(2018-07-10). 'Elections Have Consequences': Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court Nomination Is a Harsh Reminder That Obama Was Right. alternet.org 
The events of the last year-and-a-half demonstrate the moral and logical fallacies of throwing away one's vote. | President Donald Trump has named Brett Kavanaugh, a judge from the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, to be his second Supreme Court nominee. Like Trump's first pick Justice Neil Gorsuch, Kavanaugh is a man who is likely to push the court to the right on issues like abortion, gay rights, consumer rights and environmental protection. In other words, this is exactly the type of nightmare scenario that liberals feared when Trump was elected to the White House. As a result, it's time for the progressives who didn't vote for Hillary Clinton in 2016 to acknowledge an uncomfortable truth: All of the horrors unleashed by Trump are very much your fault. There is abundant evidence that Clinton would have won. . .
(2018-07-10). Trump Trade War: China Refiner Dumps US Crude, Seeks Iranian Oil. iranian.com Irina Slav at Oilprice.com notes that China's Dongming Petrochemical Group is dropping imports of US crude for its refineries and replacing them with oil from Iran, according to Iran's IRNA news service and Japan Today. Moreover, China is said to be preparing to slap 25% tariffs on imports of American crude, which will likely halt such imports […]
(2018-07-10). Trump's Energy Offensive Against Iran: An Expert Analysis. iranian.com The Trump administration has "gone nuclear" in reportedly demanding that all of Iran's current oil consumers completely eliminate imports of Iranian imports by November 4. This comes in the wake of the OPEC meeting in which, apparently under pressure from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States, in particular, its members agreed […]
(2018-07-10). Trump, the Great 'Visionary Business Guru' is Actually Crashing the Global Economy. mintpressnews.com US President Donald Trump often brags about his visionary business prowess, and his acolytes hail the former property tycoon for his razor-sharp intelligence. Critics and detractors, on the other hand, speak of his impulsiveness and reckless, short-attention span. | The latter uncharitable characterization of the 45th president seems more than amply substantiated this week as he launched a trade war with China and, further, spooked global oil markets over his belligerent showdown with Iran. | Given the dire financial repercussions for the US and, more generally, the international economy from Trump's actions one wonders how he can ever claim to be such a business guru. | First on China, the Trump administration this week finally implemented its threats to raise punitive taxes on $34 billion-worth of Chinese exports. Trump is threatening to ramp up the tariffs on all Chinese traded goods to the…
(2018-07-10). CNN Host Corners Deputy Press Secretary Over Report Kennedy Received Assurances Trump Would Nominate Kavanaugh. alternet.org 
The anchor was not letting him escape this one. | In an interview with CNN host John Berman, White House spokesperson Raj Shah refused to address a report that President Donald Trump and the White House convinced Supreme Court Justice Anthony to retire by promising to replace him with protege Brett Kavanaugh. Early Tuesday morning, NBC reported that Kennedy had been in negotiations "for months" with the outgoing justice stating, "Once Kennedy received assurances that it would be Kavanaugh (his former law clerk) Kennedy felt comfortable retiring. "Confronted with the accusation by Berman, Shah repeatedly side-stepped the question, instead giving a boilerplate explanation about Kavanaugh's qualifications. "In the selection process, did President Trump speak to outgoing Justice Anthony Kennedy at all about Judge Kavanaugh prior to the nomination? " Berman asked. "The president did speak with Justice Kennedy yesterday to inform him of his choice," Shah. . .
(2018-07-10). Floods and landslides in Japan leave more than 100 dead. wsws.org Natural disasters in Japan are increasing as a result of climate change, but nothing is being done to address this crisis.
(2018-07-09). U.S. Customs' 'Handmaid's Tale' Moment: Mother Says She Was Hounded About Why She Didn't Take Her Husband's Last Name. alternet.org 
"I then proceeded to tell them that they were perpetuating an institutionalized misogynistic system," she said. | A mother and daughter were flying back from a European vacation when an agent at Customs and Border Protection couldn't understand why their last names were different. "I was asked if Sybonae was my daughter and I said yes," Sylvia Acosta wrote on Facebook. "Then they asked why if she was my daughter I didn't have the same last name. I told them I had already established my career and earned my doctorate with my last name Acosta so I had decided not to change it. "The officer then said "maybe you should have taken your husbands last names so you could prove you were her mom. "She explained that she had plenty of proof that the girl was her daughter without needing their last names to match.
(2018-07-09). 8 Ways Departing EPA Chief Scott Pruitt Suppressed Science. truthdig.com Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, who announced [last week] that he is resigning, leaves a legacy of suppressing the role of science at the agency. | Blocking science in the name of transparency | In March, Pruitt proposed a new "science transparency policy." Under the proposed rule, when the EPA designs pollution standards and rules, it would use only studies in which the underlying data is public. Pruitt said his policy would prevent the EPA from using "secret science" that cannot be tested by other researchers. But scientists say important findings could be excluded. | One example is research by Harvard University that linked fine particle pollution in U.S. cities with an increase in deaths from lung and heart diseases. The data for the 1993 study was key to the EPA's setting of health standards that regulate air pollution. But…
(2018-07-09). As Brexit Throws UK Gov't in Turmoil, 'We See Only the Shadows' of What is Really Happening. therealnews.com 
Prof. John Weeks talks about what is behind the Brexit maneuvering that has led to Boris Johnson's and David Davis's resignations from Theresa May's cabinet and how this will affect the process by which the UK plans to leave the European Union
(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). Can Iran Legally Close the Strait of Hormuz? globalresearch.ca Note to readers: please click the share buttons above | On Tuesday, July 3, President Hassan Rouhani implicitly threatened to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz and prevent countries from exporting their oil through it if Iran was not allowed to …
(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). 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). 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). 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…
(2018-07-06). 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). 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). 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). 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.
(2018-07-05). 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). 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). 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. |
(2018-07-04). 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…
(2018-07-03). 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…