(2018-08-19). Law Students Fighting Trump Agenda Won't Find Support at Their Schools. truthout.org In the days after Donald Trump issued his first travel ban, pro bono attorneys across the country were celebrated " like superheroes," and the number of people applying to law school is increasing. Many of these applicants are seeking to arm themselves with a Juris Doctor degree to resist Trump's agenda. | Unbeknownst to them, though, law schools are ruthlessly efficient at systematically changing the disposition of even the most passionate civil rights activists into apathetic and institutionalized corporate attorneys. | Over the past year, I have watched this phenomenon unfold firsthand. The majority of students I met at my law school orientation seemed genuinely interested in wanting to learn how to use their legal education to make the world a better place. From environmental protection to antiwar advocacy, there was hardly a social justice cause left unrepresented by my incoming…
(2018-08-19). Iran Easing Entry Rules: Tourists Will Skip Passport Border Stamps. iranian.com Iranian authorities will introduce protectionist measures to support the nation's tourism industry in the wake of unilateral US sanctions on Iran, Mehr news agency reported Saturday. [dropcap]I[/dropcap]ranian media outlet cited Ali Asghar Mounesan, the Iranian vice president and head of Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHTO), who announced that passports of foreign tourists visiting Iran […]
(2018-08-19). Most of 21,000 oil wells approved under Jerry Brown are in low income areas, communities of color. indybay.org "I wonder if Jerry Brown would continue to shield the fossil fuel industry if his family was forced to breathe the same air we do," said Francisco Gonzalez, a Kern County resident. "I hope he will consider communities like mine and put an end to the drilling free-for-all. It's too late for me, but all the kids deserve better."
(2018-08-18). Gutteres Suggests Armed UN Presence to Insure Palestinian Protection. imemc.org The United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, presented four proposals, this Friday, aimed at protecting Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and in the besieged Gaza Strip, including the deployment of observers and increased humanitarian and development assistance. Guterres presented his proposals in a 14-page report prepared at the request of […]…
(2018-08-18). Ryan Zinke Uses Climate-Fueled Wildfires to Boost the Timber Industry — and It's Not the First Time. theintercept.com 
Ryan Zinke worked to gut forest protections as Montana's U.S. representative. Now, as interior secretary, he's pushing the same timber-friendly policies.
(2018-08-18). Fracking Wastewater Spikes 1,440 Percent in Half Decade. truthout.org 
Between 2011 and 2016, fracked oil and gas wells in the US pumped out record-breaking amounts of
(2018-08-18). Sixty-one-year-old worker dies in horrific fall into vat of oil near Disney World. wsws.org John Korody was killed shortly after midnight on Wednesday morning when he slipped on a grate and fell into a vat of oil.
(2018-08-17). A Bipartisan Group of Lawmakers Wants to End the EPA's Cruel Animal Testing. alternet.org 
Ending archaic, inhumane animal testing is something on which both parties—and most Americans—can agree. | A bipartisan group of lawmakers in Congress recently pressed the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on its "questionable" and "dubious" animal tests. The lawmakers' demand for information on "horrific and inhumane" animal testing. . .
(2018-08-17). White House lets payday lenders prey on military families. peoplesworld.org 
WASHINGTON — In what may be a new low, even for this GOP regime, the Trump White House is scheming to let payday lenders — one of the sleaziest industries in the country — prey upon military families, despite a federal law designed to stop such abuses. | Needless to say, the plan, floated by the Republican president's acting director of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB), Mick Mulvaney — who is also GOP President Donald Trump's budget director — outrages consumer groups, a pro-labor veterans group and congressional Democrats. The GOP is notably silent on the issue. | The payday lenders are some of the most-notorious financial predators in the U.S., along with loan sharks and collection agencies. Payday lenders advance people money against their paychecks, but if the full amount isn't repaid on the exact date it's due, the lenders roll…
(2018-08-17). Hothouse Earth. counterpunch.org An interesting new study: "Trajectories of the Earth System in the Anthropocene," Will Steffen, Johan Rockstrà∂m et al, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Aug. 6, 2018 lays out the pathway for Earth entering a Hothouse Climate State. "Our planet is still in danger of becoming a 'Hothouse' Earth despite our current efforts More
(2018-08-17). 65 California Cities, Counties Oppose Trump's Offshore Drilling Plan. peoplesworld.org 
At least 65 California cities and counties have taken action opposing new fossil fuel leasing in the Pacific Ocean since President Trump proposed a massive expansion of drilling in federal waters last year. That ongoing campaign now represents communities with 21.3 million Californians—more than half the state's population. | These actions, combined with recent public opinion polling showing that 69 percent of Californians oppose new offshore drilling, come as the California Legislature considers Assembly Bill 1775 and Senate Bill 834, which would prohibit new infrastructure to serve expanded federal offshore oil leasing. Members of the Coalition to Protect the Pacific have supported a campaign, which will continue through the fall as the Trump administration works on the next draft of its offshore leasing plan. | "We need to protect our beautiful South Bay as well as…
(2018-08-16). DNC Reverses Ban on Accepting Fossil Fuel Industry Money. therealnews.com 
DNC Chair Tom Perez reversed an agreement to ban accepting money from the fossil fuel industry that created a firestorm of protests, we speak with Janet Redman, climate change director at Greenpeace
(2018-08-16). Headlines for August 16, 2018. democracynow.org Violence Roils Afghanistan as Taliban Cracks Down on Red Cross, Trump Revokes Security Clearance of Ex-CIA Director, a Major Critic, Security Clearance Flap Comes Amid Mounting White House Scandals, Trump's Lawyer Prepared to "Unload" on Mueller "Like a Ton of Bricks", Hundreds of Media Outlets Condemn Trump's Attacks on the Free Press, Turkish Court Releases Jailed Amnesty International Chair, Brazil: Lula Registers from Prison as Presidential Candidate, Malta Allows Migrant Ship to Dock After 5 Days Stranded at Sea, ACLU Says ICE "Trapped" Immigrant Spouses at Green Card Interviews, CDC Says Record 72,000 Ameri…
(2018-08-14). AP Investigation: Behind the Scenes in Yemen, U.S.-Backed Saudi Coalition Is Working with al-Qaeda. democracynow.org 
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.
(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.
(2018-08-13). Meet the Two Protesters Who Confronted Interior Sec. Ryan Zinke over Corruption & Climate Change. democracynow.org 
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.
(2018-08-13). Interior Sec. Zinke Blames "Radical Environmentalists," Not Climate Change, as 100+ Wildfires Rage. democracynow.org 
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 we can just wish away with 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 stories…
(2018-08-09). Experts: If We Don't Stop Climate Change, CA Fires "Will Seem Mild in Comparison to What's Coming" democracynow.org 
The Mendocino Complex fire in Northern California is now the largest wildfire ever recorded in California's history. It started burning in July—the state's hottest month on record. Of the 20 largest wildfires in California history, 15 have occurred since 2000. This year's fires have already burned nearly three times as many acres as the same time last year. Experts say climate change has increased the length of fire season. In Oakland, California, we speak with Michael Brune, the director of the Sierra Club. We also speak with Michael Mann, distinguished professor of atmospheric science at Penn State Univer…
(2018-08-06). "Earth Will Be Annihilated": On 73rd Anniversary of Hiroshima Bombing, a Warning Against Nuclear War. democracynow.org 
Today marks the 73rd anniversary of the United States' atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, which killed 140,000 people and seriously injured another 100,000. In remembrance, we turn to the words of a Hiroshima survivor, or hibakusha. Koji Hosokawa was 17 years old when the U.S. dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. His 13-year-old sister Yoko died in the bombing. He gave us a tour of the city when Democracy Now! was in Japan in 2014. He spoke to us near the A-Bomb Dome in Hiroshima, one of the few structures in the city that survived the atomic blast.
(2018-08-06). Headlines for August 6, 2018. democracynow.org Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro Survives Apparent Assassination Attempt by Drone, Trump Tweet Reveals He Lied Last Year About Son's 2016 Meeting with Russian Lawyer, Mendocino Complex Fire Now Fourth Largest in California History, Indonesia: 7.0-Magnitude Earthquake Kills 91, Death Toll Expected to Rise, Zimbabwe: Crackdown Against Opposition Activists Continues After Elections, South Sudan President & Rebel Leader Reach Peace Deal, Israeli Military Kills 2 Palestinian Protesters at Latest Gaza Demonstrations, In Racist Attacks, Trump Insults LeBron James, Don Lemon & Maxine Waters, Randy Moss Honors Victims…
(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). 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.
(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.
(2018-07-12). Venezuela's Defunct National Assembly Attempts to Privatise Oil Industry. venezuelanalysis.com Grassroots movements have frequently denounced de facto back-door privatisation in PDVSA.