How dare you… use CHINESE drones!? US lawmakers 'grill' feds over spying on lockdown-violating Americans
rt.com | 2020-05-14
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 two letters to the Departments of Homeland…
rt.com/usa/488593-lawmakers-chinese-drones-spying/

The Venezuela Kerfuffle and the Secret Team
Michael Doliner | counterpunch.org | 2020-05-14
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…
counterpunch.org/2020/05/14/the-venezuela-kerfuffle-and-the-secret-team/

Pompeo in Israel
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2020-05-13
At a time of COVID-19 related lockdowns and social distancing in most countries, Pompeo showed up in Israel Tuesday. | He came to meet with and bolster Netanyahu ahead of his upcoming trial to start later this month for bribery, fraud, …
globalresearch.ca/pompeo-israel/5712754

Assange's extradition: September 7 set for resumption of delayed hearing, WikiLeaks says
rt.com | 2020-05-13
"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…
rt.com/newsline/488530-assange-extradition-september-date/

Something About Julian Assange You Should Know
Andrey Areshev | strategic-culture.org | 2020-05-13
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.
strategic-culture.org/news/2020/05/13/something-about-julian-assange-you-should-know/

Trump's Political Hoax Won't Revive US Economy, Retrieve Jobs
Azhar Azam | globalresearch.ca | 2020-05-13
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 …
globalresearch.ca/trump-political-hoax-wont-revive-us-economy-retrieve-jobs/5712768

Iraq's New Government–MES EP.53
Marwa Osman | thealtworld.com | 2020-05-13
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…
thealtworld.com/marwa_osman/iraqs-new-government-mes-ep-53

Why is Mike Pompeo risking a One-day Trip to Israel Amid the Pandemic?
Jonathan Cook | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-05-13
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

White House hosting worst US administration, Pompeo knows nothing about ABC's of politics
en.mehrnews.com | 2020-05-13
TEHRAN, May 13 (MNA)

Senate votes down anti-surveillance amendment, as both parties back warrantless spying on Americans' browser history
rt.com | 2020-05-13
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…
rt.com/usa/488586-senate-blocks-surveillance-amendment/

German Foreign Policy Is a CIA Front
Aidan O'Brien | globalresearch.ca | 2020-05-13
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 …
globalresearch.ca/german-foreign-policy-cia-front/5712571

Biden campaign reacts to Flynn unmasking revelations by attacking journalist & denouncing Republicans
rt.com | 2020-05-13
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.
rt.com/usa/488588-biden-campaign-flynn-unmasking/

Flynn 'unmasking' documents show involvement of senior Obama administration officials, including Joe Biden
rt.com | 2020-05-13
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
rt.com/usa/488579-flynn-unmasking-obama-administration/

Estonian MPs pass 'Huawei law' for telecom security reviews
rt.com | 2020-05-12
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…
rt.com/newsline/488444-estonia-huawei-law-security/

U.S. hand in recent assaults on Cuba, Venezuela
W. T. Whitney Jr. | peoplesworld.org | 2020-05-12
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"

U.S. hand in recent assaults on Cuba, Venezuela
W. T. Whitney Jr. | peoplesworld.org | 2020-05-12
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"

Colombia's military to surrender illegal spying evidence to prosecution
Adriaan Alsema | colombiareports.com | 2020-05-11
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,…
colombiareports.com/colombias-military-to-surrender-illegal-spying-evidence-to-prosecution/

Israeli Soldier Killed by a Rock in West Bank Raid is First IDF Casualty of 2020
sputniknews.com | 2020-05-12
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.
sputniknews.com/middleeast/202005121079280299-israeli-soldier-killed-by-a-rock-in-west-bank-raid-is-first-idf-casualty-of-2020/

Don't Expect to See Trump's Tax Returns Before the Election
Prof. Marjorie Cohn | globalresearch.ca | 2020-05-14
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 …
globalresearch.ca/dont-expect-see-trump-tax-returns-before-election/5712890

Despite pandemic, Colombia's public hospitals still granted to politicians' buddies
Adriaan Alsema | colombiareports.com | 2020-05-14
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…
colombiareports.com/despite-pandemic-colombias-politicians-give-public-hospitals-to-buddies/

The Supreme Court Has Given Its Blessing to Public Corruption
Elie Mystal | thenation.com | 2020-05-14
The Supreme Court Has Given Its Blessing to Public Corruption…
thenation.com/article/society/bridgegate-supreme-court/

Trump v. birth control case heard by Supreme Court
Sue Davis | workers.org | 2020-05-14
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 . . . | Continue reading Trump v. birth control case heard by Supreme Court at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/05/48590/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=trump-v-birth-control-case-heard-by-supreme-court

'Unlawful & invalid': Wisconsin Supreme Court strikes down state's stay-at-home order
rt.com | 2020-05-14
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…
rt.com/usa/488600-wisconsin-supreme-court-lockdown-unlawful/

Hell No, You Can't be Safer at Home
Ruth Conniff | progressive.org | 2020-05-14
Wisconsin Supreme Court, in act of 'blatant . . . judicial activism,' strikes down state rules meant to curb spread of COVID-19.
progressive.org/dispatches/hell-no-you-cant-be-safer-at-home-conniff-200514/

Don't Expect to See Trump's Tax Returns Before the Election
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-05-13
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 reach of the law. | On May 12, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments about whether Trump can block subpoenas for his tax and other financial records that predate his presidency. Although prior presidents made their tax returns public, Trump has steadfastly refused to re…
truthout.org/articles/dont-expect-to-see-trumps-tax-returns-before-the-election/

Justice Thomas Said Forcing Trump to Release His Taxes Weakens the President
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-05-12
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 two cases involve investigations at the Congressional level as well as within the state Trump once called his home, New York. | The District Attorney from Manhattan, Cyrus Vance Jr., is seeking to obtain…
truthout.org/articles/justice-thomas-said-forcing-trump-to-release-his-taxes-weakens-the-president/