(2020-05-14). Headlines for May 14, 2020. democracynow.org World Health Organization Says Novel Coronavirus "May Never Go Away", Whistleblower Warns U.S. Faces "Darkest Winter" Without Urgent Action on COVID-19, Trump Calls Dr. Anthony Fauci's Warning on COVID-19 and Schools "Not an Acceptable Answer", Wisconsin Stay-at-Home Orders Struck Down, Threatening New Wave of COVID-19 Deaths, Fed Reserve Chair Warns of Long Recession as Unemployment Claims Hit 36 Million, Trump Calls Democrats' Coronavirus Relief Bill "Dead on Arrival", Native Americans Make Up Half of New Mexico Coronavirus Deaths; New Orleans Sanitation Workers Strike, China to Test 11 Million Wuhan Residents…
(2020-05-14). How dare you… use CHINESE drones!? US lawmakers 'grill' feds over spying on lockdown-violating Americans. rt.com 
A group of House Republicans has called on federal agencies to shed light on drones used by police across the country to surveil and enforce Covid-19 lockdowns, arguing that Chinese devices could compromise "sensitive US data." | The 14 GOP representatives, all on the House Judiciary Committee, penned
(2020-05-14). The Venezuela Kerfuffle and the Secret Team. counterpunch.org The recent snafu of the covert Venezuela operation echoes the account of the Bay Of Pigs fiasco in Col L. Fletcher Prouty's repressed book, The Secret Team: The CIA and Its Allies in Control of the United States and the World first published in 1973. After good early sales,100 positive reviews and a printing of
(2020-05-13). Assange's extradition: September 7 set for resumption of delayed hearing, WikiLeaks says. rt.com 
"A date of September 7 has been set for the resumption of Julian Assange's delayed extradition hearing," WikiLeaks tweeted on Wednesday. A court location has yet to be determined, it said. | A London court said on May 4 that the US extradition case against WikiLeaks founder Assange would resume in September. It had been postponed from later this month because of the coronavirus outbreak. | Assange is wanted by US authorities to stand trial for conspiring to hack government computers and espionage. The extradition case began in February for a week before being adjourned until May 18 for another three weeks of a…
(2020-05-13). Ex-army chief Ashkenazi to become Israel's FM — Blue and White alliance. rt.com 
Former Israeli Army chief Gabi Ashkenazi, who spent nearly four decades in the military, will be nominated as Israel's next foreign minister, AFP reported Wednesday, citing his Blue and White alliance. Ashkenazi held talks with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Jerusalem ahead of his "appointment as minister of foreign affairs this coming Thursday," said Blue and White, which is led by the incoming alternate PM Benny Gantz. | A unity government agreed between Gantz and right-wing PM Benjamin Netanyahu is due to be sworn in on Thursday evening, ending more than a year of political deadlock. | Foreign affairs…
(2020-05-13). Was it worth it? Pompeo dons fashionable flag-themed mask at Israel airport… then takes it off for meetings. rt.com 
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo emerged from his plane after touching down for a flying visit to Israel sporting an especially patriotic red, white and blue striped mask — but the novelty didn't last long. | Pompeo disembarked from his plane at Ben Gurion Airport wearing the colorful face gear, which many news outlets described as a "US flag" mask. Upon closer inspection, however, it appears the face-covering could have been a creative mash-up of the US and Israeli flags, given the addition of blue and white stripes and blue stars. | @IsraeliPM (2020-05-13). Senate votes down anti-surveillance amendment, as both parties back warrantless spying on Americans' browser history. rt.com 
The US Senate has voted down an amendment that would limit surveillance of Americans' internet records. Apparently, the true divide in Washington is not between Democrat and Republican, but those for or against the police state. | The US Senate met on Wednesday to debate the reauthorization of some provisions of the USA Freedom Act, an expansive domestic surveillance bill that expired in March. As Majority Leader Mitch McConnell brought the Act to the floor, a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced an amendment that would explicitly bar law enforcement from snooping on Americans' internet browsing and search…
(2020-05-13). Flynn 'unmasking' documents show involvement of senior Obama administration officials, including Joe Biden. rt.com 
A newly published list of US officials who were interested in National Security Agency (NSA) records on Trump adviser Michael Flynn includes President Barack Obama's chief of staff, as well as Vice President Joe Biden. | Biden is listed as requesting the unmasking on January 12, 2017, the same day the Washington Post published a story claiming that Flynn had misreported his conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, based on leaked NSA information. | Flynn unmasking documents f… by
(2020-05-13). Biden campaign reacts to Flynn unmasking revelations by attacking journalist & denouncing Republicans. rt.com 
After Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden was named as one of the Obama administration officials who asked for NSA information on General Michael Flynn, his campaign first targeted the messenger, then lashed out at the GOP. | The bombshell list of more than a dozen officials who asked the US spy agency for information about Flynn between the 2016 election of President Donald Trump and his inauguration included President Barack Obama's chief of staff, as well as Biden. It was a troubling disclosure for the candidate who has just denied any knowledge of the Flynn investigation, in a TV interview on Tuesday.
(2020-05-13). Something About Julian Assange You Should Know. strategic-culture.org It is not just our family who suffers from the infringement of Julian's rights. If our family and Julian's lawyers are not off-limits, then nothing is. The person responsible for allegedly ordering the theft of Gabriel's DNA is Mike Pompeo, who last month threatened the family members of lawyers working at the International Criminal Court.
(2020-05-13). Trump's Political Hoax Won't Revive US Economy, Retrieve Jobs. globalresearch.ca The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was a hardliner Republican before Trump appointed him the head of American premier civilian intelligence service, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and later on to serve as the top US foreign diplomat. | Although …
(2020-05-13). Iraq's New Government—MES EP.53. thealtworld.com Iraq's parliament has approved a new government, after six months without one, as parties bickered until the last minute over cabinet seats in backroom deals. Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, Iraq's intelligence chief and a former journalist, will head the government but will begin his term without a full cohort of ministers after several candidates were rejected. To discuss this issue with us from Beirut is Mohamad Obeid, political commentator. | In the meantime, The Syrian Arab Army and their allies from the National Defense Forces squared off with ISIS terrorists in the Al-Mayadeen District of Deir Ezzor, re…
(2020-05-13). White House hosting worst US administration, Pompeo knows nothing about ABC's of politics. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, May 13 (MNA) — In his remarks during Wednesday Cabinet Meeting, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that the White House is hosting the worst American administration and the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo does not know ABC's of politics.
(2020-05-13). Why is Mike Pompeo risking a One-day Trip to Israel Amid the Pandemic? dissidentvoice.org As part of its battle against Covid-19, Israel has closed it borders to foreigners and imposed a two-week quarantine on anyone entering the country. There are also strict requirements to wear masks in public places. Israel, however, has thrown the rules — and caution — to the wind in approving the arrival on Wednesday of …
(2020-05-13). German Foreign Policy Is a CIA Front. globalresearch.ca On March 30 Germany declared the important Lebanese political group, Hezbollah, to be a "terrorist" organization and banned it from German soil. By doing so it gratuitously increased the tension in the eastern Mediterranean and exposed Berlin's lack of credibility …
(2020-05-12). Estonian MPs pass 'Huawei law' for telecom security reviews. rt.com 
Estonia's parliament approved on Tuesday a new Electronics Communications Act to ensure security reviews for telecom gear needed in the development of future networks. The act, dubbed by lawmakers the 'Huawei law' in reference to the Chinese telecommunications company, leaves detailed implementation to the government and includes intelligence services among the reviewing authorities. | EU and NATO member Estonia shares the US government's security worries over new 5G networks, Reuters said. Washington has accused Huawei of spying on the West, allegations it denies. | The act did not mention any companies by na…
(2020-05-12). U.S. hand in recent assaults on Cuba, Venezuela. peoplesworld.org 
Secretary of State Pompeo loudly condemns Iranian border guards who abused Afghans crossing into Iran. He castigates China's supposed failings with the COVID-19 pandemic. He and President Trump rail against dictatorship they see in Venezuela. They protest Cuba's "slave doctors" — who actually "defend health care as a human right," according to Cuba's foreign minister. …
(2020-05-11). The Execution of Julian Assange. mintpressnews.com 
I do not respect anyone who has not been to prison." Julian Assange once said to Renata Avila, a Guatemalan human rights activist who serves as legal counsel for WikiLeaks. "What he meant," Avila After a decade of being shuttled from house arrest to confinement in an embassy to Belmarsh Prison to, if the United States government ge…
(2020-05-11). The US Keeps Trying, and Failing, to Deport a Former CIA Operative Back to Haiti. mintpressnews.com 
Emmanuel "Toto" Constant was supposed to board an ICE deportation flight along with 100 other Haitian nationals in what is the third such flight the Trump administration has carried out to Haiti in the last several weeks.
(2020-05-11). Colombia's military to surrender illegal spying evidence to prosecution. colombiareports.com Colombia's defense minister said Sunday that the military will provide the prosecution with evidence against 13 of its members who allegedly took part in the illegal spying on journalists, NGO's,…
(2020-05-11). Pompeo Likens Iran To Nazis On 2nd Anniversary Of US Nuclear Deal Exit. iranian.com Perhaps attempting to ensure the anti-Iran 'maximum pressure' campaign remains front and center, even in the midst of a pandemic and historic unemployment, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has resorted to the one of the most common — and we might note laziest — labels for America's 'enemies'. In official statements Saturday, and on the same day Russia and …
(2020-05-12). Israeli Soldier Killed by a Rock in West Bank Raid is First IDF Casualty of 2020. sputniknews.com Israeli troops are currently searching the town where the attack happened to identify the culprits. It came a day before the scheduled visit of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who is expected to discuss Israeli plans to annex a chunk of the West Bank.
(2020-05-14). Trump v. birth control case heard by Supreme Court. workers.org 
A March 2016 demonstration in support of birth control coverage in the Affordable Care Act in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, Washington, D.C. Health care is the most pressing issue in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. So it's in keeping with the Trump administration's overall right-wing agenda to . . . |
(2020-05-14). The Supreme Court Has Given Its Blessing to Public Corruption. thenation.com The Supreme Court Has Given Its Blessing to Public Corruption…
(2020-05-14). Don't Expect to See Trump's Tax Returns Before the Election. globalresearch.ca Donald Trump claims that while he is president, his pre-presidency financial records can't be subpoenaed and he can't even be investigated for criminal conduct. The Supreme Court will decide by the end of June whether Trump is indeed beyond the …
(2020-05-14). Hell No, You Can't be Safer at Home. progressive.org Wisconsin Supreme Court, in act of 'blatant . . . judicial activism,' strikes down state rules meant to curb spread of COVID-19.
(2020-05-14). 'Unlawful & invalid': Wisconsin Supreme Court strikes down state's stay-at-home order. rt.com 
Measures purportedly enacted to stop the spread of coronavirus in Wisconsin have been overturned by the state's Supreme Court, which ruled that the orders violate the law and cannot be enforced. | The state's highest court issued a 4-3 ruling describing the restrictions as "unlawful, invalid, and unenforceable." The decision comes after Republican lawmakers sued Department of Health Services Secretary-designee Andrea Palm, after she unilaterally extended the state's "Safer at Home" emergency order in mid-April. The measures were first implemented in March and were set to expire on May 26. | Wisconsin has alrea…
(2020-05-14). Despite pandemic, Colombia's public hospitals still granted to politicians' buddies. colombiareports.com While Colombia's Supreme Court is investigating at least 11 governors for corruption with coronavirus emergency funds, at least nine public hospitals fell in the hands of friends and allies of…
(2020-05-12). Justice Thomas Said Forcing Trump to Release His Taxes Weakens the President. truthout.org The United States Supreme Court heard two different cases on a single matter: who may (or may not) have the legal right to access President Donald Trump's financial and tax records. | The District Attorney from Manhattan, Cyrus Vance Jr., is seeking to obtain…