Monthly Archives: May 2020

2020-05-15: Social Media Postees

Please be social by posting these 'POSTEES' on social media! (Copy the text of the postee below, then paste it on social media and the story images will also appear.)

[Perspectives] Computer vision's potential to improve health care
Arnold Milstein, Eric J Topol | thelancet.com | 2020-05-16
Artificial intelligence (AI) research for medical applications has largely focused on image pattern recognition or electronic health record (EHR) data. EHR data inputs include what clinicians order and what they document that they did. But the physical actions that comprise what clinicians actually did for patients can differ: one study showed almost half of physician medical record entries documenting the extent of their physical examinations of emergency room patients were not substantiated by an independent physician observer.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)31090-4/fulltext?rss=yes

"My Job Is to Make Syria a Quagmire for the Russians": CIA Doctrine Made Official Policy
Zero Hedge | globalresearch.ca | 2020-05-15
Like with the disastrous Iraq quagmire years before the US war machine came to Syria under Obama, Washington's rationale and justification for occupying the Syrian Arab Republic has shifted and changed drastically multiple times over. | When ultimately what started …
globalresearch.ca/make-syria-quagmire-russians-cia-doctrine-made-official-policy/5712991

Israel Perfecting Surveillance Tech
Philip Giraldi | globalresearch.ca | 2020-05-15
Israel's external spy organization Mossad and its internal espionage equivalent Shin Bet have reputations that are much larger than their actual successes, but the one area where they have excelled is electronic intelligence gathering. Recent electronic spying around the White …
globalresearch.ca/israel-perfecting-surveillance-tech/5712987

'The American friends': New court files expose Sheldon Adelson's security team in US spy operation against Julian Assange
Max Blumenthal | thegrayzone.com | 2020-05-15
An exclusive investigation by The Grayzone reveals new details on the critical role Sheldon Adelson's Las Vegas Sands played in…
thegrayzone.com/2020/05/14/american-sheldon-adelsons-us-spy-julian-assange/

US Senator Richard Burr steps down as intelligence chairman amid investigation into pre-pandemic stock dump
wsws.org | 2020-05-15
As part of an ongoing Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission's probe into insider trading, FBI agents have seized the North Carolina senator's personal cell phone.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/05/15/burr-m15.html

Declassified Mueller investigation transcripts confirm no evidence WikiLeaks colluded with Russia
wsws.org | 2020-05-15
The "Russian connection" was baldly asserted by the Democratic Party, US intelligence officials and the corporate media…
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/05/15/assa-m15.html

In Defence of Conspiracy Theories (And Why the Term Is a Misnomer)
David Coady | anti-empire.com | 2020-05-15
Before 2012, if you had voiced suspicions that the Australian government had been anything but open and honourable in dealing with East Timor

Colombia's opposition filing criminal charges against 9 generals and Duque ally over illegal spying
Adriaan Alsema | colombiareports.com | 2020-05-15
Colombia's opposition announced criminal charges against nine army generals and an ideologue of President Ivan Duque's far-right political party, which again found itself accused of having ties to the mafia….
colombiareports.com/colombias-opposition-filing-criminal-charges-against-9-generals-and-duque-ally-over-illegal-spying/

Whistleblower Dr. Rick Bright testifies winter could be 'darkest in modern history'
John Wojcik | peoplesworld.org | 2020-05-15
Dr. Rick Bright, the top Health and Human Services official dumped by Trump for blowing the whistle on the administration's disastrous response to the coronavirus pandemic, testified to Congress Thursday that essentially everything the president is saying about his administration's response to the pandemic is a lie. One of the most damaging of those lies, …
peoplesworld.org/article/whistleblower-dr-rick-bright-testifies-winter-could-be-darkest-in-modern-history/

US whistleblower warns premature return to work will bring "unprecedented illness and fatalities"
wsws.org | 2020-05-15
Dr. Rick Bright warned yesterday that the pandemic "has the potential to eclipse the devastation wrought by the 1918 influenza, which globally claimed over 50 million lives."
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/05/15/covi-m15.html

Surveillance Tech: Leave It to the Mossad and Shin Bet to Profit Militarily and Financially from Coronavirus
ahtribune.com | 2020-05-14
Israel's external spy organization Mossad and its internal espionage equivalent Shin Bet have reputations that are much larger than their actual successes, but the one area where they have excelled is electronic intelligence gathering. Recent electronic spying around the White House and other federal buildings in Washington carried out by the Israeli Embassy demonstrates that Israel does not differentiate much between friends and enemies when it conducts espionage. In fact, spying targeting the U.S. is probably its number one priority due to the fact that the Jewish state is so heavily dependent on American su…
ahtribune.com/world/north-africa-south-west-asia/palestine/4149-surveillance-mossad-shin-bet.html

Richard Burr to step down as Senate intel chair during FBI's probe into suspicious stock dumps before Covid-19 market crash
rt.com | 2020-05-14
Republican Senator Richard Burr will step down from his post as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee pending a probe into suspicious stock trades he made before the Covid-19 crisis hit US markets. | Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday that Burr had contacted him to say he would not remain in the role "during the pendency of the investigation." | McConnell said it had been agreed that the decision was "in the best interests of the committee" and would be effective from the end of the day on Friday. | The decision comes hours after FBI agents seized the North Carolina senator's private…
rt.com/usa/488673-burr-steps-down-intel/

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/

Truth in America R.I.P
Paul Craig Roberts | thealtworld.com | 2020-05-14
In "freedom and democracy" America there is only official truth, and it is a lie. A person or website that speaks real truth is shunted aside as a "conspiracy theorist," "Russian agent," "racist," "anti-semite," or other such name with the purpose of discrediting the message and the messenger. | For example, when I told the truth that Russiagate was a hoax, which it has proved to be, an anonymous website, possibly a CIA or NATO operation called "PropOrNot," included this website among its fake list of 200 "Russian agents/dupes." The Washington Post, a believed long-time CIA asset, hyped the PropOrNot revelation a…
thealtworld.com/paul_craig_roberts/truth-in-america-r-i-p

'We're in deep s**t': Ousted 'whistleblower' Dr. Bright becomes new anti-Trump hero pinning blame on White House
rt.com | 2020-05-14
Mainstream media has elevated National Institutes of Health whistleblower Dr. Rick Bright to heroic status after his congressional testimony denounced Trump's Covid-19 response as borderline criminally negligent. | Bright, the director of the US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) until he was unceremoniously dismissed last month, painted a disturbing picture of a government flying blindly into disaster on Thursday during his testimony on the administration's Covid-19 response before a subcommittee of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. | "We're in deep shit"

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/

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/

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/

Stir Crazy! Episode #31: Cancel Corporate Media
Staff | therealnews.com | 2020-05-08
On today's show: TRNN climate reporter Aman Azhar, The Progressive Army founder Ben Dixon, and TRNN Executive Producer Lisa Snowden-McCray. Hosted by Kim Brown.
therealnews.com/stories/stir-crazy-episode-31-cancel-corporate-media

FBI Finds Evidence Of Israeli Intervention In Trump's 2016 Campaign
Staff | therealnews.com | 2020-05-07
An Israeli minister met with Roger Stone to provide information that may have benefited the Trump campaign. The discovery implicates Netanyahu in an attempt to distort the 2016 US election result.
therealnews.com/stories/fbi-evidence-israel-netanyahu-roger-stone-intelligence-meeting-2016-campaign

Roaming Charges: Unmasked and Anonymous
Jeffrey St. Clair | counterpunch.org | 2020-05-15
I'm hyped for some ObamaGate action, as long as its about things that matter: health care plan designed by Heritage Foundation, bailing out Wall Street, failing to close Gitmo, droning US citizens, Afghan surge, the jailing of whistleblowers and legal harassment of journalists, the Libyan and Honduran coups, mass surveillance, the funding and arming of proxy wars in Yemen and Syria, record deportations, Deepwater Horizon, new nukes (both power plants and weapons), etc…
counterpunch.org/2020/05/15/roaming-charges-unmasked-and-anonymous/

Democracy At Stake: "Faithless Electors" SCOTUS Case Tests If Electoral College Members Can Go Rogue
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-05-15
The Supreme Court heard arguments on Wednesday in a case that could shape the outcome of future presidential elections. The question at hand was whether Electoral College members can "go rogue" and support candidates who did not win the state's popular vote. In 2016, one of Colorado's nine electors, Michael Baca, attempted to cast his Electoral College ballot for Republican John Kasich instead of Democrat Hillary Clinton. The Colorado secretary of state at the time

"Faithless Electors" SCOTUS Case Tests If Electoral College Members Can Go Rogue
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-05-15
The Supreme Court heard arguments on Wednesday in a case that could shape the outcome of future presidential elections. The question at hand was whether Electoral College members can "go rogue" and support candidates who did not win the state's popular vote. In 2016, one of Colorado's nine electors, Michael Baca, attempted to cast his Electoral College ballot for Republican John Kasich instead of Democrat Hillary Clinton. The Colorado secretary of state at the time

'Matarife': Colombia's narconovela of the decade?
Adriaan Alsema | colombiareports.com | 2020-05-15
Colombia's former President Alvaro Uribe is finally getting his own "narconovela," courtesy of the journalist who got the Supreme Court to investigate his alleged rigging of the 2018 elections.
colombiareports.com/matarife-colombias-narconovela-of-the-decade/

Supreme Court considers blanket immunity for Trump
wsws.org | 2020-05-15
The Supreme Court on Tuesday held oral arguments on whether to give Donald Trump immunity from congressional and grand jury investigations.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/05/15/cour-m15.html

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/

'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/

'Tyrannical' Wisconsin court ruling puts lives in danger amid pandemic
John Bachtell | peoplesworld.org | 2020-05-14
In a ruthless display of power, the right-wing-dominated Wisconsin Supreme Court threw the state's response to the COVID-19 pandemic into "chaos," putting the lives of millions of residents in danger. The ruling, termed "tyrannical" by one dissenting justice, struck down Democratic Gov. Tony Evers's administration's ability to issue statewide emergency safer-at-home orders during the pandemic, …
peoplesworld.org/article/tyrannical-wisconsin-court-ruling-puts-lives-in-danger-amid-pandemic/

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/

UK Supreme Court Reverses BDS Ban
Staff | therealnews.com | 2020-05-07
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign, the largest British Palestinian solidarity group, successfully petitioned to reverse a 2016 ban preventing local governments divesting from companies involved in the Israeli occupation.
therealnews.com/stories/uk-supreme-court-reverses-bds-ban-palestine-solidarity-campaign

Exclusive: OPCW chief made false claims to denigrate Douma whistleblower, documents reveal
Aaron Maté | thegrayzone.com | 2020-05-06
The Grayzone has obtained documents exposing numerous falsehoods and misleading claims by OPCW Director General Fernando Arias to degrade the…
thegrayzone.com/2020/05/06/opcw-douma-whistleblower/

US refuses to extradite CIA agent who killed UK teen Harry Dunn
Aaron Maté | thegrayzone.com | 2020-05-05
As the US government hunts Julian Assange, it refuses to extradite a CIA agent who killed UK teen Harry Dunn…
thegrayzone.com/2020/05/05/us-refuses-to-extradite-cia-agent-who-killed-uk-teen-harry-dunn/

2020-05-14: News Headlines

Staff (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…

RT (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

Michael Doliner (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

RT (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…

RT (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…

RT (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 RT (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…

RT (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

RT (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.

Andrey Areshev (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.

Azhar Azam (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 …

Marwa Osman (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…

en.mehrnews (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.

Jonathan Cook (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 …

Aidan O'Brien (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 …

RT (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…

W. T. Whitney Jr. (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. …

Patrick Anderson (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…

Raul Diego (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.

Adriaan Alsema (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,…

Zero Hedge (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 …

sputniknews (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.

Sue Davis (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 . . . |

Elie Mystal (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…

Prof. Marjorie Cohn (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 …

Ruth Conniff (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.

RT (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…

Adriaan Alsema (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…

Staff (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…