(2020-07-05). Benjamin Franklin and the International Dimensions of 1776. How an Age of Reason Was Subverted. globalresearch.ca This July 4th, a larger-than-usual shadow is cast upon America which has come face-to-face with some serious historic reckonings. While the existence of an oligarchy and international "deep state" should not be ignored as a political force of …
(2020-07-05). Is Washington Provoking India into a War with China? globalresearch.ca US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a recent video conference suggested that the US might move some of its troops from Germany to the region around India, citing growing US security concerns in the Asian region. Given the dramatic …
(2020-07-05). The Unthinkable: Is a US-China War Possible? US War Ships in the South China Sea. A New Era of "Great Power Competition" globalresearch.ca The US is waging undeclared war on China by other means — aiming to undermine its growing prominence on the world stage. | Pompeo falsely calling China's new national security law "an affront to all nations," his endless war of words …
(2020-07-05). The Truth About Russian-Taliban Ties. popularresistance.org The New York Times' latest fake news provocation alleging that Russia's military-intelligence agency GRU solicited the Taliban (officially designated as "terrorists" by Moscow) to assassinate American soldiers in Afghanistan has brought a lot of attention to Moscow's ties with the militant group. The truth, however, is just as intriguing than the fake news about them. On the surface, it's surprising enough that Russia has diplomatic contacts with the Taliban considering that the latter grew out of the 1980s Mujahiddin that defeated the USSR. | Casual observers could be forgiven for thinking that Russia still hold…
(2020-07-04). The International Dimensions of 1776 and How an Age of Reason Was Subverted. strategic-culture.org 
This July 4th, a larger-than-usual shadow is cast upon America which has come face-to-face with some serious historic reckonings. While the existence of an oligarchy and international "deep state" should not be ignored as a political force of history- arranging wars, assassinations and promoting economic enslavement of people and nations throughout the centuries, the guilt cannot entirely be placed on this apparatus. As Shakespeare's Cassius once said to Brutus "our fate… is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings." | The mob which Shakespeare mocked as a mindless instrument of tyrants in his…
(2020-07-04). Treaty Defenders Arrested for Blocking Road to Trump's Mount Rushmore Event. truthout.org Style note: Indian Country Today will refer to individuals defending the Black Hills as treaty defenders. The Black Hills, where Mount Rushmore is carved, are unceded territory in the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 and acknowledged by a 1980 Supreme Court ruling in the United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians. | More than 100 treaty defenders and other protesters gathered on a highway leading to Mount Rushmore on Friday ahead of President Donald Trump's speech at the monument. |
(2020-07-04). Despite speculation, Russia and US are NOT negotiating spy swap for Paul Whelan — senior Russian diplomat. rt.com 
Moscow and Washington are not discussing a potential prisoner swap involving Paul Whelan – a former US marine, with multiple citizenships – convicted of espionage, according to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. | Immediately after Whelan's guilty verdict on June 15, attention turned to the possibility of a prisoner exchange. | "People have mentioned some form of secret consultation, negotiations on this issue. I declare, with all responsibility, that this kind of discussion is not being held with the US," Ryabkov said. | Last month, a Moscow court convicted Whelan of spying against Russia and sen…
(2020-07-04). The Malign Russians and Chinese Are Coming. strategic-culture.org A feeble Russiagate 2.0 attempt coincides with hypocritical attacks on the new Hong Kong national security law | Pepe ESCOBAR | In Russia, 78% have just Among these, we find the paramount Atlanticist obsession: the possibility that Vladimir Putin will be able to run for two more presidential terms. | Predictably, anguished cries of "Dictator! Dictator!" have been lobbed like deadly shells all across the Beltway. | They might even silence the echoes of the latest CIA press release to the New York Times, ba…
(2020-07-03). Connecting the Dates — US Media Used To Stop The 'Threat' of Peace. counterpunch.org This is not a column defending Donald Trump. Across my career I have said more positive words about the scolex family of intestinal tapeworms than I have said about Donald Trump. (Scolex have been shown to read more.) No, this is a column about context. When The New York Times reports anonymous sources from the intelligence community
(2020-07-03). The Corruption of the Democratic Party: Talking to Ted Rall about his new book. counterpunch.org 
Seven Stories Press just released Ted Rall's new book, "Political Suicide: The Fight for the Soul of the Democratic Party." Rall is a graphic novelist, a syndicated columnist and the author of many books of art and prose, including biographies of Edward Snowden, Bernie Sanders and Pope Francis. You've probably seen his political cartoons, which are often
(2020-07-03). Bounty-Hunter Hoax to Kill U.S.-Russia Relations. strategic-culture.org Relations between the United States and Russia have already been badly wounded during recent years, largely as a result of baseless allegations such as Moscow interfering in American elections, colluding with President Donald Trump, or regarding other international developments, from the downing of a Malaysian airliner over Ukraine, to purported war crimes in Syria, to the alleged poisoning of British double-agent Sergei Skripal in England. | But the latest U.S. media effort claiming Russian military intelligence involvement in sponsoring Taliban assassins or "bounty hunters" to target American troops in Afghanis…
(2020-07-03). The Incredible Stitch-up of Julian Assange. zcomm.org What the US and Britain are attempting is not a legal form of extradition, it is extraordinary rendition — the ILLEGAL transfer of a person from one country to another…
(2020-07-03). Trial of Murdered Journalist Jamal Khashoggi Begins in Turkey. telesurenglish.net A Turkish court Friday opened the trial of 20 Saudis indicted over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. | RELATED: | The indictment accuses the former deputy head of Saudi Arabia's general intelligence, Ahmed al Asiri, and former royal court adviser Saud al Qahtani of instigating "premeditated murder with monstrous intent," prosecutors had said in March. | Eighteen other defendants are also accused of…
(2020-07-03). Elections in Bolivia: A Road Towards Stability or Chaos?>. telesurenglish.net Donald Trump's arrival at the White House added significantly more pressure on those Latin American countries in which their leaders tried to construct an independent political agenda from Washington. | RELATED: | Besides trying to destabilize Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua, the U.S. intelligence agencies started focusing on Evo Morales' administration in Bolivia, eventually achieving his fall from power. | The U.S. tr…
(2020-07-03). The Democrat's Hawkish, Dead-End Foreign Policy Is Also Very Bad Politics. commondreams.org Among some of the most powerful Democrats in the House, Rep. Eliot Engel (NY-16) (far left) was just defeated in a primary; Rep. Steny Hoyer (MD-5) (center), the House Majority Leader; and Rep. Adam Schiff (CA-28) (right), chair of the House Intelligence Committee, all have received massive support from the weapons industry and pro-war lobbyists. (Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/gty-hoyer-engel-schiff-rc-170215_16x9_992_0.jpg …
(2020-07-03). World Rebukes US Over Iran. popularresistance.org Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday sought to reassert America's waning influence on the world stage, challenging the U.N. Security Council to extend a U.N. arms embargo that is due to expire in October. Instead, America's top diplomat received a scolding from friends and foes alike in the 15-nation council, which roundly criticized Washington for withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal two years ago without a clear plan to limit Tehran's nuclear activities. | On a day when the European Union pointedly excluded the United States from a "safe list" of countries permitted to travel to the 27-member bloc, the c…
(2020-07-03). Don't Let the Corruption of the Powerless Bring Down the Democrats. commondreams.org Former National security adviser John Bolton, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Vice President Mike Pence before the start of a joint news conference in the Rose Garden at the White House June 7, 2018 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/bolton_venezuela_0.jpg …
(2020-07-02). "Russia is Paying the Taliban": Afghan Bounty Scandal Comes at Suspiciously Important Time for US Military Industrial Complex. globalresearch.ca The latest scandal, like others before it, is based on scant testimony by anonymous officials and has had the effect of pushing liberal opinion on US foreign policy into a far more hawkish direction. | *** | Based on anonymous intelligence …
(2020-07-02). Lee Camp: How the Media Used the Bounty Scandal to Stop the 'Threat' of Peace in Afghanistan. mintpressnews.com This is not a column defending Donald Trump. | Across my career, I have said more positive words about the scolex family of intestinal tapeworms than I have said about Donald Trump. (Scolex have been shown to read more.) | No, this is a column about context. When The New York Times reports anonymous sources from the intelligence community say Russia paid Taliban fighters to kill American soldiers, context is very important. | Some of that context is that
(2020-07-02). Mueller report redactions unlikely to be revealed before presidential election after Supreme Court agrees to hear Trump appeal. rt.com 
The US Supreme Court agreed to hear the Trump administration's bid to keep parts of prosecutor Robert Mueller's report on alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election redacted, likely ensuring the material won't sway 2020 votes. | Tuesday's Supreme Court decision hands congressional Democrats at least a temporary defeat in their effort to force disclosure of secrets that they hope can be used to damage President Donald Trump politically. The case won't be heard until the court's next term, which begins in October, so it won't likely be decided until after the November 3 election. | The Democrat-controlled US…
(2020-07-02). Canada's Supreme Court dismisses indigenous appeal against Trans Mountain pipeline. rt.com 
The Supreme Court of Canada on Thursday dismissed an appeal from British Columbia First Nations against the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. It would nearly triple the flow of oil from the Alberta oil sands to the Pacific Coast. | The court dismissed the appeal from the Squamish Nation, Tsleil-Waututh Nation, the Ts'elxweyeqw Tribes and Coldwater Indian Band, effectively ending the years-long legal battle over the project, AP reports. | The pipeline would end at a terminal outside Vancouver, resulting in a sevenfold increase in the number of tankers in the shared waters between Canada and Washington state.
(2020-07-02). Wednesday 7/1: The Fight for Reproductive Rights: A Supreme Court Briefing. indybay.org Online via Zoom & livestream…
(2020-07-02). The Kafkaesque Imperium: Julian Assange and the Second Superseding Indictment. counterpunch.org 
The Kafkaesque Imperium has taken yet another absurd step towards mean absurdity with another superseding indictment against Julian Assange. This move by the US Department of Justice seems to have surprised those involved in his extradition proceedings. Mark Summers QC, one of the members of the Assange legal team, did not conceal his astonishment at
(2020-07-02). Pelosi calls for new sanctions on Moscow, amid 'Russian bounties' allegations. rt.com 
As the fallout from dubiously sourced allegations about 'Russian bounties' on US troops in Afghanistan continues, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for fresh sanctions against Russia's defense and intelligence sectors. | Moscow paid Taliban fighters bounties to kill American soldiers in Afghanistan, and President Donald Trump ignored intelligence briefings on the matter, an anonymously sourced New York Times report claimed last Friday. Trump called the story a "phony hit job" against him, his Defense Department found no corroborating evidence, and National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien said on Wednesday that…
(2020-07-02). Moscow hits back at Pompeo's 'Russia arming Taliban' jibe, says Afghan government has been only recipient of Russian weapons. rt.com 
The sovereign government in Kabul is the sole entity on Afghan soil that has received Russian weaponry, Moscow has insisted. The statement comes after Mike Pompeo bluntly accused it of funnelling weapons to Taliban militants. | "Russia has only supplied arms to the legitimate government of Afghanistan — something that is well known", Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters on Thursday. | The diplomat was taking aim at US Secretary of State Pompeo, who pulled no punches when talking about Russia this Wednesday. | "The Russians have been providing weapons to the Taliban for an awful lot…
(2020-07-02). US Media Used To Stop The 'Threat' Of Peace. popularresistance.org This is not a column defending Donald Trump. | Across my career I have said more positive words about the scolex family of intestinal tapeworms than I have said about Donald Trump. (Scolex have been shown to read more.) | No, this is a column about context. When The New York Times reports anonymous sources from the intelligence community say Russia paid Taliban fighters to kill American soldiers, context is very important. | Some of that context is that Mike Pompeo said, "I was the CIA director — We lied, we cheated, we stole. We had entire training courses." So we know for certain that U.S. intelligence ag…
(2020-07-02). Anti-Russia War Fever Spreads On Capitol Hill. popularresistance.org Groups of congressional Republicans and Democrats have visited the White House over the past two days for briefings on allegations that the Russian military intelligence agency GRU offered bounties to Taliban fighters who killed American soldiers in Afghanistan. | They have emerged bristling with demands for retaliation, with one Republican senator declaring, "I want to hear their plan for Taliban and GRU agents in body bags"—in other words, for military action by the United States against Russia, possessor of the world's second largest stockpile of nuclear weapons. | The "Russian bounties" campaign is a fa…
(2020-07-01). US Supreme Court Ruling that Children of Asylum-Seekers Must be Released from Detention Lacks Necessary Provisions for Parents; Risks Further Family Separation. commondreams.org ______________________________…