(2020-04-13). Washington welcomes 'apparent consensus' on forming Iraq govt, Pompeo says. rt.com 
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday that the US welcomes an apparent agreement among Iraq's Shia, Sunni and Kurdish groups to form a new government. | He added that it would need to be capable of confronting the coronavirus pandemic, helping the economy and bringing arms under control, Reuters reports. | "We welcome that Shia, Sunni, and Kurdish political leaders seem to have arrived at a consensus on government formation, and hope the new government puts Iraq's interests first and meets the needs of the Iraqi people," Pompeo said in a statement. | Iraq's designated Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi,…
(2020-04-13). The President and His Mob: the Autopsy of Governance. counterpunch.org 
The mainstream media have insufficiently explained the fundamental importance of the role of the Inspector General, particularly in the national security bureaucracy that dominates discretionary spending and can resort to secret funding. National security institutions, such as the Pentagon and the Central Intelligence Agency, are reluctant to admit that they have made mistakes, let alone allow the lifting of the veil on illegal practices. There are institutional concerns that drive this reluctance: vulnerability to legal action; reduced budgets, setbacks to programs considered important; and the possibility of ho…
(2020-04-13). A Year Since the Arrest of WikiLeaks Publisher Julian Assange. globalresearch.ca Today marks 12 months since WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was arrested by British police and security officers after being illegally expelled from Ecuador's London embassy, where he had lived and worked as a political refugee for seven years. | The sight …
(2020-04-13). Julian Assange: One Year in Belmarsh. counterpunch.org It should not be a matter of distinction, but Julian Assange is a figure who is becoming the apotheosis of political imprisonment. This seems laughable to those convinced he is an agent without scruple, a compromiser of the Fourth Estate, a figure best packed off to a prison system that will, in all assuredness, kill
(2020-04-13). Julian Assange's partner Stella Morris speaks out: "His life is on the brink" wsws.org Morris's comments are a moving refutation of the media smears directed against Assange and underscore the urgency of the fight for his immediate freedom.
(2020-04-13). Exactly 18 Years After US Coup Against Venezuela, Pompeo and Abrams Warn Another is Coming. mintpressnews.com US regime change cheerleaders Mike Pompeo and Elliot Abrams warned Venezuala's government not to resist the upcoming implementation of a "transitional government."
(2020-04-13). COVID-19 SF DPH Healthcare Workers Under Attack, Health & Safety, Racism & Retaliation. indybay.org The COVID pandemic is being used to violate union contracts and retaliate against whistleblowers. This pandemic is also hitting Black workers and their families even more heavily. There is also no enforcement by Governor Newsom's Cal-OSHA which has fewer than 200 inspectors for 18 million workers.
(2020-04-13). Wisconsin's Unconscionable Sham. counterpunch.org Wisconsin might have just decided the November election for Trump at the expense of its own citizens' lives. As of April 7, the state's primary election day, there were 2,511 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the state, with the disease continuing to spread. Thanks to Wisconsin Republicans and the U.S. Supreme Court, the people of
(2020-04-11). Assange's Extradition: Incarceration in the Time of Covid-19 Threatens His Life. commondreams.org Demonstrators protest outside Westminster Magistrates Court in London on October 21, 2019. (Photo: Isabel Infantes/AFP via Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/assange_coronavirus.jpg …
(2020-04-10). Trump gloats over ABC 'fake news' as medical intelligence refutes shock report, denies warning Washington of Covid-19 in November. rt.com 
A bombshell ABC News report that claimed US military intelligence warned the White House about a looming coronavirus outbreak was denied by the service itself, giving President Trump an opportunity to gloat at his accusers. | The story, released on Wednesday, claimed the National Center for Medical Intelligence (NCMI) reported in November that a possible "cataclysmic event" was in the making in China's Wuhan city. The NCMI — part of the Pentagon's intelligence apparatus — gave a warning to the US government, but it failed to act early to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 epidemic in the country or t…
(2020-04-10). How the 'West Point Mafia' Runs Washington. thenation.com How the 'West Point Mafia' Runs Washington…
(2020-04-08). Journalist on Wisconsin Election: Republicans Are Letting People Die in Order to Hang On to Power. democracynow.org 
Lines stretching city blocks, hours-long waits and polling officials in hazmat suits. That's the scene voters in Wisconsin encountered as they braved the polls Tuesday amid the coronavirus pandemic. Despite growing outcry about the risks to public health and safety that in-person voting would pose, on Monday the state Supreme Court blocked Democratic Governor Tony Evers's ruling to delay the election until June. At least 92 people in Wisconsin have died from exposure to COVID-19. In Milwaukee — the most diverse city in Wisconsin — the number of polling stations went from 180 to five. We speak with Jes…
(2020-04-07). Headlines for April 7, 2020. democracynow.org Boris Johnson in Intensive Care for COVID-19, U.K.'s Foreign Secretary Deputized | , Most of U.S. Population Told to Stay Home as Medical Equipment Shortages Continue to Mar Response, Trump Ignored Coronavirus Warnings from His Own Administration as Early as January | , Grocery Stores Report Coronavirus Deaths as Workers Say They Are Not Receiving Adequate Protection, WI Primary Vote Goes Ahead After Ruling by State Supreme Court; SCOTUS Throws Out Mail-in Ballot Extension, New York Appears to Flatten COVID-19 Curve as Cuomo Tightens Preventive Measures, Gov't Called to Release Data on Racial Makeup of COVID-19 D…
(2020-04-01). Pompeo's 'transition' plan tells Venezuela to suffer into submission. thegrayzone.com Declaring that "Nicolas Maduro will never again govern Venezuela," Mike Pompeo unveils a so-called "transition" plan that tells Venezuelans to…
(2020-04-01). The Added Importance of the Census, in Light of COVID-19. aclu.org Last year around this time, my biggest worry was how the inclusion of the Trump administration's proposed citizenship question would depress participation in the decennial census. Thankfully, our Supreme Court victory means there is no citizenship question on the census. Now, I have a new worry: a global pandemic and the health of my loved ones. As it turns out, the 2020 Census plays a role here too, as it will have enormous implications on our health care for decades to come. | Specifically, the census will determine the allocation of $300 billion dollars of federal aid for the states' health care — mo…
(2020-03-24). Arbitrary & excessive: Marijuana trafficking sentences in Alabama. splcenter.org Alabama resident Lee Carroll Brooker garnered national attention in 2016 when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the marijuana trafficking case that put Brooker, in his 70s at the time, in prison for life.
(2020-03-20). Senator Dumped Up to $1.7 Million of Stock After Reassuring Public About Coronavirus Preparedness. truthdig.com Soon after he offered public assurances that the government was ready to battle the coronavirus, the powerful chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Richard Burr, sold off a significant percentage of his stocks, unloading between $628,000 and $1.72 million of his holdings on Feb. 13 in 33 separate transactions. As the head of the intelligence …
(2020-02-27). [Comment] COVID-19: combining antiviral and anti-inflammatory treatments. thelancet.com Both coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) are characterised by an overexuberant inflammatory response and, for SARS, viral load is not correlated with the worsening of symptoms.1,2 In our previous Correspondence to The Lancet,3 we described how BenevolentAI's proprietary artificial intelligence (AI)-derived knowledge graph,4 queried by a suite of algorithms, enabled identification of a target and a potential therapeutic against SARS coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2; the causative organism in COVID-19).
(2020-02-17). DOJ Investigating Former CIA Director's Role in Russiagate. theantimedia.com The Justice Department is investigating the role of John Brennan in the assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 election.