(2019-01-11). William Barr's Unsolicited Memo to Trump About Obstruction of Justice. aclu.org Barr's critique of the Mueller investigation raises serious questions about his views of presidential power. Senators should demand answers. | Last month, news broke that in June 2018, President Trump's current nominee for attorney general, William P. Barr, sent an unsolicited 20-page memo to the Justice Department critiquing special counsel Robert Mueller's current investigation into Russian election interference. | Barr, who previously served as attorney general under Preside…
(2019-01-11). Mideast Fact Meets Fiction: Mike Pompeo Touts US Goodness and Threatens More of It. mintpressnews.com Pompeo's speech seems to have been a not-so-subtle means of putting the entire Mideast region and world on notice that the U.S. is poised to initiate a new era of military intervention in the Middle East in order to "liberate" nations that continue to resist U.S. influence and regional hegemony.
(2019-01-11). The Opioid Crisis, Made in the USA. truthdig.com Writer Chris McGreal and host Robert Scheer zero in on the book " American Overdose: The Opioid Tragedy in Three Acts" in this week's episode of "Scheer Intelligence." | Scheer and McGreal, the book's author and a correspondent for The Guardian and other news outlets, discuss how the opioid addiction c…
(2019-01-11). Watch the 12th Vigil for Julian Assange Here. consortiumnews.com Consortium News broadcast the 12th Unity4J online vigil for WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange on Friday, hosted by Consortium News Editor Joe Lauria. Julian Assange is a wanted man because he published classified information that revealed the crimes and corruption of… Read more →
(2019-01-11). PLO's Saeb Erekat Rejects Pompeo's 'Peace Plan' for Palestine. telesurenglish.net Secretary-General of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Saeb Erekat has reaffirmed the organization's position against the "peace plan" promoted by the United States in the Middle East. | RELATED: | Israel Opens Apartheid Road Cutting Palestinians From Jerusalem | Erekat's declarations came in response to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's speech in Cairo, Egypt, where he reiterated a strategy to internationally recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Pompeo al…
(2019-01-11). Poland charges two including Huawei manager with spying for China. aljazeera.com State TV says a Chinese tech executive at Huawei Poland was arrested, alongside a Polish national.
(2019-01-11). Who or What Brought Down Dag Hammarskjà∂ld? counterpunch.org If you believe that Dag Hammarskjà∂ld was the victim of a plot, it can be concluded that the truth about his death has been covered up to shift the blame away from the usual suspects, including the CIA and various mercenary organizations that were then arming themselves across southern Africa. Hammarskjà∂ld and his liberal internationalism were getting in the way of corporate profits, if not Cold War politics, and it was decided—somewhere, somehow—to cut him down to size. Maybe the plotters did not intend to kill him? Maybe they simply wanted to scare him away? But the facts about the Hammar…
(2019-01-11). Headlines for January 11, 2019. democracynow.org Protests Target Shutdown as Federal Employees Miss First Paycheck, Trump May Raid Puerto Rico Hurricane Relief Funds for Border Wall, Protesters Gather on Both Sides of U.S.-Mexico Border as Trump Visits, Senate Leader Mitch McConnell Blocks Vote on Bill to Fund Government, Study Finds Oceans Are Absorbing Far More Heat Than Previously Known, Pentagon Says It's Withdrawing from Syria as Turkey Readies Invasion, In Cairo, U.S. Secretary of State Rebukes Obama and Threatens Iran, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Calls Jamal Khashoggi Murder an "Atrocity", Protests Outside Supreme Court Demand Closure of Guantánamo Prison…
(2019-01-11). Pompeo Calls for Continued US Military Intervention in Middle East. theantimedia.com 
(ANTIWAR.COM) — Some ten years after President Obama's Cairo speech, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was in the city at American University presenting his own speech trying to contrast President Obama's policies to the Trump Administration's more heavily interventionist intentions in the Middle East. Pompeo argued that every instance in which President Obama ended a US …
(2019-01-11). "We Don't Take Orders From Bolton": US Withdrawal From Syria Begins. theantimedia.com 
(ZH) — Contrary to assurances from Trump's National Security Advisor, neocon John Bolton, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who suggested earlier this week that US troops would remain in Syria for at least a little while longer, the Associated Press reported on Friday that the US has begun the process of removing the 2,000 soldiers based in northeastern …
(2019-01-11). CIA Director Gina Haspel may have run 'black site' at Guantánamo Bay, court docs reveal. rt.com 
CIA Director Gina Haspel, confirmed by the Senate last year amid accusations of involvement in torture, may have run a so-called 'black site' at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Haspel did not mention this role in her confirmation hearing. |
(2019-01-11). 'Just fire him!': Ron Paul blasts Bolton, Pompeo for undermining Trump. rt.com 
Former Congressman Ron Paul has come out swinging against neoconservative voices in President Trump's cabinet. John Bolton and Mike Pompeo, he said, should be punished for insubordination. |
(2019-01-11). Mike Pompeo Lied About the U.S. and the Middle East. Here's the Truth. theintercept.com 
Trump's secretary of state gave a speech in Cairo that obscured the U.S. role in the Middle East. America has not been a force for good.
(2019-01-11). Corporate media smears WikiLeaks and Julian Assange. wsws.org A host of articles attacking Julian Assange this week are representative of what the world-renowned investigative journalist John Pilger aptly described as "Vichy journalism."
(2019-01-10). What Are Federal Employees' Rights to Protest the Government Shutdown? aclu.org People don't lose their First Amendment rights if they work for the government. | Standing up for your First Amendment right to protest can be challenging — especially if you're a government employee. | Since Dec. 22, nearly 800,000 government employees nationwide have been affected by the partial federal government shutdown, putting a stop to work and paychecks. Despite President Trump's claim that federal workers " agree 100 percent with what I'm doing," many have wond…
(2019-01-10). Farewell to bblum6. zcomm.org 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 more…
(2019-01-10). An Agenda Unveiled: How Reuters Joined the US Government's Offensive Against Iran. mintpressnews.com 
A 2013 Reuters report on Iran's Setad has been cited in four books and was recently used to justify more sanctions on Iran by Mike Pompeo, but a look into the report's sources and accuracy reveal questionable journalism and a clear agenda.
(2019-01-10). Headlines for January 10, 2019. democracynow.org Trump Walks Out of Shutdown Negotiations After "Temper Tantrum", Unions for Federal Workers to Protest as Shutdown Enters 20th Day, Donald Trump Jr. Compares Immigrants to Zoo Animals, Trump Nominates Ex-Coal Lobbyist Andrew Wheeler as Permanent EPA Head, Congo: Felix Tshisekedi Declared Provisional President-Elect, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Meets Egyptian Leader el-Sisi, Campaigners Mark 100 Days Since Jamal Khashoggi's Assassination, After Weeks Stranded at Sea, Asylum Seekers Granted Access to Malta, Lebanon: Winter Storms Bring Death and Misery to Syrian Refugees, Police Issue Arrest Warrant for Ex-Manag…
(2019-01-10). Pennsylvanians Should Know How the State Police Is Monitoring Social Media. aclu.org The Pennsylvania State Police is blocking access to its social-media-monitoring policy by claiming it could harm "public safety." | "Sunshine is the best disinfectant.", , That's a line that is used so much that it's become almost trite. But it's oft-repeated because it is so true. And here in the Keystone State, the Pennsylvania State Police is doing everything in its power to block access to its policy on monitoring social media. So we're headed to the state Supreme Court to get it. | The ACLU of Pennsylvania's attempt to obtain the st…
(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). 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…
(2019-01-07). 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…
(2019-01-03). 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.
(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.