(2018-08-30). Back-to-Screwed (Video). truthdig.com When the guy who was the student loan ombudsman at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is making news you know there is a problem. Seth Frotman recently resigned to protest what the Trump administration is doing to make it easier for lenders who prey on students. | Couple that with the idiot insanity that is Betsy DeVos and things aren't looking good for education, higher or lower. DeVos wants the federal government to pay for teachers' guns. (Probably just to fend off the grizzlies, of course.) She is also happily doing the bidding of for-profit colleges and shady lenders who take advantage of low income students. Then, when the students default, the Department of Education makes it easier for taxpayers to save the banks through the miracle of taxpayer-backed loans.
(2018-08-30). Foreign Investors Answer Venezuela's Call, Sign Oil Contracts. telesurtv.net Seven of the 14 oil contracts have been signed as part of an initiative to develop Venezuela's Orinoco Oil Belt.
(2018-08-30). Fundraiser for a Lakota Elder's Roof 6-25-2018. indybay.org The event was held at the Resource Center for Nonviolence in Santa Cruz California on Saturday, August 25 from 5 PM to 8 PM. and hosted by Romero Institute, Resource Center for Nonviolence, Lakota People's Law Project…
(2018-08-30). Brown's Last Chance activists arrested at State Capitol – photo essay. indybay.org 17-year-old Nalleli Cobo, a Los Angeles resident who was sickened by toxic emissions from the oil drilling site, AllenCo., near her home, said the Governor has it in his power to issue an executive order to protect communities from oil extraction that state scientists identified as being toxic in 2015.
(2018-08-29). Top Student Loan Watchdog Resigns over Trump Admin Doing Bidding of Predatory Lenders. democracynow.org 
As the school year begins this week across the United States, the top student loan watchdog has resigned in protest, accusing the Trump administration of siding with powerful predatory lenders over student loan borrowers. Seth Frotman worked as student loan ombudsman under the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director, Mick Mulvaney. He wrote that under Mulvaney's leadership, "the Bureau has abandoned the very consumers it is tasked by Congress with protecting." This comes as Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has proposed new rules that would cut an estimated $13 billion in federal student loan relief for peopl…
(2018-08-29). Headlines for August 29, 2018. democracynow.org Puerto Rico Increases Hurricane Death Toll to 2,975, Andrew Gillum, a Black Progressive Backed by Bernie Sanders, Wins Florida Gubernatorial Primary, Trump-Backed Martha McSally Wins Arizona GOP Senate Primary, Trump Warns of "Violence" If Democrats Win Control of Congress, Texas Police Officer Convicted for Killing 15-Year-Old African-American Student, Teachers in Washington State Begin Strike, U.N. Secretary-General: Report on Genocide Targeting Rohingya Needs Serious Consideration, India Carries Out Raids Arresting Critics of Modi Government, France's Environment Minister Resigns On-Air over Climate Change, De…
(2018-08-29). California Moves Toward Setting Official Goal: 100% Clean Energy by 2045. truthdig.com State officials hope to chart a path for other large economies to follow as they attempt to address the dangers of climate change.
(2018-08-29). Words of Warning: The Top 10 'Nation' Articles on Climate Change. thenation.com Words of Warning: The Top 10 'Nation' Articles on Climate Change appeared first on The Nation.
(2018-08-29). Hatewatch Headlines 8/30/18. splcenter.org A U.S. Senate candidate will speak alongside extremists; another Trump administration official has ties to white nationalists; climate change and systemic racism, and more.
(2018-08-29). John McCain: A Hero? Let's Take a Closer Look. counterpunch.org 
One of the United State's sacred cows has shed this mortal coil; we will not take the time to speculate on where his next stop might be. But we are all being bombarded with accolades on the legendary, although mythical, 'greatness' of the dearly departed Republican senator from Arizona, John McCain. We will attempt here More
(2018-08-29). Establishment Candidates Teamed Up Against Zephyr Teachout in New York Attorney General Debate. theintercept.com Why is Sean Patrick Maloney — a sitting House member in a newly competitive New York congressional district that Donald Trump won in 2016 — running to be New York's next attorney general? | After last night's debate in New York City, between Democratic primary contenders Maloney, Letitia "Tish" James, Leecia Eve, and Zephyr Teachout, the answer doesn't seem any clearer — or perhaps it does. | Anybody who presumed that Maloney was in the race as a Teachout spoiler came away from Tuesday's attorney general debate with that impression only solidified. Teachout challenged Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a primary in 2014 and performed especially well in the Hudson Valley, where Maloney is also an elected official. She also ran for Congress two years later in a neighboring district, NY-19, losing to Republican Jon Faso. Cuomo, meanwhile, is backing James, the New York…
(2018-08-29). Disney stands by firing of James Gunn, director of Guardians of the Galaxy. wsws.org The Walt Disney company has remained firm in its decision to dismiss director James Gunn over tweets unearthed by right-wing provocateur Mike Cernovich.
(2018-08-28). 'Not in Our Name': Tribal voices in defense of grizzly. peoplesworld.org 
Over the past two years, hundreds of Tribal Nations across North America have come together to oppose removal of Endangered Species Act protections from grizzly bears in the Yellowstone region, and to fight trophy hunting. The grizzly bear is integral to Tribal Nations' religious and cultural practices. " The Grizzly: A Treaty of Cooperation, Cultural Revitalization and Restoration" is the most-signed treaty in history, and calls for grizzlies to be restored to biologically-suitable habitat on Tribal lands in the grizzly's historic range, rather than senselessly hunted for trophies. | Since September 23, 2016, some 170 Tribal Nations have signed this document of inter-tribal solidarity, only the third of its kind in 150-years. In terms of representation, with leaders from the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) and National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), it translates to over 700 Tribal Nations.
(2018-08-28). Contrary to the NYT, the Next Financial Crisis is Not Just Around the Corner. counterpunch.org The NYT had a major editorial arguing against the rush by Republicans (and some Democrats) to selectively deregulate the financial sector. (It is important to note that the industry doesn't want to eliminate government protections that benefit it, like deposit insurance or the Fed's support in a crisis.) The gist of the piece is that More
(2018-08-28). The Sun Does Not Revolve Around the US. consortiumnews.com While visiting Galileo's house in Florence, Jean Ranc reflected on how America thinks the world revolves around it, as it was once falsely thought the sun revolves around the earth. By Jean Ranc Special to Consortium News On a sunny… Read more →
(2018-08-27). Why Kyrie Irving's Connection to the Standing Rock Sioux Matters. thenation.com Why Kyrie Irving's Connection to the Standing Rock Sioux Matters appeared first on The Nation.
(2018-08-27). Publicly Subsidized Climate Change Insurance for Big Oil. counterpunch.org "Whom the gods would destroy they first make mad" — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow My 14 August 2018 article, "Climate Change Bites Big Business", described the now evident large financial impacts on Big Business caused by climate change, for example: + the bankrupting-level liabilities to one California electric utility company (PG&E) for causing massive wildfires in More
(2018-08-27). One Dead McCain, 2.5 Million Dead Iraqis. counterpunch.org The grossest thing in American society is the reactionary sentimentality that fill our gossip infected hearts with a chemical reaction every time one of our supposed war heroes moves on to a more peaceful place. The carefully rehearsed statements from useless political figures numb our minds as all those who are sane must collectively wonder what on earth has a fusty bag of bones like John McCain ever done for us? More
(2018-08-26). Children Separated Under Trump's "Zero Tolerance" Policy Say Their Trauma Continues. theintercept.com 
On August 9, several reporters took a government-led tour through America's largest detention facility for immigrant parents and their children: the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas. Sprawling over 50 acres of a repurposed oil field workers' camp, Dilley, as the center is colloquially known, has room for 2,400 detainees. It currently holds about 1,500 people — all mothers and their children, including babies. | No interviews with the detainees were allowed, so reporters were left to record random sounds and observations: phalanxes of baby strollers, a salad bar in the cafeteria, and, as the Wall Street Journal noted, "a speaker blasting a Jimmy Buffett song." But The Intercept has been in contact with some of the occupants of Dilley by phone — many of them children — and the circumstances they're enduring are decidedly less sanguine than Buffett's tunes.
(2018-08-25). How a DuPont Spinoff Lobbied the EPA to Stave Off the Use of Environmentally Friendly Coolants. theintercept.com 
Chemours asks in letter to the EPA for help promoting its HFO refrigerants, to stave off natural coolants that cause far less global warming.
(2018-08-25). Earth, fire & water: NASA maps atmospheric aerosols in psychedelic image. rt.com 
A new NASA image outlining the various types of aerosols in the air shows that we may be getting more than we bargained for with every intake of breath.
(2018-08-24). Foreign Correspondent: What Has Fifteen Years of U.S. Occupation Produced? Angry Iraqis. progressive.org As militant protests roil the city of Basra in Iraq, two summer films give a fuller sense of what U.S. occupation there has wrought.
(2018-08-24). Abandoned KFC served as front for drug-smuggling tunnel from Mexico to Arizona (VIDEO). rt.com 
US federal authorities have unearthed a secret drug-smuggling tunnel that stretched from a house in Mexico to an abandoned KFC restaurant in the state of Arizona.
(2018-08-22). Trump Administration Admits 1,400+ More People Will Die Each Year Following Coal Plant Deregulation. democracynow.org 
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.
(2018-08-22). Large Earthquake Off Northern Venezuelan Coast. venezuelanalysis.com 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.
(2018-08-21). Headlines for August 21, 2018. democracynow.org In Historic Letter, Pope Condemns Catholic Church Sex Abuse and Cover-Up, Trump to Announce Massive Rollback of Obama-Era Coal Regulations, In Racist Comment, Trump Says Hispanic Border Agent "Speaks Perfect English", Taliban Fires Rockets at Afghan Presidential Palace, India: Death Toll Rises to 400 in Kerala's Historic Flooding, French Oil Company Total Withdraws from Iran in Wake of U.S. Sanctions, Microsoft: Russian Hackers Targeting Conservative Think Tanks, Michigan Health Director Faces Involuntary Manslaughter Trial over Flint Water Crisis, NYT: #MeToo Leader Asia Argento Paid Off Her Sexual Assault Accus…
(2018-08-20). As Trump Favors Asbestos, People Die. progressive.org 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.
(2018-08-14). What the 'Sensible Middle' Doesn't Get About Education. progressive.org There is no middle between facts and the story that the earth is flat.
(2018-08-05). Venezuela's President Maduro Survives Assassination Attack On Live TV. venezuelanalysis.com Six arrests have already been made in the dramatic foiled terrorist attack.
(2018-08-04). Fighting for a Way of Life in the Arctic. progressive.org 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."
(2018-07-26). Venezuela: Maduro Announces Economic Reforms Including Monetary Reconversion, Tax Breaks & Currency Control Changes. venezuelanalysis.com The measures also transfer an entire oilfield from PDVSA to the Central Bank.
(2018-07-20). Trump Admin Closes Venezuela Sanctions Loophole in Favour of US Bondholders. venezuelanalysis.com The measure opens the way for seizures of Venezuela's US-based oil assets should the Maduro government default on PDVSA bond payments.
(2018-07-20). Glimmers of Economic Recovery amid Mixed Reports about Venezuelan Oil Production. venezuelanalysis.com Lower levels of oil production have been reportedly offset by rising prices and reduced domestic consumption.