2019-06-04: News Headlines

WSWS (2019-06-04). Workers Struggles: The Americas. wsws.org Mass protests are continuing in Brazil against education cuts by the right-wing Bolsanaro administration while striking Honduran teachers and doctors held protests against privatization of healthcare and education.

Staff (2019-06-04). U.S. Prepares Sanctions to Block Food Subsidy for Millions of Venezuelans. therealnews.com Over half of Venezuelans currently receive a direct food subsidy delivered to their neighborhoods. Trump officials say that they are looking for ways to sanctions these. Mike Fox reports from Venezuela about the program…

plenglish (2019-06-04). US Government for a New Discredit Campaign against Venezuela. plenglish.com 04 de junio de 2019, 10: 20Caracas, June 4 (Prensa Latina) The United States Government is on Tuesday insisting on bringing Venezuela into disrepute through a new campaign so as to further alienate global public opinion regarding the harsh situation in the South American nation, the Venezuela Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza stated.

Eds. (2019-06-04). Constitution — Title I: Fundamental Principles (Art. 1-9). mronline.org Article 1: The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is irrevocably free and independent, basing its moral property and values of freedom, equality, justice and international peace on the doctrine of Simón Bolívar, the Liberator. Independence, liberty, sovereignty, immunity, territorial integrity and national self-determination are unrenounceable rights of the Nation. | Source

teleSUR (2019-06-04). UK's Khan Fires Back, Calls Trump 'Poster-Boy' for Far-Right. telesurenglish.net The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has fired back at U.S. President Donald Trump for his insults prior to landing in Great Britain for his short visit. | RELATED: | Trump Begins UK Visit by Insulting People, Endorsing Far-right | Khan called the U.S. President the 'poster-boy' for the far-right, pointing out that Trump has a large support base among the Alt-Right. | "Surely we should be saying 'listen, you know, you do realize you're a poster-boy for the far-right movement around t…

Earth First! (2019-06-04). Earth First! Journal Tour in Arcata. indybay.org Outer Space | 1100 M Street | Arcata, CA…

CGTN Africa (2019-06-04). Senegal's opposition calls for inquiry on BP gas deal. cgtn.com A group of opposition politicians in Senegal is demanding an investigation of two major offshore gas blocks run by British Petroleum (BP) after a report alleging fraud involving President Macky Sall's brother Aliou Sall. | Aliou Sall, brother of Senegalese President Macky Sall, speaks during a news conference in Dakar, Senegal June 3, 2019. REUTERS/Christophe Van Der Perre | The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on Monday published an investigation alleging that in a previously unpublished arrangement, BP agreed to pay Timis Corporation, a company run by Romanian-Australian tycoon Frank Timis, around $10 bil…

CGTN Africa (2019-06-04). Kenya to host Africa dairy conference in August. cgtn.com A shop steward arranges dairy products at the Quick Mart Lavington supermarket in Nairobi on January 24, 2019. (Photo by SIMON MAINA/AFP/Getty Images) | Kenya will host the 15th African dairy conference from Aug. 14 to 16, organizers announced on Tuesday. | Peter Ngaruiya, executive director of Eastern and Southern Africa Dairy Association, said in Nairobi that more than 600 delegates from 45 countries in Africa will attend the event to review ways to address the challenges affecting the dairy sector. | "Over 100 companies from China, India and Europe will also showcase the latest technology in the dairy industry…

Jason Ditz (2019-06-04). Israeli Military Intensifies Attacks on Syria, Killing 15. theantimedia.com (ANTIWAR.COM) — After killing ten people in a flurry of attacks early Sunday, Israeli warplanes continued with a second round of strikes into the evening, killing at least five more, and bringing the death toll to 15. Overall, four Syrian soldiers have been confirmed killed in the attacks, while seven others from the early attacks were described as foreign …

WSWS (2019-06-04). The fight against Trump must become the struggle for socialism. wsws.org Workers and young people wanting to fight against the growing danger of war and dictatorship, spearheaded by Trump's threats against China and Russia, must reject all calls for an alliance with rival capitalist powers and parties.

WSWS (2019-06-04). Warnings mount that trade war could bring recession. wsws.org Morgan Stanley said a global recession could start within nine months if the Trump administration goes ahead with its threat to impose a 25 percent tariff on an additional $300 billion worth of Chinese goods and Beijing retaliates.

ILWU Local 10 May Day Committee (2019-06-04). Support ILWU Local 10 In Their Fight Against A's Stadium In The Port of Oakland Howard Terminal. indybay.org The ILWU Local 10 May Day committee is calling for support in the fight against the construction of the A's stadium on the Port of Oakland's Howard Terminal.

plenglish (2019-06-04). China Issues Warning on Tourism Travels to US. plenglish.com Beijing, Jun 4 (Prensa Latina) The Government of China on Tuesday issued a warning to those who want to visit the United States, claiming security issues related to frequent shootings, assaults and robberies in public places in that country.

WSWS (2019-06-04). SEP Australia meetings on Labor's election debacle and the defence of Assange. wsws.org The leftward movement of workers and youth can find no way expression within the present political framework. It must be developed into a conscious political movement, based on a socialist perspective.

Evaggelos Vallianatos (2019-06-04). My Father's Hidden Weapon: Reflections on WW II. counterpunch.org It must have been late 1943 and I was about ten months old. A woman who hated my father told the Germans in the village that my father was hiding a pistol at his house. In the German-occupied Greece of World War II, this was an accusation that could lead to death, indeed the murder More

ILWU Local 10 May Day Committee (2019-06-04). Support ILWU Local 10 In Their Fight Against A's Stadium In The Port of Oakland Howard Ter. indybay.org The ILWU Local 10 May Day committee is calling for support in the fight against the construction of the A's stadium on the Port of Oakland's Howard Terminal.

Consortiumnews (2019-06-04). Reclaiming Billionaires' Wealth. consortiumnews.com Looking beyond classical economic models, Vince Taylor sees vast, private fortunes that belong mostly to society at large. By Vince Taylor Znet Hundreds of commentators have warned that extreme concentration of wealth threatens democracy and social stability. Not a day… Read more →

Serge Halimi (2019-06-04). US Gears Up for War With Iran. counterpunch.org Can a state that condemns, without real justification, an international disarmament treaty it spent years negotiating then threaten a co-signatory with military aggression? Can it order other countries to fall into line with its capricious, bellicose stance or face punitive sanctions? The US can. It's pointless trying to argue with the Trump administration's claimed reasons More

Howard Lisnoff (2019-06-04). "One, Two, Three Strikes, You're Out…" counterpunch.org Just when those who think the situation vis-à -vis U.S. militarism and empire can't get any worse, there are visible signs they are. Such was the visit to the militarized and right-wing government of Japan by Donald Trump. With new calls for impeachment—a grand waste of time at this point in Trump's disastrous presidency—readers might think More

Mark Weisbrot (2019-06-04). Puerto Rico's Botched Disaster Relief, Unsustainable Debt and Economic Failure Linked to Its Colonial Status. counterpunch.org Here is a scandal: Puerto Rico has a Financial Oversight and Management Board (FOMB), created by the US Congress and appointed by the president of the United States, in charge of its finances. Its budget, financed by Puerto Rico's taxpayers, is $1.5 billion over five years, or $300 million a year. How much money is More

South Front (2019-06-04). Video: Israeli Military Intensifies Attacks on Syria. globalresearch.ca Overnight on June 2, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) carried out a missile strike on Syrian Arab Army (SAA) targets in the southern part of the country. According to the IDF, the missiles hit 2 artillery batteries, observation and intelligence …

George Szamuely (2019-06-04). Strange Defenders: Assange and the Press. globalresearch.ca In recent days, in response to the Trump administration's issuance on May 23 of a 17-charge indictment against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, a number of prominent liberal columnists and Democratic politicians have come out with highly critical comments. Understandably, …

Andrew Korybko (2019-06-04). South Asia's Role in the Pentagon's "Indo-Pacific Strategy Report" globalresearch.ca The US' recently released "Indo-Pacific Strategy Report" envisages India playing a key role in this vast transregional space in order to "contain" China, while Pakistan is conspicuously absent from the text despite being one of the few nuclear weapons states, …

CGTN Africa (2019-06-04). Sudan military council calls for election in 9 months. cgtn.com Sudan's Transitional Military Council (TMC) on Tuesday announced it had cancelled all previous agreements with the main opposition coalition and called for snap elections following deadly violence in the capital Khartoum. | Sudanese protesters gesture as they chant slogans along a street and demanding that the country's Transitional Military Council hand over power to civilians in Khartoum, Sudan, June 3, 2019. REUTERS/Stringer TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY | This is after security forces moved to disperse the main protest camp outside the Defence Ministry. | The announcement came as the military faced mounting internati…

WSWS (2019-06-04). Military massacres protesters in Sudan. wsws.org Dozens were killed and hundreds wounded Monday after troops broke up a sit-in in Khartoum with live ammunition.

teleSUR (2019-06-04). Sudanese Military Scraps All Agreements With Protesters. telesurenglish.net Sudan's ruling party, the Transitional Military Council (TMC), announced on Tuesday that they were canceling all of the agreements they made with the main opposition, vowing to hold elections within nine months. | RELATED: | Death Toll Climbs to 9 in Sudan After Security Forces Attack | This move by the Transitional Military Council came on the same day that the Sudanese military stormed a protest camp in Khartoum, killing at least 35 peaceful protesters. The group had earlier sa…

CGTN Africa (2019-06-04). UN Security Council to discuss Sudan crisis. cgtn.com The UN Security Council will meet behind closed doors on Tuesday to discuss the crisis in Sudan after security forces violently broke up weeks of protests against military rule, leaving more than 30 dead. | FILE PHOTO: Members of Sudan's alliance of opposition and protest groups chant slogans outside Sudan's Central Bank during the second day of a strike, as tensions mounted with the country's military rulers over the transition to democracy, in Khartoum, Sudan May 29, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/File Photo | UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement that he was "alarmed" by reports th…

Robby Sherwin (2019-06-04). An Assault by Any Other Name. counterpunch.org The legal definition of assault: An assault is the act of inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in either criminal and/or civil liability. I believe it More

Michael Welton (2019-06-04). Education in the Service of Assimilation: The Founding Vision of Residential Schools in Canada. counterpunch.org Many of us can scarcely comprehend why a teacher might smack a child across the mouth with a ruler for "speaking Indian" (one of thousands of cruel acts perpetrated on Native children). They were stripped of their clothing and given a number upon entering the residential school. They were separated from their siblings by gender and removed from parental contact and community bonds. They were fed lousy food in lousy buildings. Around 6000 children died of various diseases, particularly tuberculosis. Their own spiritual traditions and practices were attacked mercilessly. Spiritual desolation awaited them down the r…

David Swanson (2019-06-04). You Can Almost Count on Each New Mass Shooter Being a Veteran. counterpunch.org "He enlisted in the Virginia National Guard in April 1996, according to spokesman A.A. Puryear. He was assigned to the Norfolk-based 1st Battalion, 111th Field Artillery Regiment, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team as a 13B cannon crew member. He was discharged in April 2002 and held the rank of specialist at the time, the spokesman More

Sara Roy (2019-06-04). On Equating BDS With Anti-Semitism: a Letter to the Members of the German Government. counterpunch.org To the Members of the German Government: I write to you regarding the motion recently passed by the Bundestag that equated BDS with anti-Semitism. I also write to you as Jew, a child of Holocaust survivors and as a scholar of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. My mother, Taube, and father, Abraham, survived Auschwitz among other horrors. More

Manuel E. Yepe (2019-06-04). Bolton's Dangerous Psychopathology. counterpunch.org John Bolton has been saying for years that he wants to overthrow the Iranian government, but this time he seems to have gone too far, writes Joe Lauria, editor-in-chief of Consortium News and former correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, Sunday Times of London and many other newspapers. "I met John Bolton and More

WSWS (2019-06-04). At least 116 injured in Russia factory explosions. wsws.org The blasts at the factory, which produces explosives for the Russian military, shattered windows in hundreds of buildings over a radius of at least 3 kilometers.

WSWS (2019-06-04). As Trump lands in UK, US threatens break in NATO alliance over EU army. wsws.org US officials have indicated that if the plans of Berlin and Paris for an EU army proceed, Washington might not defend the EU against a hypothetical Russian attack.

Henry Debnam (2019-06-04). Ukraine provides information on Russian net of agents in Kosovo. indybay.org Mass arrests in the framework of fighting illegal trade in Serbian enclaves in Kosovo drew attention of all international media.

RT (2019-06-04). Senate unanimously passes bill to deny entry to non-citizen 'election meddlers'. rt.com The Senate has unanimously approved a bill barring individuals "who improperly interfere" in US elections from entering the country, in a display of legislative virtue-signaling. It's unclear who the act is supposed to affect.

plenglish (2019-06-04). Cuban Vice President Meets with Russian Agriculture Minister. plenglish.com Moscow, Jun 4 (Prensa Latina) The vice president of the Cuban Council of Ministers, Ricardo Cabrisas, has met on Tuesday with Russian Agriculture Minister Dmitri Patrushev and Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov to review bilateral economic cooperation.

Tom Tomorrow (2019-06-04). Robert Mueller, American Sphinx. thenation.com Robert Mueller, American Sphinx…

WSWS (2019-06-04). Germany: Investigation into October Festival bombing to be concluded. wsws.org After the bombing attack, the investigating authorities sought to bury the links between the bomber and neo-Nazi and far right terrorist networks.

Peter Koenig (2019-06-04). The Murdering of Julian Assange. dissidentvoice.org Julian Assange is being slowly murdered by "Her Majesty's Prison Service" at Belmarsh prison in the south-east of London. The prison is notorious for holding people who have never been charged with a crime indefinitely. It is also called the British version of Guantanamo, and, typically used to detain so-called terrorists, thus called by the …

teleSUR (2019-06-04). Indonesian Suicide Bomber Wounded After Botched Attempt. telesurenglish.net An Indonesian militant was seriously wounded on Tuesday when he attempted to blow himself up outside of a police station, the local authorities stated. | RELATED: | Indonesia's Mount Agung Volcano Grounds Flights After Splurting 4,600-Meter Ash Cloud | The unnamed militant was believed to have been influenced by the Islamic State terrorist group after investigators found information proving the 22-year-old's exposure to the organization. | "This was a suic…

Jake Johnson, staff writer (2019-06-04). 'Blatant Attempt to Intimidate': Trump Administration Proposal Threatens Pipeline Protesters With Up to 20 Years in Prison. commondreams.org "This dangerous proposal threatens to undermine Americans' right to peaceful assembly and free speech." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/dapl_protest_1_0_0.jpg

RT (2019-06-04). Pompeo says US intel only OCCASIONALLY 'gets things wrong', after bragging about 'lying' CIA. rt.com US intelligence agencies occasionally make mistakes but should still be trusted and taken at their word, according to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who once famously boasted that the CIA "lies, cheats and steals."

Jerry Omondi (2019-06-04). UNHCR appeals for additional funding to mitigate effects of Somalia drought. cgtn.com The United Nations refugee agency has appealed for additional support top help people affected and displaced by drought in Somalia. | UNHCR says Somalia has been hit by a worsening drought in many parts of the country following failed rains in the "Deyr" (October — December 2018) and "Gu" (April-June 2019) rainy seasons. | The agency says that some 5.4 million people are expected to be food insecure by July. Of these, 2.2 million will be in severe conditions needing immediate emergency assistance unless aid is urgently scaled up. | The drought in the Horn of African country has also forced more than 49,0…

Eds. (2019-06-04). Revealed: the far right networks of deception. mronline.org In total, Avaaz reported over 500 suspect pages and groups to Facebook, which were followed by nearly 32 million people and generated over 67 million "interactions" (comments, likes, shares) in the last three months alone. | Source

Jerry Omondi (2019-06-04). CAF to hold emergency meeting in Paris following Champions League chaos. cgtn.com CAF President Ahmad Ahmad | The Confederation of African Football (CAF) is set to hold an emergency meeting today in Paris following the events that marred the CAF Champions League final on June 1. | The match pit Tunisian side Esperance against Wydad Casablanca. Chaos ensued when the match officials declined to award Wydad a goal and did not also seek the assistance from the VAR to verify their decision. This angered Moroccan football fans and observers, who strongly argued that the decision of the referee was unjust. | The situation prompted wide backlash from football fans across the continent and worldwide.

Jake Johnson, staff writer (2019-06-04). Nearly 100 Animal Rights Activists Arrested for Protesting 'Torturous Practices' at Duck Slaughterhouse. commondreams.org "The real criminality is the systemic torture and slaughter of billions of animals in the cruelest, filthiest, most sadistic conditions. But the police protect the corporate criminals." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/animal_rights1.png

Patrick Cockburn (2019-06-04). Why the US is Persecuting Assange. counterpunch.org I was in Kabul a decade ago when WikiLeaks released a massive tranche of US government documents about the conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq and Yemen. On the day of the release, I was arranging by phone to meet an American official for an unattributable briefing. I told him in the course of our conversation what I had just learned from the news wires.He was intensely interested and asked me what was known about the degree of classification of the files. When I told him, he said in a relieved tone: "No real secrets, then." More

Whitney Webb (2019-06-03). Bipartisan Support for Trump's Aggressive Iran Policy Reveals the Hollowness of Russiagate. mintpressnews.com While Russia often serves as a useful "boogeyman" for promoting militaristic policies, the odd moments when those same policies actually benefit Russia and avoid strong opposition from U.S. politicians and media provide a rare glimpse into the real motivations behind Cold War 2.0.

Miko Peled (2019-06-03). Netanyahu is Gambling on New Elections to Stay in Power. mintpressnews.com JERUSALEM — For the first time in the history of the state of Israel, the head of the party that won the largest number of seats has failed to form a coalition government. Rather than allowing the head of the party that came in second to attempt to form a government, the Knesset voted to hold re-elections only six weeks after Israelis first cast their ballots. | Could this be the end the political career of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu? It seems that this is indeed what the heads of several political parties here are determined to achieve. Not unlike hyenas who see a broken down and weak lion a…