(2018-07-09). The Persecution of Rafael Correa. counterpunch.org 
An Ecuadorean judge has issued an arrest order for former President Rafael Correa. Correa is accused of having masterminded an attempted kidnapping of the right wing former legislator, Fernando Balda, in 2012. Balda was in Colombia at the time evading a prison sentence in Ecuador for libel. The kidnapping was foiled within a few hours More
(2018-07-09). Here's How the EPA and Pentagon Deliberately Hid a Growing Toxic Threat from Americans. alternet.org 
It's long been known that, in certain concentrations, these compounds could be dangerous if they got into the water supply. | The chemicals once seemed near magical, able to repel water, oil and stains. By the 1970s, DuPont and 3M had used them to develop Teflon and Scotchgard, and they slipped into an array of everyday products, from gum wrappers to sofas to frying pans to carpets. Known as perfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, they were a boon to the military, too, which used them in foam that snuffed out explosive oil and fuel fires. It's long been known that, in certain concentrations, the compounds could be dangerous if they got into water or if people breathed dust or ate food that contained them. Tests showed they accumulated in the blood of chemical factory workers and residents living nearby, and studies linked some of the. . .
(2018-07-09). CIA-Linked Military Contractor Secretly Jailed Dozens of Migrant Children on Arizona 'Black Site'. alternet.org 
The building is reportedly a vacant Phoenix office building with dark windows, no kitchen and only a few toilets. | A major U. S. military and CIA contractor has been detaining dozens of migrant children inside a vacant Phoenix office building with dark windows, no kitchen and only a few toilets, according to a new investigation by Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting. Reveal learned about what some are calling the "black site" for migrant children after one local resident filmed children in sweatsuits being led into the building. The building was leased in March by MVM, a defense contractor that Reveal reports has received nearly $250 million in contracts to transport immigrant children since 2014. We speak with the lead reporter on this story, Aura Bogado, in Oakland, California. She is the immigration reporter for Reveal from the Center for Investigative. . .
(2018-07-09). Defense Contractor Detained Migrant Kids in Vacant Phoenix Office Building. truthout.org 
A major US defense contractor quietly detained dozens of immigrant children inside a vacant Phoenix office building with dark windows, no kitchen and only a few toilets during three weeks of the Trump administration's family separation effort, Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting has learned. | Videos shot by an alarmed neighbor show children dressed in sweatsuits being led — one so young she was carried — into the 3,200-square-foot building in early June. The building is not licensed by Arizona to hold children, and the contractor, MVM Inc., has claimed publicly that it does not operate "shelters or any other type of housing" for children. | Defending the administration's policy to separate families at the border in a May interview with NPR, White House chief of staff John Kelly promised: "The children will be taken care of…
(2018-07-09). Scott Pruitt Resigns, So What? counterpunch.org The appointment of an anti-environmental crusader to run the EPA was a disaster for sure, but the blueprint for fouling our Ecological nest has been in the DNA of our culture from Day 1. Pruitt's narcissism and need for taxpayer funded perks is almost a caricature of the spoiled rich kid grown old and entitled, More
(2018-07-09). CIA-Linked Military Contractor Used Arizona "Black Site" to Secretly Jail Dozens of Migrant Children. democracynow.org 
A major U.S. military and CIA contractor has been detaining dozens of migrant children inside a vacant Phoenix office building with dark windows, no kitchen and only a few toilets, according to a new investigation by Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting. Reveal learned about what some are calling the "black site" for migrant children after one local resident filmed children in sweatsuits being led into the building. The building was leased in March by MVM, a defense contractor that Reveal reports has received nearly $250 million in contracts to transport immigrant children since 2014. We speak with the lead reporter on this story, Aura Bogado, in Oakland, California. She is the immigration reporter for Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting.
(2018-07-09). NATO: Bolster Inquiries Into Afghan Civilian Deaths. hrw.org 
NATO helicopters land at an Afghan and US Special Forces base in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, July 7, 2018. | © 2018 Reuters | (Brussels) — NATO has failed to fully investigate alleged unlawful airstrikes in Afghanistan, which may contribute to rising civilian casualties, Human Rights Watch said today. Member countries attending the NATO Summit in Brussels on July 10-11, 2018, should call for impartial NATO investigations into airstrikes causing civilian loss in order to minimize civilian harm in future attacks. NATO members should also press the Afghan government to hold its forces accountable for serious violations of the laws of war. | At the 2016 NATO Summit in Warsaw, member states endorsed a new policy on the protection of civilians that included measures "to prevent, deter, pre-empt, and respond to situations in which…
(2018-07-08). Report reveals outdated NASA policy poses contamination risk for Earth, universe. rt.com 
As humans boldly go where no one has been before, the guidelines on how to prevent contamination of these destinations with earthly microbes and vice versa do not meet the reality, according to a new report.
(2018-07-08). US Justice Kennedy's Legacy on Gay Rights. hrw.org 
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy arrives for U.S. President Donald Trump's address to a Joint Session of Congress in Washington, U.S., February 28, 2017. | © 2017 Reuters | President Donald Trump is set to announce his nominee to replace Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, who will step down this summer after 30 years on the bench. A swing vote on a deeply divided court, Kennedy sided with the majority on many troubling decisions but was also a key figure in several that advanced human rights protections, including on gay rights, abortion rights, and affirmative action. | In Lawrence v. Texas in 2003, the Supreme Court struck down a Texas law prohibiting same-sex sexual activity. It was a 6-3 ruling with Kennedy writing the majority opinion. It invalidated sodomy laws in 13 other states,…
(2018-07-07). A 'Reckless' Fracking Company, Poisoned Springs, and a Family Forced to Buy Water at Walmart. theintercept.com 
Oil, gas, and coal have been removed from the hills and forests of western Pennsylvanians who have been left paying the fossil fuel industry's bills.
(2018-07-06). World Bank Solution for Lack of Jobs: Cut Worker Protections. counterpunch.org The World Bank is in the process of completing its "World Development Report 2019: The Changing Nature of Work" and, surprisingly, the latest draft version opens with quotes from Karl Marx and John Maynard Keynes. Has the World Bank suddenly lost sight of its purpose and will now take up the cause of working people? More
(2018-07-06). First as Tragedy, Then as Tragedy. Ecological Imperialism and the Destruction of Families. counterpunch.org In recent years, critical journalists and scholars of climate change and society have urged academics and activists to understand climate change through the lens of class power. [1][2] Such a lens would force recognition of the real, material meaning of the existential threat that climate change poses to humanity; a threat strongly mediated by the More
(2018-07-06). The Wifi Alliance, Coming Soon to Your Neighborhood: 5G Wireless. globalresearch.ca The Alliance, which makes no pretense of potential health or environmental concerns, further proclaimed (and they may be correct) that there are "more wifi devices than people on earth". It is that inescapable exposure to ubiquitous wireless technologies wherein lies the problem.
(2018-07-06). Iran Looks to Barter Oil as U.S. Sanctions Bite. globalresearch.ca Faced with the return of U.S. sanctions, Iran is studying a revival of a plan to barter crude oil for goods, possibly resuming the scheme that it used to try to blunt the impact of the previous round of sanctions …
(2018-07-06). Roaming Charges: America, Unchecked and Unbalanced. counterpunch.org 
+ Someone should put together a volume of Trump's lectures on natural resources. It will rival John Wesley Powell. This week's lesson was delivered in West Virginia is on how coal is more vital to US national security than oil & gas because you bomb pipelines but coal is "indestructible." Read closely, there will be More
(2018-07-06). As Scott Pruitt Resigns, Former EPA Officials Warn His Radical, Anti-Science Agenda Harmed Nation. democracynow.org 
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt has resigned, amid an onslaught of financial and ethics scandals and widespread opposition to his campaign to roll back key environmental protections. President Trump announced Pruitt's resignation via Twitter. Trump later told reporters, "Scott Pruitt did an outstanding job inside of the EPA. We've gotten rid of record-breaking regulations, and it's been really good." At the time of his resignation, Pruitt was facing more than a dozen federal investigations into ethical misconduct, ranging from lavish spending to asking subordinates to help his wife find a job. Just earlier this week, CNN reported Pruitt kept a secret calendar and schedule in an attempt to hide his meetings with many industry executives.
(2018-07-06). Pentagon and Iran trade threats over renewed oil sanctions. wsws.org US imperialism is preparing for a military confrontation with Iran that could quickly eclipse the bloodbaths in those countries and precipitate a regional and even world war.
(2018-07-06). EPA accused of 'suppressing' hazardous formaldehyde report. rt.com 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials have accused staff appointed by departing agency head Scott Pruitt of suppressing a report warning that most Americans are exposed to hazardous levels of formaldehyde. |
(2018-07-06). Headlines for July 6, 2018. democracynow.org EPA Head Scott Pruitt Resigns Amid Mounting Corruption Scandals, Former Coal Lobbyist Andrew Wheeler Named Acting EPA Administrator, HHS Administrator Says "Under 3,000" Separated Children in U.S. Custody, Guatemalan Immigrant Mother Reunites with Daughter After 55 Days, U.S. Army Discharges Immigrants Promised a Path to Citizenship, Statue of Liberty Climber on Protest: "I Went as High as I Could", Bill Shine Named WH Comms Director Despite Fox News Sex Harassment Record, Trump Mocks Sen. Elizabeth Warren as "Pocahontas," Attacks #MeToo, China Retaliates as U.S. Imposes $34 Billion in Tariffs on Chinese Goods, South Korean Peace Activists Call for Removal of THAAD Missiles, U.N. Envoy to Yemen Hopeful over Peace Talks, Trump Administration Extends TPS for Yemenis But Won't End Travel Ban, Thai Diver Dies Amid Effort to Rescue Boys Trapped in Cave, Fourth Ohio State Wrestler Says Rep. Jim Jordan Failed to Stop Sexual Abuse, Ed Schultz, Longtime Liberal TV News Host, Dies at 64, British Columbia: Greenpeace Ends 35-Hour Blockade of Oil Tanker, London Mayor Approves "Trump Baby" Blimp at July 13 Protest…
(2018-07-06). New EPA Chief Andrew Wheeler, Former Coal Lobbyist, Aims to Continue to Dismantle EPA from Inside. democracynow.org 
Following Scott Pruitt's resignation, EPA Deputy Administrator Andrew Wheeler will become the agency's acting administrator. Wheeler is a former lobbyist for Murray Energy, the nation's largest underground coal mining company. He's also the former chief of staff for Oklahoma Republican Senator Jim Inhofe, who is known as the most notorious climate-denying lawmaker in Washington. In one of his most famous stunts, Inhofe brought a snowball onto the Senate floor in 2015 in order to prove that global warming was a hoax.
(2018-07-06). So Long, Scott Pruitt. We Knew You All Too Well. theintercept.com What finally pushed Scott Pruitt over the edge? Was it the woman with the baby who let him have it in a fast food restaurant? Or his use of Environmental Protection Agency staff to try to snag his wife a Chick-fil-A franchise? The secret calendar? The tactical pants? | The EPA administrator generated headlines with a stream of bizarre, inappropriate, and self-serving actions in his 16 months in office. At last count, there were more than a dozen investigations into his ethical lapses. | Pruitt, who served as Oklahoma's attorney general before being confirmed to lead the EPA last February, had a taste for the finer things — nice cars with flashing lights and sirens, biometric locks, extremely secure phone booths, and big houses. The combination of this expensive taste — the big house in Tulsa…
(2018-07-05). China Approves US$5Bn Loan for Venezuelan Oil Development. venezuelanalysis.com Venezuelan officials said Chinese cooperation opens up alternative networks outside the sanctions of the United States.
(2018-07-05). Twitter accuses Republican senators of defiling America after spending July 4 in Moscow. rt.com 
A group of Republican senators have been accused of treason after spending July 4 in Moscow. Real patriots spend Independence Day eating potato salad on US soil, according to astute Twitter users.
(2018-07-04). How The Iran Sanctions Drama Intersects With OPEC-Plus. iranian.com Major states buying oil from Iran are unlikely to heed the US call to drop imports; key allies want a waiver to avoid sanctions; OPEC, meanwhile, will have trouble boosting output in the short-term; the puzzle is not solved, but there are dark clouds [dropcap]H[/dropcap]istory may have registered stranger geoeconomic bedfellows. But in the current OPEC-plus world, […]
(2018-07-04). An American Century of Brutal Overseas Conquest Began at Guantánamo Bay. theintercept.com It is a testament to the Washington establishment's rhetorical dexterity that it labeled Guantánamo Bay home of the world's most dangerous terrorists. U.S. leaders meant, of course, to refer to the hundreds of non-Americans detained at the base over the past 16 years. But a closer look at the history of Guantánamo tells a different story — one in which the United States, beginning 120 years ago this June, used the enclave in southeastern Cuba to launch decades upon decades of terroristic overseas conquest. | Cuba was the intended target of many such terror plots. Long before Donald Rumsfeld homed in on the country to imprison "enemy combatants" in the aftermath of 9/11, then-Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy sought to visit " the terrors of the earth" on Cuba as part of Operation Mongoose, a covert CIA effort to overthrow leader Fidel…
(2018-07-04). Cosmic radiation from giant star system heading towards Earth — NASA (VIDEO, PHOTO). rt.com 
A star system containing two gigantic suns is blasting cosmic rays into space and NASA scientists have found that the radiation is making its way towards Earth on intergalactic winds.
(2018-07-04). France: Child Migrants Left Adrift in Paris. hrw.org 
Child protection authorities in Paris are using flawed age assessment procedures for unaccompanied migrant youths, excluding many from care they need and are entitled to. Hundreds of unaccompanied children sleep on the streets of Paris each night, according to estimates from lawyers and nongovernmental organizations. | (Paris) — Child protection authorities in Paris are using flawed age assessment procedures for unaccompanied migrant children, excluding many from care they need and are entitled to, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Hundreds of these young migrants find themselves homeless, often condemned to sleep on the streets of Paris. |
| The…
(2018-07-04). Americans ask Russians to fix their space-toilet. rt.com 
When you want a job done right, send in the Russians. NASA has renewed a contract with Russian firm Energia to maintain and repair toilets on board the US segment of the International Space Station. |
(2018-07-03). Trump Must Choose Between Tough Iran Sanctions And Moderate Gasoline Prices. iranian.com The White House can drive Iran's oil exports to zero, or it can have moderate US gasoline prices, but it probably cannot have both. The awkward tension between the administration's foreign policy priority (tough Iran sanctions) and its electoral calculation (to keep gasoline prices low) explains its increasingly frequent comments about oil prices. President Donald […]
(2018-07-03). Headlines for July 3, 2018. democracynow.org Pompeo to Head to North Korea for Third Time, U.N. Urges Jordan to Open Border as 270,000 Syrians Flee Fighting in Daraa, Federal Judge: U.S. Can't Arbitrarily Detain Asylum Seekers, HHS Refuses to Say How Many Separated Children Remain in Custody, 18 Arrested in Los Angeles at ICE Protest, 3-Year-Old Ethiopian Refugee Dies After Stabbing at Birthday Party in Idaho, Trump Refuses to Lower Flags for Victims of Capital Gazette Shooting, Rhode Island Files Landmark Lawsuit Against 21 Oil Companies, EPA Chief Scott Pruitt Keeps Secret Calendar to Hide Meetings with Industry Figures, "I Urge You to Resign": A Mother Confronts Pruitt at Restaurant, Trump Meets with Four Possible Supreme Court Nominees, Michael Cohen Indicates He Will Work with Prosecutors, Trump Urges NATO Allies to Increase Military Spending, New Charges Against Harvey Weinstein Could Result in Life Sentence, Thailand Races to Rescue Youth Soccer Team Trapped in Cave, Report: Melania Trump Made Over $100K in Royalties from Photos Licensed to Media…
(2018-06-26). Headlines for June 26, 2018. democracynow.org Mattis: U.S. Preparing to Imprison Immigrant Children on Two Texas Military Bases, Border Patrol to Stop Handing Immigrant Parents Over for Prosecution, In El Paso, Immigrant Parents Demand Return of Their Children, AP: Algeria Has Expelled 13,000 Migrants into Sahara Desert, Newly Released Scott Pruitt Emails Show More Ties to Lobbyist, Fossil Fuel Industry, NOAA Proposed Dropping "Climate" from Mission, Judge Dismisses Cities' Effort to Force Fossil Fuel Companies to Pay for Climate Change, Trump Attacks & Threatens Rep. Maxine Waters, PA: Family Holds Funeral for Antwon Rose, Unarmed Black Teen Killed by Police, Mexico: 2 More Political Candidates Assassinated in Lead-Up to Presidential Election, Brazilian Radio Journalist Jairo Sousa Assassinated in Pará, Argentina: Unions Launch 24-Hour General Strike to Protest Austerity, FDA Approves Cannabis-Based Drug for the First Time…
(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.