Verizon Throttled Data During Deadly Wildfire in California
Shared by Samantha Borek | truthout.org | 2018-08-23
As California lawmakers prepared on Wednesday for a key committee vote on their state's net neutrality bill — which, in its current form, would restore the protections repealed by the FCC in December — the Santa Clara County Fire Department accused the telecom giant Verizon of dramatically cutting its data speed as it recently fought the largest recorded wildfire in California's history. | After Verizon admitted that it slowed the fire department's data — a despised practice known as throttling — but claimed it was a simple mistake that "has nothing to do with net neutrality," Santa Clara County Counsel James Williams responded in a statement on behalf of the fire department on Wednesday that "Verizon's throttling has everything to do with net neutrality." | "It shows that the [internet service providers] will act in their economic interests,…
truthout.org/articles/verizon-is-throttling-data-during-deadly-wildfire-in-california/

The Rise of an Anti-Trump Movement at Home and Abroad
Shared by Samantha Borek | truthout.org | 2018-08-23
One thing already seems clear in the Trump era: the world will not turn out to be the American president's playground. His ultra-unilateralist, rejectionist policies on trade, the Iran denuclearization agreement, the costs of defense, and climate change are already creating an incipient anti-Trump movement globally (and in the United States as well). To a remarkable degree, the countries he has targeted are banding together to oppose him and his policies. That still inchoate but gathering opposition assures that, whatever Donald Trump's view of America may be, it is no longer — in the phrase coined 20 years ago by Secretary of State Madeleine Albright — the "indispensable nation." Abroad or even at home, with the president facing increasingly strong headwinds on climate change at the state and local level, we're entering a new world order on the heels of the…
truthout.org/articles/the-rise-of-an-anti-trump-movement-at-home-and-abroad/

Big oil asks government to save it from climate change
Will Weissert | peoplesworld.org | 2018-08-23
PORT ARTHUR, Texas (AP)–As the nation plans new defenses against the more powerful storms and higher tides expected from climate change, one project stands out: an ambitious proposal to build a nearly 60-mile "spine" of concrete seawalls, earthen barriers, floating gates, and steel levees on the Texas Gulf Coast…
peoplesworld.org/article/big-oil-asks-government-to-save-it-from-climate-change/

Will Donald Trump Unite the World Against His Presidency?
Dilip Hiro, TomDispatch | alternet.org | 2018-08-23
The president is generating widespread opposition across the globe. | One thing already seems clear in the Trump era: the world will not turn out to be the American president's playground. His ultra-unilateralist, rejectionist policies on trade, the Iran denuclearization agreement, the costs of defense, and climate change are already creating an incipient anti-Trump movement globally (and in the United States as well). To a remarkable degr. . .
alternet.org/news-amp-politics/will-donald-trump-unite-world-against-his-presidency

Don't Fall for the First Amendment = Free Speech Trick
Ted Rall | counterpunch.org | 2018-08-23
Like climate change, this is one of those problems I keep expecting people to wise up about but — because they never do — it keeps getting worse. Thus this tutorial. The problem is that too many Americans conflate the First Amendment with free speech. You see it when people discuss the current social-media crackdown…
counterpunch.org/2018/08/23/dont-fall-for-the-first-amendment-free-speech-trick/

Extinction and Responsibility: Why Climate Disaster Might Heal Us Even As it Kills Us
Jeffrey Shampnois | counterpunch.org | 2018-08-23
If climate disaster has left us with no future do we still feel responsible to the earth that outlives us? Or do we say "who cares?" If we say "who cares?" then our sense of responsibility was never anything more than a moral rule, a business deal of sorts, where we agreed to behave honorably…
counterpunch.org/2018/08/23/extinction-and-responsibility-why-climate-disaster-might-heal-us-even-as-it-kills-us/

Large Quakes Hit Oregon, Alaska and Mexico as the Number of Major Earthquakes over the Last 7 Days Rises to 157
Michael Snyder | globalresearch.ca | 2018-08-23
North America has been hit by three major earthquakes within the last 24 hours. A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck just off the coast of Oregon early on Wednesday, and that was …
globalresearch.ca/large-quakes-hit-oregon-alaska-and-mexico-as-the-number-of-major-earthquakes-over-the-last-7-days-rises-to-157/5651571

Debate: Who Is Behind Nicaragua's Turmoil? (Pt 3/3)
Hezvo Mpunga | therealnews.com | 2018-08-23
Recent months of deadly unrest in Nicaragua have fractured splits in the Sandinista movement, with critics accusing President Daniel Ortega of autocratic rule, and supporters accusing the opposition of attempting a US-backed soft coup. We host a debate between Dr. Mary Ellsberg of George Washington University and Max Blumenthal of the Grayzone Project | The post Debate: Who Is Behi…
therealnews.com/stories/debate-who-is-behind-nicaraguas-turmoil-pt-3-3

Shell Took 16 Years to Warn Shareholders of Climate Risks, Despite Knowing in Private All Along
Chloe Farand | globalresearch.ca | 2018-08-23
It took oil company Shell more than 16 years to directly warn its shareholders that climate policy posed a financial risk to the company's business model despite knowing — in private …
globalresearch.ca/exclusive-shell-took-16-years-to-warn-shareholders-of-climate-risks-despite-knowing-in-private-all-along/5651597

Debate: Who Is Behind Nicaragua's Turmoil? (Pt 2/3)
Hezvo Mpunga | therealnews.com | 2018-08-23
Recent months of deadly unrest in Nicaragua have fractured splits in the Sandinista movement, with critics accusing President Daniel Ortega of autocratic rule, and supporters accusing the opposition of attempting a US-backed soft coup. We host a debate between Dr. Mary Ellsberg of George Washington University and Max Blumenthal of the Grayzone Project | The post Debate: Who Is Behi…
therealnews.com/stories/debate-who-is-behind-nicaraguas-turmoil-pt-2-3

Debate: Who Is Behind Nicaragua's Turmoil? (Pt 1/3)
Hezvo Mpunga | therealnews.com | 2018-08-23
Recent months of deadly unrest in Nicaragua have fractured splits in the Sandinista movement, with critics accusing President Daniel Ortega of autocratic rule, and supporters accusing the opposition of attempting a US-backed soft coup. We host a debate between Dr. Mary Ellsberg of George Washington University and Max Blumenthal of the Grayzone Project | The post Debate: Who Is Behi…
therealnews.com/stories/debate-who-is-behind-nicaraguas-turmoil-pt-1-3

Fishermen, tribal members and conservationists push for increased flows on San Joaquin River
Dan Bacher | indybay.org | 2018-08-23
"We must restore our rivers if we are going to have clean water and fish into the future," said Morning Star Gali, Tribal Organizer for Save California Salmon and Pit River tribal member. "Large fires and lack of water supply are caused by climate change and wasteful water use practices, not environmental laws. Appropriate flows are needed for the health of our sacred rivers, to restore the health of our communities, and to protect the quality of California's water supply."
indybay.org/newsitems/2018/08/22/18817048.php

Australian prime minister faces ouster by extreme-right faction
wsws.org | wsws.org | 2018-08-23
Whatever the immediate outcome of this turmoil, the schism tearing apart the ruling Liberal-National Coalition will worsen.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/08/23/turn-a23.html

Siskiyou County Suspends Contract with Federal Wildlife-Killing Agency
Animal Welfare Institute | indybay.org | 2018-08-23
Siskiyou County officials recently announced that the county has suspended its contract with the notorious federal wildlife-killing program known as Wildlife Services. The program killed more than 28,000 animals in the county from 2008 to 2016. Siskiyou is the fourth California county to suspend its contract, after animal-protection and conservation groups argued that such agreements violate the California Environmental Quality Act and the California Endangered Species Act.
indybay.org/newsitems/2018/08/22/18817033.php

Musicians' group calls for shutdown of the German secret service
wsws.org | wsws.org | 2018-08-23
On Tuesday, the musicians group' "Lebenslaute" concluded a two-day protest against the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), as the German secret service is called.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/08/23/germ-a23.html

Trump Administration Admits 1,400+ More People Will Die Each Year Following Coal Plant Deregulation
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-08-22
President Trump rallied supporters Tuesday night in West Virginia to announce a massive rollback of Obama-era environmental regulations on coal-fired power plants and carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to climate change. Trump's "Affordable Clean Energy" proposal would allow individual states to decide whether to curb emissions. The Environmental Protection Agency's own data shows the plan could cause up to 1,400 more premature deaths a year by 2030. The Washington Post reports the deregulation would also lead to the release of at least 12 times more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere over the next decade.
www.democracynow.org/2018/8/22/trump_administration_admits_1_400_

Capitalism's Rough & Tumble Climate Affair
Robert Hunziker | counterpunch.org | 2018-08-22
It's entirely possible that capitalism and climate change are not compatible. They just cannot seem to live together, kinda like a marriage on the rocks. Assuming the planet is headed for a 2C climate event in the not so distant future, some kind of separation is probably necessary to avoid planetary dystopia and chaos.
counterpunch.org/2018/08/22/capitalisms-rough-tumble-climate-affair/

Large Earthquake Off Northern Venezuelan Coast
TeleSur English | venezuelanalysis.com | 2018-08-22
According to the Venezuelan Foundation of Seismological Research, the quake registered at 6.9 on the Richter Scale and left parts of Trinidad and Tobago without electricity.
venezuelanalysis.com/news/14014

The Best of All Possible Worlds
John Feffer | counterpunch.org | 2018-08-22
Candide is the first and most amusing example of the powerlessness of positive thinking. In this 18th century novel by Voltaire, the naàØf Candide suffers one misfortunate after another — kidnapping, torture, earthquake. Still he adheres to the philosophy of his mentor, Dr. Pangloss, who insists that all is for the best in this best…
counterpunch.org/2018/08/22/the-best-of-all-possible-worlds/

Recent Arrests Under New Anti-Protest Law Spotlight Risks That Off-Duty Cops Pose to Pipeline Opponents
Alleen Brown | theintercept.com | 2018-08-22
Law enforcement officers hired by a private security company are enforcing a new Louisiana law which makes trespassing near oil pipelines a felony. | The post Recent Arrests Under New Anti-Protest Law Spotlight Risks That Off-Duty Cops Pose to Pipeline Opponents appeared first on The Intercept.
theintercept.com/2018/08/22/recent-arrests-under-new-anti-protest-law-spotlight-risks-that-off-duty-cops-pose-to-pipeline-opponents/

Prime minister barely survives leadership challenge in Australia
wsws.org | wsws.org | 2018-08-21
The constant factor in the turmoil of official Australian politics has been political tensions arising from ever more volatile international geo-strategic and economic conflicts.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/08/21/turn-a21.html

As Trump Favors Asbestos, People Die
HVSJ | progressive.org | 2018-08-20
Donald Trump has been rolling back protections against exposure to asbestos, which kills an estimated 15,000 people each year in the United States alone.
progressive.org/dispatches/trump-favors-asbestos-as-people-die-180820/

Global warming deniers partly responsible for Aretha Franklin's cancer, says Stevie Wonder (VIDEO)
RT | rt.com | 2018-08-20
The deadly form of pancreatic cancer that killed Aretha Franklin can be attributed at least in part to those who don't believe in global warming, according to Motown legend Stevie Wonder.
rt.com/usa/436417-aretha-franklin-global-warming-wonder/

AP Investigation: Behind the Scenes in Yemen, U.S.-Backed Saudi Coalition Is Working with al-Qaeda
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-08-14
The U.S.-backed, Saudi-led coalition in Yemen has repeatedly cut secret deals with al-Qaeda, even paying its fighters to retreat from towns or join the coalition, a bombshell Associated Press investigation has revealed. The AP probe accuses the United States of being aligned with al-Qaeda in the fight against Yemen's Houthi rebels, despite claiming to be fighting the extremist group in the region. One senior tribal leader told the AP, "Al-Qaeda wasn't defeated. It didn't fight in the first place." We speak with Maggie Michael, one of the three reporters for the Associated Press who broke the story, headlined "U.S…
www.democracynow.org/2018/8/14/ap_investigation_behind_the_scenes_in

What the 'Sensible Middle' Doesn't Get About Education
Peter Greene | progressive.org | 2018-08-14
There is no middle between facts and the story that the earth is flat.
progressive.org/public-school-shakedown/what-the-sensible-middle-doesnt-get-about-education-180814/

Interior Sec. Zinke Blames "Radical Environmentalists," Not Climate Change, as 100+ Wildfires Rage
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-08-13
As more than 100 fires rage in the western United States, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke wrote an op-ed last week in USA Today about forest management on public lands that blamed "radical environmentalists" for the fires. "Most Americans get it, that climate change is no longer something that they can just wish away in this administration," responds Joel Clement, who served as director of the Office of Policy Analysis at the U.S. Interior Department until July of 2017 and worked at the Interior Department for seven years. We also speak with Ben Lefebvre, an energy reporter for Politico who has done a series of sto…
www.democracynow.org/2018/8/13/interior_sec_zinke_blames_radical_environmentalists_not

Meet the Two Protesters Who Confronted Interior Sec. Ryan Zinke over Corruption & Climate Change
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-08-13
We go to Steamboat Springs, Colorado, to speak with Sallie Holmes and Jesse Brucato, who interrupted a speech by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke on Friday. Zinke has faced 14 federal misconduct investigations since joining President Trump's Cabinet. The protesters asked Zinke about his alleged ethical lapses and questioned why he refuses to acknowledge the role of climate change in the wildfires raging across the western United States. We are also joined by Politico reporter Ben Lefebvre, who broke the stories linking Zinke to a real estate deal with energy giant Halliburton's chairperson David Lesar.
www.democracynow.org/2018/8/13/meet_the_two_protesters_who_confronted

Venezuela's President Maduro Survives Assassination Attack On Live TV
Paul Dobson | venezuelanalysis.com | 2018-08-05
Six arrests have already been made in the dramatic foiled terrorist attack.
venezuelanalysis.com/news/13976

Fighting for a Way of Life in the Arctic
Debbie S. Miller | progressive.org | 2018-08-04
The coastal plain, opened for oil drilling by the Trump Administration, is the birthplace and nursery for the Porcupine caribou herd, and land that the Gwich'in call, "The Sacred Place Where Life Begins."
progressive.org/dispatches/fighting-for-a-way-of-life-in-the-arctic-180804/

Venezuela: Maduro Announces Economic Reforms Including Monetary Reconversion, Tax Breaks & Currency Control Changes
Paul Dobson | venezuelanalysis.com | 2018-07-26
The measures also transfer an entire oilfield from PDVSA to the Central Bank.
venezuelanalysis.com/news/13967

Glimmers of Economic Recovery amid Mixed Reports about Venezuelan Oil Production
Cira Pascual Marquina | venezuelanalysis.com | 2018-07-20
Lower levels of oil production have been reportedly offset by rising prices and reduced domestic consumption.
venezuelanalysis.com/news/13958

Trump Admin Closes Venezuela Sanctions Loophole in Favour of US Bondholders
Paul Dobson | venezuelanalysis.com | 2018-07-20
The measure opens the way for seizures of Venezuela's US-based oil assets should the Maduro government default on PDVSA bond payments.
venezuelanalysis.com/news/13955

Venezuela's Defunct National Assembly Attempts to Privatise Oil Industry
Paul Dobson | venezuelanalysis.com | 2018-07-12
Grassroots movements have frequently denounced de facto back-door privatisation in PDVSA.
venezuelanalysis.com/news/13935