: Venezuela's Election History Analyzed | T…
(2019-01-09). Partisan Gerrymandering Back at the Supreme Court. truthout.org On Friday, the US Supreme Court announced that it would hear oral argument in March for partisan gerrymandering cases out of North Carolina and Maryland. The Court's announcement clears a path for the justices to rule on the constitutionality of partisan gerrymandering by the end of June 2019. | How North Carolina and Maryland's Extreme Partisan Gerrymanders Came to Be: | The North Carolina and Maryland congressional maps that are at issue in these cases are among this decade's starkest examples of extreme partisan gerrymanders, which lock in an artificial statewide majority for the political party dra…
(2019-01-07). Venezuelan Ex-Magistrate Flees to Miami, Pledges to 'Collaborate' with US Authorities. venezuelanalysis.com Venezuela's Supreme Court claims Christian Zerpa fled a sexual harassment investigation.
(2019-01-06). A Tough Time to Be a Spy, NPR Reports – Current and former CIA officials are only sources for story on espionage getting harder. fair.org 
NPR ( 1/3/19) reports on the CIA finding it harder to sneak into other countries to commit espionage. | Imagine, for a moment, that a prominent media outlet in Iran decided to produce a story about the trials of being an Iranian spy in this technological day and age—in which the all-pervasiveness of surveillance mechanisms and social media complicates slightly the process of entering other countries under false identities. | It's safe to assume that the United States would find this…
(2019-01-04). Watch the 11th Online Vigil for Julian Assange. consortiumnews.com Consortium News broadcast the 11th Unity4J vigil for WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange on Friday night. You can watch it here. Ecuador tries to find a legal way out of its commitment to Assange's asylum in its London embassy, while Trump lawyer… Read more →
(2019-01-04). Rhode Island Supreme Court Allows Unfairly Shut Down Strip Club to Reopen. aclu.org Providence's licensing board, we argue, violated the club's rights when it was shut down based solely on allegations of solicitation of prostitution. | Imagine a symphony orchestra barred by the state from performing again because a musician was found to have sold marijuana to a colleague backstage. Imagine a bookstore being shuttered by the government because peace activists planned acts of civil disobedience in a backroom. Imagine a movie theater permanently closed because an employee assaulted a patron. | In Providence, Rhode Island, you don't have to imagine it, because it happened to a strip club c…
(2019-01-04). AI Should Improve Quality of Life, Not Make Capitalists Rich — Lester Earnest on RAI (5/5). therealnews.com 
Artificial Intelligence can make the world better or be a tool for war — says Lester Earnest, founder of the Artificial Intelligence Lab at Stanford, on Reality Asserts Itself with Paul Jay
(2019-01-03). US Secretary of State Pompeo Enlists Allies to 'Return Democracy' to Venezuela. venezuelanalysis.com US allies Brazil and Colombia have repeatedly voiced support for regime change efforts.
(2019-01-03). Has Trump Been Outmaneuvered on Syria Troop Withdrawal? consortiumnews.com Trump's possible backtracking on withdrawal from Syria means he may have been once again outmaneuvered by the Deep State, says Virginia State Senator Dick Black. Following the outcry after President Donald Trump's announcement that he was pulling U.S. troops from Syria,… Read more →
(2019-01-02). Headlines for January 2, 2019. democracynow.org Brazil Swears In Far-Right President Jair Bolsonaro, Gov't Shutdown Enters 12th Day, Causing Chaos for Workers, Border Agents Tear-Gas Migrants at U.S.-Mexico Border, Texas: Activists Block Access to Tornillo Youth Immigration Jail, AZ: Prosecutors to Investigate Child Abuse at Immigrant Prison, Sec. of State Pompeo Reaffirms U.S. Military Relationship with Israel, Israeli PM: Bolsonaro Pledged to Move Brazilian Embassy to Jerusalem, Gaza: Israeli Forces Kill Palestinian Man at Protest, U.S. and Israel Formally Leave UNESCO, North Korea: Kim Jong-un Offers Both Threats and Peaceful Overtures to U.S., Netflix Pull…
(2018-12-31). UAE: Rights Defender's Conviction Upheld. hrw.org 
| | Ahmed Mansoor speaks to Reuters in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, November 30, 2011. | © 2011 Reuters | The United Arab Emirates Federal Supreme Court, the country's court of last resort in state security cases, on December 31, 2018, upheld a 10-year sentence for Ahmed Mansoor, an award-winning human rights activist, Human Rights Watch said today. | In May, an Abu Dhabi court sentenced Mansoor to 10 years in prison for "defaming" the UAE on s…
(2018-12-21). SPLC statement on Supreme Court's denial of Trump administration's request to immediately enforce asylum ban. splcenter.org …
(2018-12-08). How George HW Bush's 1989 invasion of Panama set the stage for US wars to come. greenleft.org.au 
The death of George H.W. Bush has dominated the U.S. news for days, but little attention has been paid to the defining event of Bush's first year in office: the invasion of Panama. On December 19, 1989, Bush Sr. sent tens of thousands of troops into Panama, ostensibly to execute an arrest warrant against its leader, Manuel Noriega, on charges of drug trafficking. General Noriega was once a close ally to Washington and on the CIA payroll. | In a nationally televised address, Bush claimed the invasion was needed to defend democracy in Panama. During the attack, the U.S. unleashed a force of 24,000 troops equipped w…
(2018-12-07). Jury fails to agree on verdict in trial of Kurdish journalist. greenleft.org.au 
NSW Supreme Court judge Lucy McCallum discharged the jury on December 6 after it failed to agree on a verdict in the trial of Kurdish journalist Renas Lelikan on "foreign fighter" charges under Australia's draconian "anti-terrorism" laws. | Lelikan denied this charge, insisting he was not a combatant but a journalist reporting on the Kurdish liberation struggle. | A February 15 hearing will be told if the prosecution intends to ask for a re-trial. Lelikan remains free on bail, with relaxed conditions. | The case had been going on for nine weeks, four of which have been taken up with the jury's deliberation. | Phi…
(2018-12-04). With INF Ultimatum, Trump's Maximalist Approach Strikes Again. peaceaction.org Washington, D.C. — December 4, 2018 — In response to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's announcement that the U.S. will formally announce its intention to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in 60 days if Russia does not come into compliance with the treaty by then, Paul Kawika Martin, Senior Director for Policy […]
(2018-11-29). On Julian Assange and the Political Economy & future of Europe. zcomm.org Interview on the socio-economic transformations taking place within the core of the European Union and how much time is left until it disintegrates…
(2018-11-26). Crucifying Julian Assange. zcomm.org Chris Hedges and Joe Lauria, journalist and editor-in-chief, Consortium, discuss efforts to force #WikiLeaks publisher, #JulianAssange, out of the Ecuador Embassy in London and extradite him to the USA to stand trial.