Staff (2020-05-22). Stir Crazy! Episode #40: Hero Pay? More Like Zero Pay! therealnews.com On today's show: Founder and Executive Director of Faith Matters Network Jennifer Bailey, "By Any Means Necessary" co-host Jacqueline Luqman, and TRNN executive producer Lisa Snowden-McCray. Hosted by Kim Brown.

Rob Urie (2020-05-22). Why Russiagate Still Matters. counterpunch.org A thought experiment with a purpose is to ask: if a group of former Directors of the CIA, NSA and FBI put forward a story about a malevolent foreign power acting against the U.S. without providing evidence that their story is true, who would believe them? While this wasn't precisely the setup for Russiagate, all

Max Blumenthal (2020-05-22). 'Los amigos americanos': Nuevos documentos revelan el espionaje de la CIA contra Julian Assange y el papel del financista de Trump. thegrayzone.com Una investigación exclusiva de The Grayzone revela nuevos detalles sobre el papel crítico que la compañía Las Vegas Sands del…

WSWS (2020-05-22). New Zealand government stokes tensions with China. wsws.org New Zealand, a de facto American ally and member of the US-led Five Eyes intelligence network, is integrated into the anti-China build-up.

Paul Craig Roberts (2020-05-21). What Goes Around Comes Around. thealtworld.com The Democrats wasted President Trump's first term with contrived investigations of Trump and General Flynn. The Russiagate hoax resulted in illegitimate indictments of Republican consultants Paul Manafort and Roger Stone as the questionable charges against them were unrelated to Robert Mueller's Russiagate investigation and exceeded the scope of his mandate. The charges were brought in order to coerce them into giving false testimony against Trump. The arm-twisting failed, but both were convicted in the media and had their old age ruined by the corrupt Muller's effort to frame the President of the United States.

PCHR (2020-05-21). Pompeo Israel Statements: Defiance of International Law and Unconditional Support for Annexation that Perpetuates Lack of Accountability. imemc.org Ref: 49/2020: Date:…

Jason Ditz (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.

Zero Hedge (2020-05-21). Regime Change Back In Focus: Pompeo Targets Iran, Cuba & Venezuela In Epic Tweet Thread. iranian.com Given the very noticeable rise in threatening rhetoric focused on Iran over the past week, it seems thoughts of regime change in Tehran are once again top of the agenda. Or perhaps simultaneously the administration needs a significant distraction of sorts amid the coronavirus pandemic, and the persistent national reopening question and agenda. On Wednesday, Secretary …

Staff (2020-05-21). Trump's "Blame China" Strategy Echoes Bush's Targeting of Iraq. truthout.org There's a meme that appears now and then on Facebook and other social media: "Those who don't study history are doomed to repeat it. Yet those who do study history are doomed to stand by helplessly while everyone else repeats it." | That's funny. What's not is that the Trump administration and its coterie of China-bashers, led by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and aided by Arkansas Republican Senator Tom Cotton, have recently been dusting off the fake-intelligence playbook Vice President Dick Cheney used in 20…

imperial.ac.uk (2020-05-20). Podcast: Britain's brains, COVID-19 at the GP, and a green economic recovery. imperial.ac.uk In this edition: Britain's intelligence and mental health, COVID-19's impact on primary care, and a sustainable economic recovery after the pandemic.

RT (2020-05-21). What does Trump's new spy director think of Russia and China? rt.com John Ratcliffe has been confirmed as the US' new director of national intelligence. As he gears up to oversee seventeen intelligence agencies, how will he use these organizations to work with, or against, America's adversaries? | The Senate confirmed Rep. Ratcliffe to the position on Friday, in a 49-44 vote along party lines. President Trump had previously tipped the Texas Republican for the role last year, before urging him to withdraw his application due to "months of slander and libel" from the "lamestream media." The supposed slander centered around Ratcliffe's defense of Trump during Special Counsel Rober…

commondreams (2020-05-22). ACLU Asks Supreme Court to Deny Bureau of Prisons Request to Block Order That Will Save Lives. commondreams.org ______________________________…

Ellie Rushforth (2020-05-21). Abortion Rights are on the Line in New Mexico's Primary. aclu.org Abortion is still legal in all 50 states, but if the past year has taught us anything, there is no guarantee it will stay that way. Should Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion, be overturned, several states — including New Mexico — still have abortion bans on the books that could go back into effect. In the case of New Mexico, a 1969 law that is mostly unenforceable could make abortion care a felony in almost every case. , , This old abortion ban would require patients — including survivors of rape and incest — at any stage of pregnancy to beg for permission t…

Caitlin Johnstone (2020-05-21). How To Understand All This China Stuff. thealtworld.com pretending to be offended because a Chinese tabloid published the accusation that our nation is a "giant kangaroo that serves as a dog of the US", even though we all know that's completely true and we should be flattered that at least they said "giant". Before that we were getting indignant over Paul Craig Roberts (2020-05-20). The Case of General Michael Flynn: The Use of Law as a Political Weapon. thealtworld.com The audacious corruption of the FBI and the US Department of Justice (sic) is demonstrated by their frame-up of the three-star general, former Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, and National Security Adviser to President Donald Trump. | US Department of Justice (DOJ) documents that the department was forced to turn over to General Michael Flynn's attorney reveal that the FBI found no wrongdoing by Flynn in its investigation of him and recommended the investigation be closed. Corrupt FBI official Peter Strzok, a leader of the anti-Trump cabal in the FBI, intervened. Strzok convinced the official managing…

Max Blumenthal (2020-05-19). 'Les amis américains' : de nouveaux documents révèlent l'étendue de l'opération d'espionnage sur Julian Assange. thegrayzone.com Une enquête exclusive de The Grayzone révèle de nouveaux détails sur le rà¥le clé joué par le milliardaire Sheldon Adelson…

Bruce Lerro (2020-05-19). Left Gatekeepers Through the New Left: Monitored Rebellion. dissidentvoice.org The Cultural Cold War: The CIA and the World of Arts and Letters by Frances Stonor Saunders Cultural containment meant "ring around the pinkos" Leftist Patron Saints What do the following people have in common: Noam Chomsky, Cornel West, Naomi Klein, Robert Reich, Michael Albert, Howard Zinn, Amy Goodman, Medea Benjamin, Norman Solomon, Chris Hedges, …

Staff (2020-05-19). Stir Crazy! Episode #37: Hydroxyholdafuqup. therealnews.com On today's show: Sociologist Taure Brown, TRNN executive producer Lisa Snowden-McCray, and TRNN managing editor Marc Steiner. Hosted by Kim Brown.

Eoin Higgins, staff writer (2020-05-20). Lavish Taxpayer-Funded Dinners Hosted by Pompeo Spark Concern Over Real Purpose. commondreams.org "The CEO of Chick-fil-A is not someone I would say is involved in foreign policy." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/pompeo_9.jpg …

Zero Hedge (2020-05-21). Regime Change Back In Focus: Pompeo Targets Iran, Cuba & Venezuela In Epic Tweet Thread. iranian.com Given the very noticeable rise in threatening rhetoric focused on Iran over the past week, it seems thoughts of regime change in Tehran are once again top of the agenda. Or perhaps simultaneously the administration needs a significant distraction of sorts amid the coronavirus pandemic, and the persistent national reopening question and agenda. On Wednesday, Secretary …

Andrey Areshev (2020-05-19). Turn Out the Lights, Russiagate Is Over. strategic-culture.org The possibility that Trump will not chicken out this time, and rather will challenge the Security State looms large since he felt personally under attack. | Ray McGOVERN | Seldom mentioned among the motives behind the persistent drumming on alleged Russian interference was an over-arching need to help the Security State hide their tracks. | The need for a scapegoat to blame for Hillary Clinton's snatching defeat out of the jaws victory also played a role; as did the need for the Military-Industrial-Congressional-Intelligence-Media-Academia-Think-Tank complex (MICIMATT) to keep front and center in the minds of Ame…

CFPDDJ (2020-05-21). Defend DACA: A Supreme Court Briefing w/ Rep. Jayapal & others. indybay.org Online…

Staff (2020-05-20). Trump's Assaults on Government Watchdogs Expose His Authoritarian Ambitions. truthout.org It has nearly reached the point of being a parlor game: Which government watchdog will Donald Trump Before this past Friday, Trump had already sacked three of them. Intelligence community inspector general Michael Atkinson, who handled the Ukraine whistleblower complaint that led to the impeachment, got bounced on April 3. | Glenn Fine, the Defense Department's acting inspector genera…

imperial.ac.uk (2020-05-20). Podcast: Britain's brains, COVID-19 at the GP, and a green economic recovery. imperial.ac.uk In this edition: Britain's intelligence and mental health, COVID-19's impact on primary care, and a sustainable economic recovery after the pandemic.

RT (2020-05-21). Palestinians 'suspend contacts with CIA' after ending security coordination with US and Israel. rt.com The Palestinians have suspended communications with the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) after announcing an end to security coordination with Israel and the United States, a Palestinian official said on Thursday. The move comes in protest at Israeli proposals to annex territory in the West Bank, according to Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization. | The official said Washington had been informed of the decision after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Tuesday his administration was no longer committed to agreements with Israel and the US, including on security coo…

RT (2020-05-21). Beijing accuses Pompeo of using 'democracy' bill to blackmail Hong Kong govt. rt.com US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is using self-described human rights legislation to put pressure on the Hong Kong government and threaten China's sovereignty, Beijing has claimed. | Pompeo is "blackmailing" the semi-autonomous city with the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry's Office of the Commissioner to Hong Kong said on Thursday. He added that China was not intimidated by Washington's political maneuvering and that Beijing would protect its national interests from all foreign threats. | Signed into law in November 2019, the act requires the State Depart…

RT (2020-05-20). Pompeo denies firing of State Department IG was retaliation for probe into 'emergency' arms sales to Saudi Arabia. rt.com The US secretary of state has confirmed he asked the president to sack Inspector General Steve Linick, but denied it was in retaliation for reported probes into arms sales to the Saudis and the use of an aide for personal errands.

RT (2020-05-19). COMEY urged probe into Flynn by misrepresenting Russian contacts, declassified memo shows. rt.com Ex-FBI director James Comey pushed to investigate Trump's incoming national security adviser Michael Flynn despite lacking any evidence Flynn had shared classified info with Russian officials, a newly-declassified memo reveals. | It was Comey who told President Barack Obama and other administration officials that "incoming NSA Flynn is speaking frequently with Russian Ambassador Kislyak" in a meeting documented in the January 2017 memo by National Security Advisor Susan Rice, the unredacted first page of which was obtained by CBS on Tuesday. | The FBI director admits he "has no indication thus far that Flynn h…

Marshall Auerback (2020-05-21). How Germany's Courts Might Destroy the Euro. counterpunch.org Germany's highest court issued a ruling that could threaten the existence of the euro with a constitutional court decision that said the European Central Bank's bond-buying operations exceeded the ECB's legal remit, and violated German constitutional law. The U.S. equivalent of this would be a state Supreme Court limiting the ability of the U.S. Federal