(2018-06-21). French Beekeepers Sue Bayer/Monsanto on Glyphosate in Honey; U.S. Court Allows Glyphosate Contamination of Honey Labeled "100% Pure" globalresearch.ca Some 200 members of a French beekeeping cooperative in the northern Aisne region have sued Bayer — on the same day the giant chemical company's acquisition of Monsanto was finalized — after discovering that their honey was contaminated with toxic …
(2018-06-21). Is There Such A Thing As Evil — And Is Trump It? alternet.org 
What is evil, actually? The dictionary definition has it as "profound immorality, wickedness, and depravity, especially when regarded as a supernatural force. " | Is Donald J. Trump a liar? Yes, at this point it seems safe to say that he regularly tells intentional untruths. So, is Donald Trump evil? The idea of evil makes me uncomfortable. It makes a tribal, politically-loaded and socially-constructed category into a universal one. It demonizes difference. It treats psychopathology theologically. And, if we believe in "evil" should we believe in "Evil? " I'll admit it — if I say my health is good, I'll add, "Kina hora. " But that's quasi-magical thinking, an it-can't-hurt Pascal's wager, not fear of an actual Evil One, or belief in petitionary prayer. This story first appeared at Forward. But I'm no poster child for pomo moral relativism. I think tearing kids from their asylum-seeking. . .
(2018-06-21). Why on Earth a Country of Laws and Borders? counterpunch.org 
The point of anarchism is to create a better society for everyone. To realize anarchism, many agree, is to do away with power. Why? Because gravitating towards power, hierarchy, and subjugation sullies our politics and makes the aims of anarchism impossible. Of course, even an egalitarian society might give rise to leaders and dominion. And More
(2018-06-21). Militarizing Space, Transforming It into a Battleground. globalresearch.ca The Outer Space Treaty (1967) bans America, Britain, and other signatories from placing WMDs (not conventional weapons) in earth orbit or otherwise in outer space. | It restricts use of celestial bodies to peaceful purposes, bans space bases and outer space …
(2018-06-21). Trump's North Korea Play: a Ploy to Secure Vast Deposits of Rare Earth Elements? mintpressnews.com This may not be about condos on North Korean beaches after all. Arguably, the heart of the matter in the Trump administration's embrace of Kim Jong-un has everything to do with one of the largest deposits of rare earth elements (REEs) in the world, located only 150 km northwest of Pyongyang and potentially worth billions of US dollars. | All the implements of 21st century technology-driven everyday life rely on the chemical and physical properties of 17 precious elements on the periodic chart also known as REEs. | Currently, China is believed to control over 95% of global production of rare earth metals, with an estimated 55 million tons in deposits. North Korea for its part holds at least 20 million tons. | Rare earth elements are not the only highly strategic minerals and metals in this power play. The same deposits…
(2018-06-21). From New Orleans to the DNC, Pressure Builds to Cut Ties to Fossil Fuel Industry. truthout.org On Saturday, June 16, the Democratic National Committee passed a resolution to ban contributions from all corporate PACs that advocate for the fossil fuel industry. The resolution was introduced by party activist Christine Pelosi, who urged her Democratic colleagues to pass the measure in an open letter, citing both "the alarming rates of environmental illness from asthma to cancer" and the "existential threat to our planet" posed by burning fossil fuels. | All across the country and the globe, members of religious, educational and governmental institutions are voting to cut their financial ties to the fossil fuel industry. Even in the state of Louisiana, which is responsible for a fifth of the nation's oil and gas refining capacity, activists are beginning to push back against the omnipresent influence of the industry—which not only dominates the physical landscape…
(2018-06-21). Hopes of Decriminalizing Sex Work in South Africa. hrw.org 
Sex workers wearing masks lead a march to mark International Sex Workers Rights Day in Johannesburg March 3, 2011 | © 2011 Reuters | Sex work, illegal in South Africa, has been a political hot potato here for decades. South Africa's Law Review Commission late last year recommended that sex work remain fully criminalized, i.e. a criminal offense to both sell and purchase sex. Now, eyes are on the justice ministry to see whether it will follow this recommendation or whether a radically new approach and law are needed. | On June 21, a panel discussion on sex work — "Is it work, and is it a choice?" — convened by the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office and the Hanns Seidel Foundation, will take place in Cape Town. The lineup is to include South Africa's…
(2018-06-21). Headlines for June 21, 2018. democracynow.org Trump Signs Executive Order to Jail Immigrant Families Together, Without Limit, House to Debate Anti-Immigrant Bills Providing $25B to Militarize Border, Migrant Children Secretly Transported to NYC Foster Care in Dead of Night, Reveal: Migrant Youths Sent to Detention Centers With Abuse Histories, Airlines Refuse to Transport Separated Migrant Children, Portland ICE Office Closes Amid 24/7 Protest Over Family Separations, Scathing New Report Gives U.S. "F" Grade over Refugee Treatment, Hungary Approves Law Criminalizing Those Who Help Migrants, U.N. Investigators: Syrian Gov't Committed War Crimes in Eastern Ghouta, EPA Releases Long-Suppressed "Nightmare" Study on Water Contamination, Nearly 100 U.S. Meteorologists to Stage On-Air Climate Change Protest, Climate Change Fuels Floods in Texas, Ivory Coast, India, Bangladesh, Former Archbishop of D.C. Removed Over Sexual Abuse Accusations, Disney Raises 21st Century Fox Takeover Bid to $71 Billion, UNC Student Faces Possible Expulsion Over Confederate Statue Protest…
(2018-06-20). California Lacks Real Marine Protection as Offshore Drilling Expands in State Waters. counterpunch.org One of the big news stories neglected by both the mainstream and "alternative" media is the capture of California politics and the regulatory apparatus by Big Oil and other corporate interests in recent years — and the massive expansion of offshore drilling that has occurred in state waters under the helm of Governor Jerry Brown as a More
(2018-06-20). New York cab driver suicides linked to Uber's "shared economy" peoplesworld.org 
After sharing a Facebook post about the financial turmoil in which he was embroiled Doug Schifter killed himself last February with a shotgun in front of City Hall. A month later Nicanor Ochisor, described by his son as someone who was "irritated," "depressed," and "angry" over his finances hung himself until he died in his […]…
(2018-06-20). Time for the Big One? Research suggests risk of California earthquake higher than previously thought. rt.com 
Geophysicists are hypothesizing that the San Andreas fault line in California could be the central point of a massive earthquake after new research suggested that the fault may be at higher risk than previously thought.
RT.com
(2018-06-20). Indonesia: New Counterterrorism Law Imperils Rights. hrw.org 
A counterterrorism police officer stands guard during a security sweep in Jakarta, Indonesia, February 16, 2018. | © 2018 Reuters | (New York) — The Indonesian government should seek to amend provisions in the newly enacted counterterrorism law ("CT Law") that threaten human rights protections, Human Rights Watch said in a letter sent on June 11, 2018, to President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and other officials. | Related Content: | Letter on Indonesia's New Counterterrorism Law | After suicide bombings by attackers aligned with the Islamic State in the city of Surabaya in May, Indonesia's parliament on May 25 approved long-pending revisions to the CT Law. While the new law contains some improvements, it risks undermining human rights and could weaken efforts to counter extremist threats. | "The Indonesian government's counterterrorism…
(2018-06-19). "Trump Creates Crises & Preys on Fear": Rep. Jayapal on Policy of Separating Kids from Parents. democracynow.org 
Outrage is growing over the Trump administration's separation of children from their parents along the U.S.-Mexico border. On Monday, ProPublica released audio from inside a U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility, in which children estimated to be between the ages of 4 and 10 years old are heard crying "Mama" and "Papi" after being separated from their parents. In another part of the audio, a Border Patrol agent is heard joking, in Spanish, "Well, we have an orchestra here. What's missing is a conductor." Video footage released by the U.S. Border Patrol Monday shows migrant children in concrete-floored chain link cages in an old warehouse in McAllen, Texas. A new Quinnipiac poll shows roughly two-thirds of U.S. voters oppose separating children from their parents at the border. About 7 percent of Democratic voters support the Trump policy, while 55 percent of Republicans support…
(2018-06-17). MSM talk coup in Venezuela because it sits on oil US empire wants — Abby Martin. rt.com 
The American empire and its media openly talk coup in Venezuela because it sits on vast — and nationalized — oil resources, and this is US expansionism at its finest, The Empire Files host Abby Martin told Lee Camp.
RT.com
(2018-06-15). Lawyer: Jeff Sessions' Attacks on Migrant Domestic Violence Survivors Drags U.S. Back to "Dark Ages" democracynow.org 
On Monday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that domestic and gang-related violence will generally no longer be grounds for asylum, a far-reaching shift that could affect thousands of people, particularly women from Central America fleeing gender-based violence. This decision reverses the Board of Immigration Appeals' grant of asylum to a Salvadoran domestic violence survivor known as A.B., who fled to the U.S. for her life after surviving 15 years of beatings, rape and death threats from her husband. In ruling against A.B., Sessions also overturned a groundbreaking precedent from 2014 in which the immigration appeals court affirmed that domestic violence survivors are deserving of protection. We speak with Karen Musalo, professor of law and the director of the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. She is of the attorneys representing Ms. A.B.
(2018-06-14). Pundits Worry Threat of Nuclear War Is Being Reduced. fair.org 
Media outlets don't want America to negotiate with North Korea; they want the US to hold North Korea for ransom. MSNBC's Rachel Maddow (6/12/18) appears dismayed by the manifestation of a US president meeting with an Official Enemy. | On MSNBC's Rachel Maddow Show, the host was aghast (6/12/18) that the US says it will halt the annual war games it conducts with South Korea on North Korea's doorstep, because doing so is "an absolute jackpot for the North Korean dictator," "one of the things he wants most on earth," and now Washington "has just given them that for free, for nothing." | Maddow implied that Trump has taken this step out of fealty to Russia, and complained that pausing war games that threaten North Korea benefits Russia and China. She twice called the Kim/Trump summit a "wedding," twice said that the…
(2018-06-14). Trauma at the Texas-Mexico Border: Families Separated, Children Detained & Residents Fighting Back. democracynow.org 
We look at growing outrage over the Trump administration's policy of separating immigrant families who cross the U.S.-Mexico border, many fleeing dangerous conditions and seeking asylum. At least 600 immigrant children were removed from their parents last month, after Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the new rule. On Wednesday, 10 members of Congress protested by blocking the entrance to the headquarters of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the agency tasked with carrying out the forced removal of children from their parents. More protests in at least 60 cities are planned today by the group Families Belong Together, which formed in response to the new policy. We go to the epicenter of this "zero tolerance" crackdown, the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas, where more than half of all migrant families and children have been apprehended by Border Patrol agents since mid-May, for a special report by Democracy Now! correspondent Renée Feltz, who spoke with residents taking action in response to the widely condemned practice of separating families.
(2018-06-14). Slam dunk: Flat-Earther logic obliterated by Reddit basketball stunt (PHOTO). rt.com 
A Reddit user has poked major holes in flat-Earther 'logic' with a clever — and easy-to-replicate — experiment deploying a digital camera with a macro lens, plenty of light… and a basketball. |
RT.com
(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…
(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.
(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.
(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.