(2018-04-05). Outrage over protection of killer cops expressed at Sacramento City Council meeting. World Socialist Web Site Dozens of speakers denounced the City Council members and District Attorney for their indifference towards the murder of Stephon Clark and the broader social crisis in California's capital.
(2018-04-05). Trump administration axes Obama-era clean car standards. World Socialist Web Site The EPA's decision is the latest in a series of efforts aimed at gutting environmental regulations, particularly related to climate change.
(2018-04-04). Could the Cold War Return With a Vengeance? counterpunch.org Think of it as the most momentous military planning on Earth right now. Who's even paying attention, given the eternal changing of the guard at the White House, as well as the latest in tweets, sexual revelations, and investigations of every sort? And yet it increasingly looks as if, thanks to current Pentagon planning, a twenty-first-century version More
(2018-04-04). Most Likely to Succeed. counterpunch.org Oh very young, what will you leave us this time? You're only dancing on this earth for a short while. -Cat Stevens I heard these lyrics the other night while making dinner and realized it was one of those songs that has left a permanent imprint on me, the kind of song that intertwines with More
(2018-04-04). Atmospheric Burnings: The Re-entry of China's Tiangong-1. counterpunch.org The precipitous demise of China's prototype space station, Tiangong-1, was the sort of event that took earthbound discussions to more heavenly matters. Human beings, as is their wont, tend to follow the rules of colonisation with a certain automatism. In doing so, they have a distinct habit of leaving debris, a junking phenomenon that has seen More
(2018-04-04). Trump proposes to deploy troops to US-Mexico border. World Socialist Web Site The deployment of the military on US soil to arrest or deter immigrants raises the specter of martial law and violates the basic democratic principle of posse comitatus.
(2018-04-04). Trump's Trade War With China Will Roil Economies of Many 2018 Election Battleground States. AlterNet.org Trump just handed voters another reason to vote for Democrats in some of 2018's most important races. | President Trump's escalating trade war with China is poised to roil key economic sectors of numerous 2018 political battleground states, where Republican incumbents already are facing a Democratic surge. On Wednesday, China announced tariffs worth $50 billion in retaliation against Trump's just-imposed tariffs on Chinese steel, aluminum and high-tech goods. The Chinese will impose a 25 percent tariff on 106 U. S. products including soybeans, cars and chemicals, it announced. It will also target U. S. corn, cotton, beef, orange juice, whiskey, tobacco, and several lubricants and plastic products. Beyond the boasts by White House National Trade Council director Peter Navarro on Fox Business on March 2 that no country would dare retaliate "for the simple reason that we are the most lucrative and biggest market in. . .
(2018-04-04). A Death in Louisiana's Cancer Alley Reinforces a Small Town's Fears of Industry Impacts. Truthout Stories Keith Hunter, long-time resident of St. James, Louisiana, in March 2017, roughly a year before he died. (Photo: Julie Dermansky) | Thirty seconds: That's how long it takes to support the independent journalism at Truthout. We're counting on you. Click here to chip in! | Sixty-year-old Keith Hunter lived in St. James, Louisiana, for roughly 27 years, and during that time, he watched as the sugarcane farms gave way to oil storage tanks and as a railroad terminal was being built down the road, all visible from his front yard. Hunter was an outspoken critic of the industrialization of his neighborhood. And in a similar fashion as some of his neighbors, Hunter died on February 10 following a respiratory illness. | The town of St. James lies in St. James Parish, about 50 miles west of New Orleans. Despite its location…
(2018-04-03). EPA Violated the Law by Failing to Investigate Civil Rights Complaints, Court Rules. The Intercept A court ruled today that the Environmental Protection Agency violated its duty to respond to civil rights complaints in a timely way. The case involved five organizations that had waited years for the EPA to respond to complaints filed under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, creed, or color. | The law requires the EPA to respond to parties that file civil rights complaints within 20 days, letting them know whether the agency plans to conduct an investigation. After opening an investigation, the EPA has 180 days to either dismiss a complaint or issue preliminary findings and recommendations based on what it finds in the investigation. But in each of the five cases, the groups waited years — in some cases, decades — for responses from the agency. | Among the groups suing…
(2018-04-03). Abortion and Human Rights in El Salvador. Human Rights Watch News Last August, I had the opportunity to testify before the Constitutional Tribunal in Chile, my home country, in support of a landmark law that decriminalized abortion in three circumstances. In my testimony before the court, I spoke about how Chile's total abortion ban, in effect for 28 years, undermined women's fundamental human rights. | I later was in the packed courtroom to hear arguments from other expert witnesses. Many people have strong, deeply held views on abortion. But the main question before the court was whether Chile's constitutional protection for the embryo or fetus could be reconciled with allowing women to terminate their pregnancies in certain circumstances—for example, when the life of the woman or girl is at risk, or when the pregnancy resulted from rape. This question is a central part of the debate in El Salvador, where the constitution recognizes the…
(2018-04-03). Headlines for April 3, 2018. Democracy Now! EPA Orders Rollback of Obama-Era Greenhouse Gas Emissions Rules, Report: Climate Change Driving Rapid Melting of Antarctica's Glaciers, Mexico to Crack Down on Migrant Caravans as Trump Tweets Threats, Trump Anti-Immigrant Tweets Follow Mar-a-Lago Meeting with Fox News Hosts, Justice Dept. Orders Immigration Court Quotas to Speed Deportations, Thousands of Striking Teachers Rally in Oklahoma, Kentucky State Capitals, Stocks Fall Amid Trade War Fears, as Trump Attacks Amazon on Twitter, Sinclair Broadcast Group Forces Anchors to Recite Trumpian Commentary, Syria: Rebels Evacuate Douma in Russia-Brokered Deal, Yemen: U.S.-Backed, Saudi-Led Coalition Airstrike Kills 12 Civilians, Afghan Government Airstrikes Kill At Least 70 at Kunduz Mosque, Trump Congratulates Egyptian President over Rigged Election Win, Philippines: Marawi Residents Return to Homes Left Devastated by War, South African Anti-Apartheid Activist Winnie Madikizela-Mandela Dies, Activists Blockade Puget Sound Energy HQ to Protest Natural Gas Plant…
(2018-04-03). The Misanthropy of Wild Wild Country. counterpunch.org Sometimes a great work comes along to confirm total hatred of the human race, purest misanthropy, a vision that realizes the finest thing at last is to toss aside the humans and go to the forest, hug the trees, make love to the earth, listen to the pollinators buzz — what remains of them (as More
(2018-04-03). Pentagon Plans for Three-Front "Long War" Against China and Russia. Truthout Stories Sailors inspect the landing gear of an F/A-18F Super Hornet on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt. (Photo: Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Spencer Roberts / US Navy) | Think of it as the most momentous military planning on Earth right now. Who's even paying attention, given the eternal changing of the guard at the White House, as well as the latest in tweets, sexual revelations, and investigations of every sort? And yet it increasingly looks as if, thanks to current Pentagon planning, a twenty-first-century version of the Cold War (with dangerous new twists) has begun and hardly anyone has even noticed. | In 2006, when the Department of Defense spelled out its future security role, it saw only one overriding mission: its "Long War" against international terrorism. "With its allies and partners, the United…
(2018-04-03). Pipeline Backed by Pruitt's Oil Lobbyist Landlord Approved While EPA Chief Was Receiving Sweetheart Rent. MintPress News As EPA chief and reigning number one seed in the " worst Trump cabinet member" bracket Scott Pruitt attempts to beat back accusations that he violated ethics rules by renting a room from the wife of powerful energy lobbyist J. Steven Hart, the New York Times revealed late Monday that Pruitt approved a massive pipeline project supported by Hart's firm at the same time he had access to what critics argue was an unusually low-priced rental. | "A giant pipeline that rips up a vast swath of America and wrecks the climate in exchange for a cheap condo," 350.org founder Bill McKibben tweeted in response to the new report. "Seems the perfect emblem of the Trump years." | While EPA officials immediately pushed back against the notion that Pruitt approved the project as a favor in exchange for the…
(2018-04-03). The Bayer-Monsanto Merger Is Bad News for the Planet. Truthdig: Expert Reporting, Current News, Provocative Columnists Two new studies from Europe show that the number of birds in agricultural areas of France has crashed by a third in just 15 years, with some species being almost eradicated. The collapse in the bird population mirrors the discovery last October that more than three quarters of all flying insects in Germany have vanished in just three decades. Insects are the staple food source of birds, the pollinators of fruits and the aerators of the soil. | The chief suspect in this mass extinction is the aggressive use of neonicotinoid pesticides, particularly imidacloprid and clothianidin, both made by the Germany-based chemical giant Bayer. These pesticides, along with toxic glyphosate herbicides such as Roundup, have delivered a one-two punch to monarch butterflies, honeybees and birds. But rather than banning these toxic chemicals, on March 21 the EU approved
(2018-04-03). An Oil Price Rally Is Likely? Global Research Oil prices seesawed at the start of the week before jumping close to multi-year highs on geopolitical concerns, with Brent hitting $70 and WTI at $65. However, geopolitical pressure is only able to influence oil prices to such a degree …
(2018-04-02). Why Should the Poor Pay High Drug Prices? Truthout Stories (Photo: DedMityay / Getty Images) | We have seen a lot of hyperventilating in political circles over Donald Trump's recently proposed tariffs on steel and aluminum. While these do not seem like well-considered policies, and are likely to do more harm than good even from the narrow standpoint of increasing manufacturing employment, they are not by themselves the horror story being presented. | Steel prices often fluctuate by 20 or 30 percent over the course of a year, as they did in 2016. If tariffs raise the price in the US by 10 percent, that would be unfortunate for downstream industries, but not exactly a catastrophe. | However, more important than the specifics of a steel tariff is the implicit assumption that the country as a whole has an interest in stronger and longer patent and copyright protection. Many pundits have attacked Trump's…
(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). 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). Climate Change, Biodiversity, Wildlife and the Ecosystem. Global Research Featured image: Sierpe river mangrove in Costa Rica. Credit: Tanguy de Saint-Cyr/ Shutterstock.com, via IPBES | A sweeping new report released today emphasizes just how intertwined the challenges of climate change and loss of biodiversity truly are.The Paris Climate …
(2018-04-02). Nations Won't Reach Paris Climate Goal Without Protecting Wildlife and Nature, Warns Report. Truthout Stories A sweeping new report emphasizes just how intertwined the challenges of climate change and loss of biodiversity truly are. | The Paris Climate Agreement and several other United Nations (UN) pacts "all depend on the health and vitality of our natural environment in all its diversity and complexity," said Dr. Anne Larigauderie, executive secretary of the UN-backed organization behind the report. "Acting to protect and promote biodiversity is at least as important to achieving these commitments and to human well-being as is the fight against global climate change." | The report comes from the efforts of more than 550 scientists in over 100 nations, corralled by an organization often dubbed "the IPCC for biodiversity." | Much like the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assesses the state of research on global warming and its impacts, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and…
(2018-04-02). 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 is 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's School for the Environment, is studying the idea of using barrier walls to protect Boston, though he stresses he doesn't advocate for. . .
(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). Weapons for Anyone: 
Donald Trump and the Art of the Arms Deal. AlterNet.org Trump wants to peddle arms to the hottest spots on Earth. | It's one of those stories of the century that somehow never gets treated that way. For an astounding 25 of the past 26 years, the United States has been the leading arms dealer on the planet, at some moments in near monopolistic fashion. Its major weapons-producers, including Boeing, Raytheon, and Lockheed Martin, regularly pour the latest in high-tech arms and munitions into the most explosive areas of the planet with ample assistance from the Pentagon. In recent years, the bulk of those arms have gone to the Greater Middle East. Donald Trump is only the latest American president to preside over a global arms sales bonanza. With remarkable enthusiasm, he's appointed himself America's number one weapons salesman and he couldn't be prouder of the job. . .
(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). The Outrage Over Trump's Syria Withdrawal: "We Took The Oil. We've Got To Keep The Oil" MintPress News Weekend editorials and cable news pundit shows reacted in disbelief and horror – with charges of "chaos" at the Trump White House over Syria policy, and claims that "ISIS will come back. | The post The Outrage Over Trump's Syria Withdrawal: "We Took The Oil. We've Got To Keep The Oil" appeared first on MintPress News.
(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
(2018-04-02). Charles Blow: The American Justice System Was Designed to Kill Black Men. AlterNet.org Police shootings like the one that left Stephon Clark dead are a feature, not a bug. | Protests erupted in Sacramento and around the country this week after Stephon Clark was killed by police, 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, or Eric Garner in New York, 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 finds a venting valve. " The protests begin as a response to individual. . .
(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). 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). 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). 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). 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). 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). 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). 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). 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…