(2018-04-02). The Isolation of Julian Assange Must Stop. counterpunch.org If it was ever clear that the case of Julian Assange was never just a legal case, but a struggle for the protection of basic human rights, it is now. | Citing his critical tweets about the recent detention of Catalan president Carles Puidgemont in Germany, and following pressure from the US, Spanish and UK governments, the Ecuadorian government has installed an electronic jammer to stop Assange communicating with the outside world via the internet and phone. More
(2018-04-02). The Isolation of Julian Assange Must Stop. Global Research If it was ever clear that the case of Julian Assange was never just a legal case, but a struggle for the protection of basic human rights, it is now. | Citing his critical tweets about the recent detention of Catalan …
(2018-04-02). Trump's Protectionism and China's Emergence as a World Economic Power. Global Research US Presidents, European leaders and their academic spokespeople have attributed China's growing market shares, trade surpluses and technological power to its "theft" of western technology, "unfair" or non-reciprocal trade and restrictive investment practices. President Trump has launched a 'trade war', …
(2018-04-02). "Scandinavian Noir", Kim Wall and Murder. Global Research Finland, a country noted for deep felt suicides executed during long dark winter months, has become the happiest nation on earth. This statistical superstition, contrived to feed a social-media diet free of substance and light on evidence, belies one fundamental …
(2018-04-02). Scandi Noir, Kim Wall and Murder. counterpunch.org Finland, a country noted for deep felt suicides executed during long dark winter months, has become the happiest nation on earth. This statistical superstition, contrived to feed a social-media diet free of substance and light on evidence, belies one fundamental point: Scandinavia can boast its examples of curious killings and extravagant murders. Little wonder, then, that More
(2018-04-02). Charles Blow: The American Justice System Was Designed to Kill Black Men. AlterNet.org Police shootings like the one that slayed Stephon Clark are a feature, not a bug. | Protests erupted in Sacramento, California and around the country this week after Stephon Clark was killed by police officers, the latest in what's become a regular occurrence in America. These protests are necessary and even briefly cathartic, but as Charles blow writes in his Monday column, the relief they provide is overshadowed by an ugly truth: the American justice system is designed to kill people of color. Whether it's Trayvon Martin in Florida, Michael Brown in St. Louis, Tamir Rice in Cleveland, Eric Garner in New York, or any of the other countless deaths at the hands of police, there is, a "ritualization of these traumas in which the shootings serve as catalysts, a lancing of the boil, in which decades of oppression, neglect, desperation and hopelessness. . .
(2018-04-02). The Warm War: Russiamania at the Boiling Point. counterpunch.org Is it war yet? Yes, in too many respects. It's a relentless economic, diplomatic, and ideological war, spiced with (so far) just a dash of military war, and the strong scent of more to come. I mean war with Russia, of course, although Russia is the point target for a constellation of emerging adversaries the US is desperate to entame before any one or combination of them becomes too strong to defeat. More
(2018-04-01). Trump Appoints Endangered Species Foe to Oversee Protection of America's Most Imperiled Wildlife. Global Research The Trump administration has quietly named Susan Combs — an outspoken foe of endangered species and a climate change denier — as acting assistant secretary for fish, wildlife and parks. She now oversees the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and …
(2018-04-01). Ecuador Grants Open-Pit Mining Permits in One of the World's Most Biodiverse Areas. Truthout Stories The Ecuadorian government has opened huge portions of land to large-scale open-pit mining projects. Last week, Mindo residents were among the thousands who took to the streets all across Ecuador in a march to demand an end to environmentally destructive mining.Protesters march against mining on March 22, 2018, near Mindo, Ecuador. (Photo: Sophie Moon) | Mindo is a small village in the lush, tropical cloud forest that descends from the Andes to the coast just outside of Quito, Ecuador. The cloud forest is home to an abundance of wildlife, such as brightly colored lizards, wild cats, spectacled bear, and over 600 species of birds. Mindo was recently named one of the top 10 places to birdwatch in the world by National Geographic, and those who live there are known for their conservationist stances and fights against oil corporations. The area is so…
(2018-04-01). The Oligarchs' 'Guaranteed Basic Income' Scam. Truthdig: Expert Reporting, Current News, Provocative Columnists Don't buy the oily declarations from the tech billionaires and others that they want to help you survive financially. What they want is to more fully stuff their own pockets. | The post The Oligarchs' 'Guaranteed Basic Income' Scam appeared first on Truthdig: Expert Reporting, Current News, Provocative Columnists.
(2018-03-31). Delinquent $13.8 Billion Pipeline Company Receives Minor Fine For Major Oil Spill. The Real News Network In the last 12 years, Marathon Petroleum Corporation, who manage one of the largest petroleum pipeline networks in the U.S., has had 61 incidents, 12 of which have been in Indiana, including recent spill of 42,000 gallons of diesel. In the same week they had to pay fine of $300 thousand for spill last year but Sierra Club's Jodi Perras says that's 'a drop in the bucket' for the company which made a profit of $330 million last year.
(2018-03-30). A TigerSwan Employee Quietly Registered a New Business in Louisiana After the State Denied the Security Firm a License to Operate. The Intercept The company notorious for surveilling pipeline opponents at Standing Rock was pursuing a contract to guard Louisiana's Bayou Bridge pipeline. | The post A TigerSwan Employee Quietly Registered a New Business in Louisiana After the State Denied the Security Firm a License to Operate appeared first on The Intercept.
(2018-03-30). March For Our Lives: A New Generation Sets Aside Tribalism for a Progressive Cause. MintPress News The dynamism and interracial character of last week's March For Our Lives rallies provides further evidence that American workers have a chance of challenging the wealthy for a bigger piece of the pie only when they put their tribal differences aside to fight together. | The post March For Our Lives: A New Generation Sets Aside Tribalism for a Progressive Cause appeared first on MintPress News.
(2018-03-30). Big Oil and Climate Science on Trial. The Real News Network Climate change science is basis of San Francisco and Oakland's legal case against Big Oil companies, to make them pay billions for rising public cost of rising sea level due to global warming. In surprise move, Chevron admits humans are causing climate change but say they are not liable…
(2018-03-30). Court Tosses Exxon's 'Implausible' Lawsuit Seeking to Stop Climate Probe. AlterNet.org The lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice. | A federal judge on Thursday threw out ExxonMobil's lawsuit that sought to derail New York and Massachusetts' probe into whether the oil giant misled investors and the public about its knowledge of climate change. Exxon tried to convince U. S. District Court Judge Valerie A. Caproni that New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey were infringing on the company's free speech rights and the AGs were pursuing politically motivated investigations. But in a searing ruling, Caproni called the company's claims "implausible" and "a wild stretch of logic. ""The relief requested by Exxon in this case is extraordinary: Exxon has asked two federal courts—first in Texas, now in New York—to stop state officials from conducting duly authorized investigations into potential fraud," she wrote. "It has done so on the. . .
(2018-03-30). Boston Will Survive If It Can Prevent The Effects of Climate Change. AlterNet.org Climate scientists, architects and engineers are rethinking Boston to cope with rapidly rising sea levels. | The city of Boston made news in March for receiving four nor'easters in just three weeks. The storms led to piles of snow and coastal flooding. While hurricanes may famously (and fakely) bring sharks to flooded streets, Boston's floods really do bring swans. That might be a sweet and peaceful picture. But the reality is that much of Boston was built on fill and subject to massive flooding. The city, known for its forward-thinking attitudes, takes the issue very seriously: Does it really want to surrender valuable real estate to mother nature? Paul Kirshen, a professor of climate adaptation at UMass' School for the Environment, is studying the idea of using barrier walls to protect Boston, though he stresses he doesn't advocate for them.
(2018-03-30). The Mosquito Gap: Climate Change and Infectious Diseases. counterpunch.org OK, I admit it, I'm a freeloader. My neighbors asked if I'd go in on a mosquito control service last spring, and I turned them down. I was skeptical about whether the "eco-friendly" service would actually work. But I was mostly taken aback by the cost: $750 for the season. Several neighbors went ahead and More
(2018-03-30). Big Oil and Climate Science on Trial. The Real News Network Climate change science is basis of San Francisco and Oakland's legal case against Big Oil companies, to make them pay billions for rising public cost of rising sea level due to global warming. In a surprise move, Chevron admits humans are causing climate change but says the company is not liable…
(2018-03-30). Melting Arctic and Antarctic Ice Sheets, Rising Oceans: The High Price of Delayed Action on Climate Change. Global Research New research (February 20, 2018) in Nature Communications found that in the 168 years that have passed since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the world's oceans have risen a total of about 8 inches. The study also found that …
(2018-03-30). Republican Climate Denialism Has Sunk to a Staggering New Low Under Trump. AlterNet.org We didn't think the party could regress any further, but here we are. | Climate and weather are not the same thing, but good luck convincing the president of the United States of that basic fact. As if his tweets dismissing global warming as a "hoax" manufactured by the Chinese and his decision to pull the U. S. out of the multinational Paris Agreement on climate change weren't depressing enough, now there is evidence that Donald Trump's determination to make the Republican Party the " stupid party" has been a wild success. In the East, it could be the COLDEST New Year's Eve on record. Perhaps we could use a little bit of that good old Global Warming that our Country, but not other countries, was going to pay TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS to protect against. Bundle up! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December. . .
(2018-03-30). Headlines for March 30, 2018. Democracy Now! EPA to Roll Back Fuel Efficiency and Emissions Standards, Leaked EPA Email Orders Employees to Mislead on Climate Change, Fossil Fuel Lobbyist Gave EPA Chief Cheap Access to D.C. Condo, Leaders of North and South Korea to Meet in April at Truce Village, Russia Expels 60 American Diplomats Amid Mounting Tensions, Gaza: Five Dead, Hundreds Injured as Israeli Troops Fire on Protests, Egypt: Abdel Fattah el-Sisi Wins Second Presidential Term in "Farce" Election, Trump Says U.S. to Pull Troops Out of Syria "Like Very Soon", Pentagon Chief Meets John Bolton, Jokes That He's "Devil Incarnate", Immigration and Customs Enforcement to Allow Jailing of Pregnant Women, North Carolina Prohibits Shackling Women Prisoners During Childbirth, Boycott of Laura Ingraham Grows After She Mocks Shooting Survivor, Punished for Distributing Clean Water, MA Prisoner Enters Hunger Strike, Stephon Clark: Hundreds Attend Funeral for Sacramento Man Slain by Police, Texas Woman Sentenced to 5 Years for Voting While on Probation, Oklahoma Teachers Plan Strike as Lawmakers Grant Limited Pay Raise, New York: Activists Hold Jericho Walk to Support Immigrant Mother in Sanctuary…
(2018-03-30). Sustainability Tastes Sweeter: Here's Your 2018 Easter Chocolate Shopping Guide. AlterNet.org By making better chocolate choices, we can help reduce deforestation, protect wildlife and defend labor rights. | The week surrounding Easter is the top chocolate purchasing week of the year worldwide. Kids and adults all over the world enjoy the fun of Easter egg hunts and savor delicious treats. But chocolate truly is a guilty pleasure. For the chimps in West Africa, sloths in Peru, jaguars in Ecuador, dwarf buffalos in Indonesia and other animals, many of whom are endangered, chocolate spells disaster as cocoa encroaches on their precious forest homes a little more every year alongside our rising global appetite for chocolate. In the fall of last year, Mighty Earth's groundbreaking report " Chocolate's Dark Secret" revealed how the chocolate industry was actually the number-one driver of deforestation in Ghana and Ivory Coast, responsible for around 30 percent of overall. . .
(2018-03-30). Sous Le Pave, La Plage: May 68. counterpunch.org Fifty year anniversaries are important markers in our culture. This is the case whether we are acknowledging an individual's stay on earth or some greater historical moment. This is why so many are remembering the year 1968 in 2018. The nature of these reminiscences varies. Mainstream media coverage writes about 1968 as the year that More
(2018-03-30). Regime Change, Partition, and "Sunnistan": John Bolton's Vision for a New Middle East. MintPress News Bolton is likely to push for the creation of a new sectarian state out of Syrian and Iraqi territory, now that the groundwork has been laid and the path largely cleared to building a "new Middle East." Iran is currently the only country in the region with the potential to foil that plan. | The post Regime Change, Partition, and "Sunnistan": John Bolton's Vision for a New Middle East appeared first on MintPress News.
(2018-03-30). Teacher 'Rebellion' Spreads to Oklahoma. Truthdig: Expert Reporting, Current News, Provocative Columnists OKLAHOMA CITY—A teacher rebellion that started in the hills of West Virginia spread like a prairie fire to Oklahoma this week and now threatens to reach the desert in Arizona. | In the deep red state of Oklahoma, the Republican-led Legislature approved money for teacher raises and more school funding, even hiking taxes on the vaunted oil and gas industry to do it. Republican Governor Mary Fallin rushed to sign the measures into law Thursday. | Oklahoma teachers were inspired by West Virginia, another red state where a 9-day strike led to 5-percent teacher raises. Oklahoma teachers haven't had a raise in a decade of Republican control and they won raises of between 15 and 18 percent. Now, teachers in Arizona thronged their GOP-run Capitol this week, demanding a 20 percent teacher pay hike. | "West Virginia woke us up," Arizona Educators Association…
(2018-03-29). Russia: Activist Attacked in Dagestan. Human Rights Watch News (Moscow) — An unidentified assailant viciously attacked a representative of Memorial, Russia's leading human rights group, on March 28, 2018, Human Rights Watch said today. Sirazhutdin Datsiev after the attack, March 28, 2018. | © 2018 Memorial, Makhachkala | Sirazhutdin Datsiev, the head of the Memorial office in Dagestan was hospitalized with a head injury. Russian authorities should promptly and thoroughly investigate the attack and punish those responsible. | "This cowardly attack can only be regarded as part of the ongoing harassment campaign against Memorial's work in the North Caucasus region," said Yulia Gorbunova, Europe and Central Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch. "The Russian government needs to provide protection and put a stop to the violent campaign against activists who risk their lives to shed light on appalling human rights abuses in…
(2018-03-29). Russia: Activist Attacked in Dagestan . Human Rights Watch News (Moscow) — An unidentified assailant viciously attacked a representative of Memorial, Russia's leading human rights group, on March 28, 2018, Human Rights Watch said today. Sirazhutdin Datsiev after the attack, March 28, 2018. | © 2018 Memorial, Makhachkala | Sirazhutdin Datsiev, the head of the Memorial office in Dagestan was hospitalized with a head injury. Russian authorities should promptly and thoroughly investigate the attack and punish those responsible. | "This cowardly attack can only be regarded as part of the ongoing harassment campaign against Memorial's work in the North Caucasus region," said Yulia Gorbunova, Europe and Central Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch. "The Russian government needs to provide protection and put a stop to the violent campaign against activists who risk their lives to shed light on appalling human rights abuses in…
(2018-03-29). Trump's Nominee to Oversee Superfund Program Spent Decades Fighting EPA Cleanups on Behalf of Polluters. The Intercept Though he has openly disparaged much of his agency's mission, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt has remained steadfastly enthusiastic about Superfund, the federal program responsible for cleaning up some of the country's most contaminated industrial sites. The EPA budget brief released in February said the agency would "accelerate the pace of cleanups" and make an additional 102 Superfund sites and 1,368 brownfield sites "ready for use" by September 30, 2019. That move follows Pruitt's creation of a " Superfund task force," which laid out the program's priorities in July and, in December, issued a list of 21 sites to be fast-tracked for cleanup. | Yet even as he's offered up these promises, some of Pruitt's budgetary and hiring decisions have threatened the possibility that he'll be able to fulfill them. The EPA's proposed 2019 budget would cut the…
(2018-03-29). UN Independent Expert: Venezuela Should Take US to the International Court of Justice. MintPress News Alfred de Zayas, a UN Independent Expert for the promotion of an international democratic and equitable order, told Venezuela's newspaper àöltimas Noticias that "it is time" for Venezuela to ask the International Criminal Court "for an investigation into the crimes against humanity committed by the United States for imposing sanctions against it." | Why do you consider sanctions as crimes against humanity? | In 2000, the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights published a study that described sanctions as a serious violation of international law and human rights. In 2015, the Human Rights Council in Geneva created the role of the Special Rapporteur on Unilateral Coercive Measures. In his reports Idriss Jazairy, the Rapporteur, has demonstrated the adverse impacts of sanctions and has negotiated with governments so that sanctions are eliminated, as they are contrary to the spirit and letter…
(2018-03-29). Defendants Acquitted After Using a 'Climate Necessity' Defense. Truthdig: Expert Reporting, Current News, Provocative Columnists The Massachusetts trial appears to be the first in which the defendants successfully argued that their civil disobedience was justified by the need to stop climate change. | The post Defendants Acquitted After Using a 'Climate Necessity' Defense appeared first on Truthdig: Expert Reporting, Current News, Provocative Columnists.
(2018-03-29). China's Gold Backed Petro-Yuan Challenges US Dollar Hegemony. Global Research Its introduction poses the first ever challenge to petro-dollar dominance. | China is the world's largest oil importing/consuming nation. Gold-backed petro-yuan futures trading began Monday on the Shanghai International Energy Exchange, part of the Shanghai Futures Exchange — letting Chinese and …
(2018-03-29). Energy Independence Requires Steel Independence. AlterNet.org New tariffs and a deal with South Korea will help bring jobs back. | Shale oil and gas, now fracked from deep underground in two dozen states, is celebrated for delivering energy independence to the United States. But that goal can't truly be achieved if America depends on China, Korea, even Brazil for the steel vital to drilling. Sustaining steel independence is a big part of what President Trump's tariffs are about. They're intended to revive American steel production which has been hammered by illegal trade practices, particularly in China. Just this week, the tariffs helped secure a new trade deal with Korea that reduces by 30 percent the amount of steel and drilling pipe the Asian country can export to the United States. As fracking geared up across the United States, American steelmakers invested in their mills to meet drillers' needs, from. . .
(2018-03-29). Here's What Trump Reportedly Won't Let His Aides Say About Russia. AlterNet.org A new report suggests the president still hopes he can craft a good relationship with the foreign rival. | Discerning the true state of Russian-American relations is becoming increasingly complicated. While President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed his fondness for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his desire to improve relations with the country, the current administration's policy toward its foreign rival has become increasingly tough. Under Trump, the United States has agreed to provide weapons to Ukraine to fend off Russian forces, expelled Russian diplomats in response to an apparent chemical attack on British soil, and implemented significant sanctions on Russian entities in response to meddling in the 2016 election. All the while, Trump has been quite obviously reluctant to criticize Russia in public, significantly diminishing the strength of the administration's otherwise considerable efforts to rein in Russian aggression. A new report from NBC. . .
(2018-03-28). German Beer Industry in Shock Over Glyphosate Contamination. Global Research The Munich Environmental Institute (Umweltinstitut Màºnchen) has released shocking results Thursday of laboratory testing it has completed on 14 of the most sold beers in Germany. The probable carcinogen and World's most used herbicide — glyphosate — was found in …
(2018-03-28). Headlines for March 28, 2018. Democracy Now! In Historic Trip, Kim Jong-un Met with Xi in Beijing & Discussed Denuclearization, Louisiana Will Not Charge 2 White Officers for 2016 Killing of Alton Sterling, Protests over Stephon Clark's Killing Disrupt Sacramento City Council, 12 States to Sue Trump Admin over Plans to Add Citizenship Question to 2020 Census, "Repeal the Second Amendment" Says Retired Supreme Court Justice, Stephanie Clifford's Lawyer Seeks to Depose Trump over Nondisclosure Agreement, NYT: Trump Hoping to Bring Rob Porter Back to White House, All 22 Female Senators Demand Senate Pass Congressional Sexual Harassment Bill, Kushner Under Investigation over $500 Million Loans to Family Real Estate Company, Zuckerberg to Testify over Cambridge Analytica Scandal, Facebook Faces Lawsuit over Discrimination in Targeted Housing and Job Ads, White House Ending TPS Protections for 4,000 Liberians, Orange County to Defy California's New Sanctuary Law, William Strampel, Larry Nassar's Supervisor, Charged with Criminal Sexual Conduct, Report: Investments in Extreme Fossil Fuels Skyrocketed in Trump's 1st Year in Office, Judge Rules Anti-Pipeline Protesters Not Guilty Because of Necessity of Fighting Climate Change…
(2018-03-28). The Gun Industry's Favorite Trick. AlterNet.org A major gun maker may have declared bankruptcy in order to avoid real change. | Remington, the weapons giant that produced the semi-automatic rifle used in the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre, declared bankruptcy in a Delaware court filing Sunday. Across social media, people applauded the company's demise following a very good run, if more than 200 years of profiteering off products with no explicit purpose other than murder can be summed up as good. Like so many gun manufacturers, Remington seems to have succumbed to a sales drop brought on by the election of the gun industry's self-declared " true friend in the White House," thus ending the panic-driven gun rush of the Obama era. Just days after the March for Our lives, Remington's fall appeared as a hopeful sign that the gun industry has real weak spots.
(2018-03-28). Lebanon: Candidates Should Commit to Rights Agenda. Human Rights Watch News Candidates for Lebanon's parliamentary elections should commit to human rights reforms. | (Beirut) — Candidates for Lebanon's May 6, 2018 parliamentary elections should commit to reforms to strengthen human rights protections, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch is sending letters to major Lebanese political parties and parliamentary candidates urging them to commit to human rights reforms in ten areas. | The areas Human Rights Watch identifies are: freedom of expression and assembly, torture, the waste crisis, military court trials of civilians, women's rights, disability rights, sexual orientation and gender identity, refugee rights, justice and accountability, and privacy. Human Rights Watch will issue a statement prior to the elections detailing the commitments candidates and parties have made to strengthen human rights protections. | Related Content: | Human Rights Watch Letter to…
(2018-03-28). Israel and Palestinian Occupied Territories: Asylum-seekers risk deportation or detention. Amnesty International Thousands of Eritrean and Sudanese asylum-seekers are at risk of either being forced to go to Rwanda or Uganda, where their protection is not guaranteed, or being indefinitely detained in Israel. While some are already detained, the Israeli authorities have given others until early April to leave the country or be detained.
(2018-03-28). 2020 Census Citizenship Question Trump's Latest Move in War on Immigrants. MintPress News The Trump administration's decision to add a controversial question on citizenship status to the 2020 Census questionnaire is its latest attack on immigrant communities—a far-reaching power grab disguised as a technicality. | Legal advocates for Latinos and communities of color are seeing it as a declaration of domestic political war. | "MALDEF calls for the immediate resignation of [Commerce Secretary] Wilbur Ross," said Thomas A. Saenz, Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund president and general counsel. "His acquiescence in this political maneuver demonstrates his thorough incompetence to serve as Commerce Secretary. His apparent lack of even basic integrity has created a constitutional violation of unprecedented potential impact." | "President Trump's latest attempt to suppress the political influence of people of color under the guise of voter protection is beyond the pale," said Cristóbal J. Alex, president of Latino Victory Project. "The inclusion of…
(2018-03-28). 6 Ways Trump's 2018 Budget Actually Helps Animals. AlterNet.org Though the final budget contains harmful provisions, it also has some big wins for wolves, bears, horses and other animals. | There's great news for animals in the final 2018 budget bill that President Trump signed into law last week. The bottom line is this: the budget bill includes language to restrict funds from being used to harm horses and to address a purge of key animal enforcement records, it increases federal resources to enforce significant animal protection laws, and it omits riders that would have been devastating for wildlife. The Humane Society Legislative Fund, the government affairs affiliate of the Humane Society of the United States, worked with animal protection champions in both chambers and with other stakeholders to secure victories on a number of fronts, including these key outcomes: 1. Maintaining the ban on horse slaughter. The bill includes language to prohibit government. . .
(2018-03-28). Citizenship Question on 2020 Census Is Trump's Latest Declaration of Domestic War on Immigrants. AlterNet.org "A naked attempt to politicize the census, with the goal of suppressing minority participation. " | The Trump administration's decision to add a controversial question on citizenship status to the 2020 Census questionnaire is its latest attack on immigrant communities—a far-reaching power grab disguised as a technicality. Legal advocates for Latinos and communities of color are seeing it as a declaration of domestic political war. "MALDEF calls for the immediate resignation of [Commerce Secretary] Wilbur Ross," said Thomas A. Saenz, Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund president and general counsel. "His acquiescence in this political maneuver demonstrates his thorough incompetence to serve as Commerce Secretary. His apparent lack of even basic integrity has created a constitutional violation of unprecedented potential impact. ""President Trump's latest attempt to suppress the political influence of people of color under the guise of voter protection is beyond the pale," said Cristóbal. . .
(2018-03-28). Major Gun Maker May Have Declared Bankruptcy to Avoid Real Change. Truthout Stories A Remington 700 hunting rifle, a Remington 1100 shotgun and a Remington R1 Enhanced model 1911 pistol are seen for sale at Atlantic Outdoors gun shop on March 26, 2018, in Stokesdale, North Carolina. Remington has now filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection partially due to an estimated $950 million in debt. (Photo: Brian Blanco / Getty Images) | Remington, the weapons giant that produced the semi-automatic rifle used in the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre, declared bankruptcy in a Delaware court filing Sunday. Across social media, people applauded the company's demise following a very good run, if more than 200 years of profiteering off products with no explicit purpose other than murder can be summed up as good. Like so many gun manufacturers, Remington seems to have succumbed to a sales drop brought on by the election of the gun…
(2018-03-28). China Meets Carbon Goals Early, but It Isn't Enough. Truthdig: Expert Reporting, Current News, Provocative Columnists I am not a fundamentalist in any other area of life. But I am a carbon dioxide fundamentalist. | Well, you can add methane and some other gases. | The point is that CO2 emissions is the only issue that matters in speaking of climate change. It is a heat-trapping gas, and the more we put into the atmosphere, the hotter the planet will get over time. That means melting all land ice, massive rises in sea level over time, extreme weather (more intense hurricanes and cyclones, long-term drought in some places, increased flooding in others). Delta river valleys like that in Louisiana, or the delta in Egypt, or the country of Bangladesh, are doomed over time already. | We are driving gas-guzzling cars and burning coal to get electricity and eating a lot of beef; we are endangering our children and grandchildren.
(2018-03-28). Russia: Protests against officials erupt in wake of Kemerovo fire. World Socialist Web Site The horrific fire at the Kemerovo "Winter Cherry" shopping mall and entertainment center on March 25 has brought social and political tensions in Russia to a boiling point.
(2018-03-28). Big Oil Already Netted $25 Billion From GOP Tax Cuts. MintPress News The oil and gas industry benefitted to the tune of billions of dollars from the Trump tax cut bill… And you didn't. That's how the Center for Biological Diversity responded to a new analysis published Tuesday, which shows how the fossil fuel industry has saved $25 billion so far—"with many more billionaires more to come"—from the Republican tax plan signed by President Donald Trump in December. | Antonia Juhasz at Pacific Standard reviewed 2017 Securities and Exchange Commission filings by 17 American oil and gas companies, "looking at the largest companies in production, refining, and pipelines that also clearly specified the impacts of the Tax Act in their result." | Confirming reports that the new tax code has "supercharged the oil industry," she found that "it is the oil and gas industry, including companies that backed the presidency of…
(2018-03-28). While Workers Get Crumbs, GOP Tax Scam Analysis Details $25 Billion Bonanza for Big Oil. Truthout Stories (Photo: Haymarketrebel; Edited: LW / TO) | "The oil and gas industry benefitted to the tune of billions of dollars from the Trump tax cut bill… And you didn't." | That's how the Center for Biological Diversity responded to a new analysis published Tuesday, which shows how the fossil fuel industry has saved $25 billion so far — "with many more billionaires more to come" — from the Republican tax plan signed by President Donald Trump in December. | Antonia Juhasz at Pacific Standard reviewed 2017 Securities and Exchange Commission filings by 17 American oil and gas companies, "looking at the largest companies in production, refining, and pipelines that also clearly specified the impacts of the Tax Act in their result." | Confirming reports that the new tax code has "supercharged the oil industry," she found that "it…
(2018-03-27). Popular Beer and Wine Brands Contaminated With Monsanto's Weedkiller, Tests Reveal. AlterNet.org Some brewers and vintners are taking steps to avoid contamination from glyphosate. | The past few years have revealed some disturbing news for the alcohol industry. In 2015, CBS news broke the announcement of a lawsuit against 31 brands of wines for high levels of inorganic arsenic. In 2016, beer testing in Germany also revealed residues of glyphosate in every single sample tested, even independent beers. Moms Across America released test results of 12 California wines that were all found to be positive for glyphosate in 2016. We tested further and released new findings last week of glyphosate in all of the most popular brands of wines in the world, the majority of which are from the U. S. , and in batch test results in American beer. What do these events all have in common? Monsanto's Roundup. French molecular. . .
(2018-03-27). Proposed US Healthcare Changes Would Undermine Patient Rights. Human Rights Watch News Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar participates in a forum called Generation Next at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, U.S., March 22, 2018. | © 2018 Reuters | The US should reject a proposed rule that would give healthcare providers sweeping discretion to refuse patients care for religious or moral reasons. | Human Rights Watch has urged the US Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), Alex Azar, to discard the proposed rule, which was issued for public comment in January. The rule purports to clarify existing legal protections for religious or moral objectors under federal law. In reality, it would dramatically expand healthcare providers' ability to turn away patients, without also protecting the rights of those who are refused care. | This would be particularly dangerous for women…
(2018-03-27). US Immigrants' Rights Groups Turn to Education to Protect Rights. Human Rights Watch News Screenshot from We Have Rights Immigrant Empowerment Campaign video. | © 2018 We Have Rights Team (NYCLU, ACLU, BDS, Media Tank) | The Trump administration's relentless pursuit of immigrants has prompted US immigrants' rights groups to turn to mass education to inform immigrant communities on how to protect their rights. | With arrests of immigrants in the United States interior up 40 percent over last year, immigration lawyers say they are stretched too thin to adequately prepare families at risk of deportation to defend their rights. A new series of know-your-rights videos and accompanying materials instead "aims to empower immigrants to protect themselves." | | The campaign, We Have Rights, consists of a series of four short, animated videos based on real life experiences of immigrant communities and is available in…
(2018-03-27). Proposed US Healthcare Changes Would Undermine Patient Rights. Human Rights Watch News Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar participates in a forum called Generation Next at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, U.S., March 22, 2018. | © 2018 Reuters | The US should reject a proposed rule that would give healthcare providers sweeping discretion to refuse patients care for religious or moral reasons. | Human Rights Watch has urged the US Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to discard the proposed rule, which was issued for public comment in January. The rule purports to clarify existing legal protections for religious or moral objectors under federal law. In reality, it would dramatically expand healthcare providers' ability to turn away patients, without also protecting the rights of those who are refused care. | This would be particularly dangerous for women and lesbian,…