Stephen Lendman (2018-06-11). Trade and Protectionism: Is Trump Trying to Destroy the Western Alliance? globalresearch.ca What a glorious idea. The Trumpophobic NYT ignored reality claiming it, referring to the Quebec, Canada G7 summit ending acrimoniously, the US president refusing to sign a concluding statement over trade issues. | Post-WW II, Washington constructed a Western alliance, NATO …

Jessica Corbett (2018-06-11). As Net Neutrality Officially Ends, Internet Defenders Gear up for a Fight. mintpressnews.com As the FCC's rollback of net neutrality protections officially took effect on Monday, a broad coalition of free press and digital rights campaigners vowed to maintain pressure on members of Congress to either restore the federal rules " or prepare to face our wrath" in the November midterm elections. | Supporters of net neutrality rules—which require internet service providers (ISPs) to treat all online content equally—are aiming to convince House Speaker Paul Ryan and additional Republicans to support a Congressional Review Act (CRA) that would overturn the FCC's party-line vote. | Last month, a few Senate Republicans joined with Democrats to pass the CRA, which was spearheaded by Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.). | "Now we're fighting an uphill battle to get the House of Representatives to do the same," explains the BattleforNet coalition, which includes Fight for the…

Patrick Martin (2018-06-11). Trump EPA to Shred Rules on Toxic Pollution. globalresearch.ca Featured image: Houston, Texas pollution [Photo: Michelle Rivera] | At the direction of the Trump administration, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is radically revising its method for determining health and safety risks associated with toxic chemicals, considering only the impact of …

Ruth Hayhurst (2018-06-11). Climate Change Risks of Fracking Outweigh Benefits. globalresearch.ca Featured image: Cuadrilla's Preston New Road fracking site near Blackpool, 1 May 2018. Photo: Ros Wills | The scale of harm from shale gas to health is uncertain, but the danger of exacerbating climate change is not, two professors of public …

Staff (2018-06-11). Pope Francis to Big Oil: You're Going to Hell If You Don't Go Green. truthdig.com Pope Francis on Saturday forthrightly reminded Big Oil that climate change is a moral issue. | The Pontiff quoted his Encyclical, Laudato Si, to representatives of ExxonMobil, Total, BP and many others, saying, "There is no time to lose: We received the earth as a garden-home from the Creator; let us not pass it on to future generations as a wilderness". | Unlike President Trump, the Vatican has a whole bevy of science advisers. What a comedown for Americans proud of our First Amendment and republican spirit, that the Vatican is now demonstrably more progressive than is the United State of America. | The Pope said, | "Air quality, sea levels, adequate fresh water reserves, climate control and the balance of delicate ecosystems — all are necessarily affected by the ways that human beings satisfy their "thirst" for energy, often,…

Dr. Andrew Glikson (2018-06-11). Crimes Against the Earth. globalresearch.ca "To ignore evil is to become an accomplice" (Martin Luther King) | Humans are of the Earth, physically adapted to its range of climates, gravity, radiation, electro-magnetic field and composition of the atmosphere. Had there ever been a single …

Samantha Borek (2018-06-11). Louisiana Homeowner Left to Hold Bayou Bridge Pipeline Accountable for Damaging Her Home. truthout.org Melinda Tillies learned about the controversial Bayou Bridge pipeline the day its construction began next to her home a couple months ago. As workers prepared the site for the pipeline, the activity made it feel like an earthquake had struck her home, she said, waking her family as their home shook on its foundation, cracking walls and dislodging tiles. | Tillies lives in Youngsville, Louisiana, a suburb of Lafayette. She purchased her dream house just over a year ago, but now she regrets buying it. "The pipeline is way too close to my house for comfort. If I had any idea there would be a pipeline built next to my house, I wouldn't have bought it," she told me. | The pipeline, owned by Bayou Bridge Pipeline LLC, a subsidiary of Energy Transfer Partners, runs the length of Tillies' property…

Merula Furtado (2018-06-11). Can We Stop FERC From Rushing Us Toward Climate Catastrophe? truthout.org It could be argued that, outside of the companies involved in the actual extraction, transmission and sale of fossil fuels, no group of people on Earth can take as much responsibility for our current climate catastrophe as the commissioners at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). | In 1977, FERC was established to regulate national energy policy independently of Congress and even, to a great extent, the president. The commissioners are nominated by the president and then confirmed by the Senate. Under the Natural Gas Act (1938), FERC reviews interstate pipeline applications for "convenience and necessity," as well as compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). | Around the US, leaks and explosions, as well as air, soil and water pollution have motivated people to push back against pipelines and compressor stations. While FERC has ostensibly reviewed the proposals, it is…

Robert Koehler (2018-06-11). The Great Waking Up. counterpunch.org I don't blame all of the planet's ills on the Republican Party, but I find hope in the possibility that it's on the verge of collapse. I'm not talking politics here. I'm talking deep vision of humanity: a sense of who we are and how we impact Planet Earth and all its occupants. A smallness More

Christopher Ketcham (2018-06-11). Cooking Show Suicides and Other Inanities. counterpunch.org Recent information unearthed by CounterPunch's crack investigative team has revealed that Anthony Bourdain killed himself in the wake of discovering he suffered from a terminal illness brought on by the breakneck pace of his work as an entertainer. The condition, called disassociative camera-subjectivity disorder, or DCSD, widely afflicts people in the rarefied realms of the More

Ed Sadlowski, Jr. (2018-06-11). Edward E. Sadlowski, 79; a champion of labor. peoplesworld.org Edward Eugene "Oilcan" Sadlowski (September 10, 1938 — June 10, 2018) "Oilcan" passed away today June 10, after a hard struggle with Lewy body dementia. He was born in Chicago, IL, on September 10, 1938, across the street from the Steel Workers Organizing Committee (S.W.O.C) Union Hall. He was the son of Edward and Mildred (Sanders) Sadlowski. A great […]…

Democracy Now! (2018-06-11). Headlines for June 11, 2018. democracynow.org Trump and Kim Arrive in Singapore Ahead of Historic Summit, Trump Slams Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau After G7 Summit, Israeli Troops Kill 4 Palestinians & Wound 600 More in Crackdown on Nonviolent Protest, Pentagon: U.S. Special Operations Soldier Alexander Conrad Killed in Somalia, Reports: Dozens Killed in Russian and Syrian Gov't Bombing in Idlib Province, Red Cross Evacuates 71 Staff Members from Yemen, Honduran Asylum Seeker, Separated from His Wife & Child, Dies by Suicide in Texas Jail, Rep. Pramila Jayapal: Separating Immigrant Mothers and Children Is Horrific, Judge Halts Deportation of NYC Delivery Worker Pablo Villavicencio, Pope Francis Warns Oil Company Executives Climate Change Threatens Humanity, India Moves to Ban Single-Use Plastics by 2022, Women March Across United Kingdom to Celebrate 100 Years of Female Suffrage, Philippines: Journalist Dennis Denora Killed in Mindanao, Robert De Niro Slams President at Tony Awards…

Anton Woronczuk (2018-06-10). EPA Staff Says Trump Administration Changing Agency Mission to Protect Industry. truthout.org The Environmental Protection Agency made news recently for excluding reporters from a "summit" meeting on chemical contamination in drinking water. Episodes like this are symptoms of a larger problem: an ongoing, broad-scale takeover of the agency by industries it regulates. | We are social scientists with interests in environmental health, environmental justice and inequality and democracy. We recently published a study, conducted under the auspices of the Environmental Data and Governance Initiative and based on interviews with 45 current and retired EPA employees, which concludes that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and the Trump administration have steered the agency to the verge of what scholars call "regulatory capture." | By this we mean that they are aggressively reorganizing the EPA to promote interests of regulated industries, at the expense of its official mission to " protect human…

The Conversation (2018-06-10). Trump Could Be Using Advanced Game Theory Negotiating Tactics — But It's Way More Likely He's Just a Lost Amateur. alternet.org Hopefully the president will come to understand what is at stake soon, before it is too late. | The latest G-7 summit, held June 8 to 9 in Quebec, was one of the most contentious in years. That's because Donald Trump and his counterparts from six other industrialized countries have been at loggerheads over the president's aggressive but unstable trade policy. Trump's renunciation of the Iran nuclear deal, his efforts to renegotiate NAFTA and his intransigent stance on climate change are not helping matters. Nor is his proposal to readmit Russia to the G-7 gathering. But the ink on the G-7 communique wasn't dry before Trump darted to Singapore to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for nuclear talks, another example of his unpredictable decision-making style. One moment he's threatening war with the dictator, and the. . .

Melissa Dahl, Aeon (2018-06-10). You're Simply Not That Big of a Deal — Now Isn't That a Relief? alternet.org Self-esteem has fallen out of favor, and it is starting to seem these days as if self-compassion is taking its place. | There is a meme that speaks directly to the hearts and minds of the overly self-conscious. Perhaps you've seen it; it goes something like this: 'Brain: "I see you are trying to sleep. May I offer you a selection of your most embarrassing memories from the past 10 years? "' At first, it seems odd to think that this meme is so popular among those of us whom you would call 'millennials', who grew up steeped in the self-esteem movement of the 1990s. We were raised, after all, to love ourselves, not to quietly torture ourselves with decade-old memories. We were taught in classroom exercises how special we were, the prevailing pop-psych theory of the day being that high self-esteem would. . .

Chris Sosa, AlterNet (2018-06-10). 'It's Kind of Like a Political Donation': Women Are Showing Up for Stormy Daniels in a Big Way on Her Strip Show Tour. alternet.org Full nudity meets the resistance as Trump's most visible foe takes her place in American history. | A weekend feature from the Cap Times by Jessie Opoien highlights the surreal role Stormy Daniels has come to occupy in the resistance to President Donald Trump's administration. Daniels made a Friday stop at Silk Exotic Gentlemen's Club in Middleton, Wisconsin. The crowd featured folks of varied genders and ages coming to show their opposition to the president and support the world's most famous porn star. Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford but prefers the adult film moniker, rose to prominence by suing the president with the assistance of lawyer Michael Avenatti. The ensuing media tour, which included a star-making 60 Minutes interview, cemented Daniels as the most visible foil to a lying, misogynistic president. "It's a lot of f*****g pressure," Daniels says of the women. . .

RT (2018-06-09). A year of earthquakes in 1 month: Hawaii stricken by 12,000 tremblers since eruption. rt.com An astonishing 12,000 earthquakes have been recorded in Hawaii since the island nation's Kilauea volcano erupted in early May.
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Jeremy Brecher (2018-06-08). A Climate Constitution in the Courts and the Streets. counterpunch.org What's the Constitution got to do with climate? Current legal cases are now addressing that question. They are using the U.S. Constitution to bring climate protection into the courthouse. These cases range from youth demanding their constitutional right to a stable climate to activists who block fossil fuel pipeline construction and justify their action as More

Democracy Now! (2018-06-08). As EPA Scandals Mount, Scott Pruitt Is Radically Reshaping Agency to Aid Polluters and Big Business. democracynow.org Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt is again facing a slew of ethics and spending scandals amid mounting calls for his resignation. On Thursday, The Washington Post reported Pruitt enlisted members of his $3.5 million security detail to pick up his dry cleaning and search for his favorite skin moisturizing lotion, even though federal rules prohibit public officials from receiving gifts from subordinates, including unpaid services. Meanwhile, Pruitt is continuing to radically reshape the EPA. The New York Times reports today the EPA has given the chemical industry a big victory by scaling back the way the federal government determines health and safety risks associated with the most dangerous chemicals on the market. Pruitt has also been accused of radically reshaping the EPA rulemaking process and weakening Obama administration efforts to tighten fuel economy standards. We speak to Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen.

RT (2018-06-08). Trump will stay at G7 for women's rights, but not ecology. rt.com The White House says US President Donald Trump will cut his trip to the G7 summit short, skipping a climate change session while staying for one on women empowerment. Trump is increasingly at odds with the other group members.
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Paul Dobson (2018-06-07). Maduro & Workers Push to Stimulate Venezuela's Oil Industry amid Collapsing Production. venezuelanalysis.com It is alleged that PDVSA does not possess sufficient stocks to fulfill its June export orders.

Middle East Monitor (2018-06-07). Trump Requested Saudi Oil Support Before Iran Nuclear Decision — Sources. iranian.com A day before US President Donald Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal, one of his senior officials phoned Saudi Arabia to ask the world's largest oil exporter to help keep prices stable if the decision disrupted supply. Riyadh, Tehran's arch rival, has long been a close Washington ally, but direct pressure on a member of Organization […]

RT (2018-06-07). 'Catastrophic disaster': Aircraft hack only matter of time, US agencies warn. rt.com It is "only a matter of time" until a commercial aircraft is hacked, the Department of Homeland Security and other US government agencies have warned. Most planes lack cybersecurity protections to prevent such a hack.
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Human Rights Watch (2018-06-07). Vietnam: Withdraw Problematic Cyber Security Law. hrw.org Deputies attend the opening ceremony of the National Assembly's autumn session in Hanoi, Vietnam October 23, 2017. | © 2017 Reuters | (New York) — Vietnam should revise its overly broad and vague draft cyber security law to bring it into compliance with international legal standards before it goes before the legislature, Human Rights Watch said today. Vietnam's National Assembly is scheduled to vote on the draft of this highly criticized law on June 12, 2018. | The government and the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam have a long record of punishing political and social dissent under the rationale of protecting national security. The draft law, in turn, gives the authorities wide discretion to determine when expression must be censored as "illegal." Vietnam's national laws lack meaningful protections for privacy and the provisions in…

Human Rights Watch (2018-06-06). EU: Data Protection Rules Advance Privacy. hrw.org (Brussels, June 6, 2018) — The new European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will enhance privacy and should spur other countries to improve protection of people's personal information, Human Rights Watch said in a question and answer document released today. The document summarizes key portions of the EU law and discusses what comes next. | "In the digital age, so much of what we do generates data that can reveal intimate details of our lives, thoughts, and beliefs," said Cynthia Wong, senior internet researcher at Human Rights Watch. "The GDPR is hardly perfect, but it strengthens protections for privacy in the EU and shows that strong safeguards for data are both possible and good for human rights." | As of May 25, 2018, the new rules are legally binding across the EU's 28 Member States. The law, agreed…

Human Rights Watch (2018-06-06). DR Congo: Respect Rights in Ebola Response. hrw.org Congolese Health Ministry officials carry the first batch of experimental Ebola vaccines in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, May 16, 2018. | © 2018 Kenny Katombe/Reuters | (Kinshasa) — The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo should ensure human rights protections in controlling the recent Ebola outbreak, Human Rights Watch said today in releasing a question-and-answer document about the response to the virus. Since 1976, more than 800 people have died in Congo during eight previous Ebola outbreaks. | The government and international partners should take effective steps to contain the Ebola virus, protect people at high risk of infection, and ensure treatment for those affected. | "Protecting human rights is key to responding to the Ebola outbreak," said Diederik Lohman, health and human rights director at Human Rights Watch. "Limits…

wsws.org (2018-06-05). A day of reaction at the US Supreme Court. wsws.org In two separate decisions, the US Supreme Court set back rights for immigrants, the right to abortion, and protections for gay and lesbian couples.

Democracy Now! (2018-06-04). "A Source of Positivity All the Time": Remembering Palestinian Medic Razan al-Najjar, Killed by IDF. democracynow.org Witnesses say Israeli soldiers shot dead 21-year-old Palestinian medic Razan al-Najjar as she ran toward the border fence to provide medical aid to a wounded protester. Since nonviolent protests began at the end of March, Israeli soldiers have killed at least 119 people, including 14 children. More than 13,000 have been wounded. "It was clear to everybody that she was a paramedic, that that was murder. I mean, that was a crime committed before cameras," said Dr. Medhat Abbas, director of Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest medical facility in the Gaza Strip. We also speak with Najjar's cousin, Dalia al-Najjar, who says the response of the international community to the Gaza crisis has been "really disappointing," and notes the U.S. vetoed a draft U.N. resolution urging the protection of Palestinians on Friday, the same day Najjar was killed. "It's a shameful side that the United States decided to take."

Democracy Now! (2018-05-31). Headlines for May 31, 2018. democracynow.org Pompeo Meets North Korea's Ex-Spy Chief in NYC, In Victory for Big Banks, Federal Reserve Votes to Loosen Volcker Rule, Report: U.S. Killed 50 Taliban Leaders in Helmand Province, Russian Journalist Admits Faking His Own Death, Trump Makes No Comment on Roseanne's Racist Tweets But Criticizes ABC for Not Apologizing to Him, Cable News Largely Ignores Deaths of 4,645 in Puerto Rico to Focus on Roseanne, Civil Rights Groups Urge DHS to Release Secret "Race Paper" Memo, Theology Student Studying Daniel Berrigan's Life Arrested for Protesting White Supremacist in Charlottesville, EPA Taps Chemical Industry Lawyer to Oversee Superfund Sites, Illinois Ratifies Equal Rights Amendment, Harvey Weinstein Indicted on Rape Charges in New York, 13-Year-Old Student Questions White House Inaction on School Shootings, Republican Congresswoman Says Pornography Is a "Root Cause" of School Shootings, Standing Rock Water Protector Sentenced to Three Years in Prison, U.N.: Mexican Security Forces Likely Involved in Recent Disappearances, Mexican Journalist Héctor González Killed in Tamaulipas, Report: U.S.-Backed Salvadoran Police Forces Involved in Extrajudicial Killings, Brazilian Oil Workers Stage Strike to Protest Plans to Privatize Petrobras, Florida Jury Awards Four Cents to Family of African-American Man Shot by Sheriff's Deputy…

Democracy Now! (2018-05-31). Indigenous Activist: Trudeau's Purchase of Kinder Morgan Pipeline Is "Huge Step Backward" for Canada. democracynow.org Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that the Canadian government will purchase Kinder Morgan's highly contested Trans Mountain pipeline, vowing to commit taxpayer money to expanding the pipeline despite widespread indigenous-led protests and a slew of lawsuits. If built, the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion will triple the amount of oil flowing from Alberta's tar sands to the coast of British Columbia. The Canadian government purchased the pipeline for 4.5 billion Canadian dollars—around 3.5 billion American dollars. The decision has sparked widespread condemnation from First Nations and environmental activists, who say that expanding the pipeline will increase pollution in Alberta's tar sands region, endanger indigenous communities and increase greenhouse gas emissions. We go to Edmonton, Canada, where we speak with Eriel Deranger, executive director of Indigenous Climate Action. She is a member of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation.

Democracy Now! (2018-05-30). Headlines for May 30, 2018. democracynow.org Study: Hurricane Maria Deaths 70 Times Higher Than Official Count, Israel Launches Airstrikes in Gaza, Blocks Flotilla Seeking to Break Blockade, Poor People's Campaign: Hundreds Arrested Across U.S. in Nonviolent Protests, NYT: Trump Ordered Sessions to Un-Recuse Himself from Russia Investigation, GOP House Oversight Chair Says FBI "Acted Properly" Using Trump Campaign Informant, Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens to Resign Amid Sexual Misconduct & Corruption Scandal, ABC Cancels "Roseanne" Amid Outcry over Roseanne Barr's Racist Tweets, Arkansas Left with One Clinic for Medication Abortions as Supreme Court OKs Anti-Choice Law, French Police Evict 1,000 Migrants as Macron Welcomes Malian "Spiderman" Rescuer to Élysée Palace, Hungary: Offering Food, Water, Legal Advice to Migrants to Become Criminal Offense, Russian Journalist Arkady Babchenko Admits Faking His Own Death | , Justice Dept. Approves $66B Takeover of Monsanto by German Pharma Giant Bayer, Canada to Buy, Expand Trans Mountain Tar Sands Oil Pipeline, New Mexico: Trans Woman Seeking Asylum in U.S. Dies in ICE Custody…

Democracy Now! (2018-05-29). Headlines for May 29, 2018. democracynow.org In Historic Referendum, Ireland Votes to Repeal Abortion Ban, Top North Korean General Heads to U.S. as Officials Try to Salvage June 12 Summit, Israeli Military Jets Bomb Gaza After Mortar Rounds Fired Toward Israel, Family of Claudia González, Guatemalan Woman Killed by Border Agent, Demands Justice, Ellicott City, Maryland, Hit by Second "Once-in-a-Thousand-Year" Flood in 2 Years, Colombia: Presidential Election Heads to Runoff as Peace Deal Hangs in Balance, Mexican Journalist Alicia Díaz González Killed, Brazil: Nationwide Truckers' Strike Shuts Down Businesses, Transportation, Schools, Pakistan Passes Historic Protections for Transgender People & Residents of Tribal Areas, European Commission Seeks to Ban Plastic Plates, Cutlery and Straws, Starbucks Closing 8,000 Stores Today for Anti-Racial Bias Training, "I'm Never Plugging That Device In Again": Alexa Records & Sends Private Conversation by Accident, NYC Taxi Drivers Mourn Apparent Suicide of Driver Yu Mein Chow…

Cira Pascual Marquina (2018-05-22). Venezuela Slams New US Sanctions as Washington Hints at Oil Embargo. venezuelanalysis.com The latest measures fly in the face of international concern about the living conditions of Venezuelans.

Paul Dobson (2018-05-09). ConocoPhillips Moves to Seize Venezuelan Oil Assets as PDVSA Maneuvers to Safeguard Tankers. venezuelanalysis.com In response to the threat, PDVSA has allegedly ordered its fleet of tankers stationed in the Caribbean to return to Venezuelan waters.

Paul Dobson (2018-05-07). Venezuela: Zulia Governor Blames Illegal Crypto Mining for Continuing Regional Power Shortages. venezuelanalysis.com Sabotage, lack of maintenance, and climate change have also been offered to explain the crippling blackouts.