Daily Archives: February 1, 2019

2019-02-01: News Headlines

Garry Leech (2019-02-01). I Declare Myself President of the United States of America. counterpunch.org I, Garry Leech, declare myself president of the United States of America. There I did it. I am now the leader of the most powerful nation on earth. "By what right?" you ask. By the right of the new democratic political process recently implemented in Venezuela and endorsed by the US government. This is how More

Robert Hunziker (2019-02-01). CO2 on Track for Largest Rise in 62 Years. counterpunch.org Around the world, atypical climate change grows increasingly threatening to all life on the planet, principally because of excessive CO2 emissions. Paradoxically, this is happening on the heels of the Paris 2015 climate accord among nations of the world. But, didn't almost all of the countries of the world pledge to cut back greenhouse gas More

Bob Lord (2019-02-01). The Vanishing Wealth of Black America. counterpunch.org Want an impossible task? Try identifying the most disturbing trend in America today. Consider the choices: Climate change denial, extreme political polarization, gun violence, etc. Those are just the ones on the national radar. Here's one that isn't, but needs to be: the systematic destruction of black wealth. The reality is horrific, according to the More

Nauman Sadiq (2019-02-01). Pakistan and the Cultural Appropriation of Pashtun Rights Movement. globalresearch.ca Historically, from the massacres in Bangladesh in 1971 to the training and arming of Afghan jihadists during the Soviet-Afghan war throughout the 1980s and '90s, and then mounting ill-conceived military operations in Pakistan's tribal areas under American pressure, leading to …

pip.hinman (2019-02-01). Are Baby Boomers really selfish sociopaths? greenleft.org.au It is not unusual to hear someone blame the crisis in affordable housing and healthcare or the very expensive tertiary education system on Baby Boomers, the generation born between 1946-64. | Writing in Business Insider, in an article entitled "This is how our parents became the most selfish generation", senior finance correspondent Linette Lopez quotes Cornell economics professor Lyn Stout as saying: "All of our social cues are telling us to be selfish right now. Lopez adds that Baby Boomers love this because it means they do not have to consider the needs of others, or sacrifice for anyone outside their immedia…

Diablo Rising Tide (2019-02-01). Stop Fossil Fuels! Protect the Climate! with German anti-coal group Ende Gelande. indybay.org On Friday March 8th at 630pm, join Diablo Rising Tide as we host climate | organizers with the German anti-coal direct action group Ende Gelande to | discuss their epic campaign to stop the coal mines of the Rhineland | region and protect the Hambach Forest.

stuart_m (2019-02-01). Five new books for ecosocialists. greenleft.org.au Climate and Capitalism editor Ian Angus takes a look at five new books for an ecosocialists' bookshelf. Inclusion does not necessarily imply endorsement or agreement with a book's contents. | ***
Dust Bowls Of Empire: Imperialism, Environmental Politics, & the Injustice of 'Green' Capitalism | By Hannah Holleman
| Yale University Press, 2018 | A clear and insightful analysis of the role of capitalism and colonialism in causing the US Dust Bowl of the 1930s and destroying farmland ar…

Human Rights Watch (2019-02-01). Senegal: Make Talibé Children a Campaign Focus. hrw.org | | Talibés begging in downtown Dakar, Senegal, May 11, 2017. | © 2017 Lauren Seibert/Human Rights Watch | (Dakar) — Political parties and candidates for Senegal's February 24, 2019 presidential election should commit to ending the abuse and exploitation of talibé children, Human Rights Watch and the Platform for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (PPDH), a coalition of Senegalese rights groups, said today. | Hundreds of thousands of talibé children in Se…

teleSUR (2019-01-31). Brazil's Indigenous People March Against Bolsonaro's Policies. telesurenglish.net Several Indigenous organizations from across Brazil protested Thursday against the environmental policies promoted by far-right President Jair Bolsonaro that are threatening their territories and lifestyles. | RELATED: | Bolsonaro To Sell Brazil's Image to Investors at Davos 2019 | Demonstrators in towns, cities and remote villages rejected Bolsonaro's strategy to strip the National Foundation of the Indigenous (FUNAI) of its traditional responsibility to demarcate indigenous terri…

Henry Millstein (2019-01-31). Catholic Bishop in Kentucky: Trump agenda is anti-life and immoral. peoplesworld.org In the midst of controversy over videos showing young men from a Catholic high school in Kentucky harassing a Native American in Washington, D.C., the Catholic Bishop of Lexington, Kentucky, John Stowe, issued a remarkable op-ed in the Lexington Herald-Leader condemning President Trump's racist and anti-immigrant agenda as a violation of Catholic moral principles. The …

teleSUR (2019-01-31). Pope Francis Visits Arabia, Promotes Tolerance with Muslims. telesurenglish.net When Francis becomes the first pope to visit the Arabian peninsula on Sunday, he takes another important step in his efforts to build bridges with Islam and confirms interreligious dialogue as a keystone of his papacy. | RELATED: | Pope Fears 'Bloodbath' in Venezuela | Pope Francis said he was looking to write a new page in relations between religions with his visit to the United Ara…

ACLU (2019-01-31). What Breastfeeding Has To Do With Economic Security. aclu.org A recent study from the Center for WorkLife Law reveals the heavy toll of breastfeeding discrimination and the pressing need for more protections. | The discrimination began almost immediately after Barbara, an emergency room nurse, returned from maternity leave. Like most breastfeeding parents, Barbara needed to pump regularly to keep up her milk supply and prevent infection. But while her co-workers got smoke breaks, Barbara wasn't allowed to take time to pump, leaving her in pain: "I'd feel like my breasts [were] bursting," she said. | When she did get breaks, Barbara found herself expressing breast milk for h…

RT (2019-01-31). Max Boot goes full 'White Man's Burden' in WaPo op-ed, sparking mass jaw-dropping. rt.com Neocon pundit Max Boot defended the unwinnable US "forever wars" in the Middle East in an op-ed comparing them to the slow-motion slaughter of Native Americans at the hands of settlers suffused with Manifest Destiny.

Shared by Hezvo Mpunga (2019-01-31). Americans' Concern About Climate Change Surging to Record Levels. therealnews.com Dr. John Kotcher of George Mason University discusses a new poll about climate change and says improvements in media coverage have helped spur the public's concern about the issue

Jessica Corbett, staff writer (2019-01-31). 'The Climate Is a Disaster': Fourth Week of Student-Led Strike as Tens of Thousands March in Belgium. commondreams.org As many as 35,000 Belgian students walked out of classrooms in Brussels, Liège, and Leuven in the fourth straight week of protests to pressure policymakers to pursue bolder measures in response to the human-made global climate crisis. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/euronews.jpg

pip.hinman (2019-01-31). Scrap Australia Day, acknowledge the past and fight for the future. greenleft.org.au Celebrating January 26 is a state-sanctioned exercise that rubs salt into the wounds of Indigenous Australia. It proclaims, "You lost, we won. Know your place." | But the desire for an honest conversation about modern Australia's origins in the violent and ongoing dispossession of Indigenous people is not going away. | Across the country Invasion Day marches were both bigger than ever, and took place in many more places. More local governments have dropped their January 26 activities and finally the ABC allowed Triple J to shift its Hottest 100. | The mood for change is gathering momentum — and it'..

Shared by Cherise (2019-01-31). Why Germany Leads in Renewables: It Has Its Own Green Bank. truthout.org The Green New Deal endorsed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and more than 40 other US Representatives has been criticized as imposing a too-heavy burden on the rich and upper-middle-class taxpayers who will have to pay for it, but taxing the rich is not what the Green New Deal resolution proposes. It says funding will come primarily from certain public agencies, i…

Eds. (2019-01-30). 'I have faith in our generation'. mronline.org The last few Thursdays, Brussels' streets have been flooded with students who skip school to march for climate justice. The third march, held 24 January, attracted 32,000 people. | Source

Shared by Jocelyn Dombroski (2019-01-30). Another County Just Banned New Fossil Fuel Infrastructure. therealnews.com Climate justice advocate Anthony Rogers-Wright explains why a growing number of jurisdictions are saying no more fossil fuel extractions

Will Parrish (2019-01-30). How Police, Private Security, and Energy Companies Are Preparing for a New Pipeline Standoff. theintercept.com Law enforcement has been monitoring opposition to Enbridge Line 3 and seeking guidance from officials who led the militarized response at Standing Rock.

Sharon Lerner (2019-01-27). The U.S. Military Plans to Keep Incinerating Toxic Firefighting Foam, Despite Health Risks. theintercept.com The U.S. military is moving ahead with plans to collect and destroy unused firefighting foam that contains the hazardous chemicals PFOS and PFOA. But in trying to solve one environmental problem related to these persistent chemicals, which have caused massive drinking water contamination, the Defense Department may be creating another. | More than 3 million gallons of the foam and related waste have been retrieved from U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, National Guard, Army, and Air Force bases around th…

Democracy Now! (2019-01-24). Headlines for January 24, 2019. democracynow.org Venezuela Accuses U.S. of Attempting to Engineer Coup, Competing Senate Bills to End Government Shutdown Unlikely to Pass, Federal Workers Flood Senate Office Building to Protest Shutdown, Trump to Delay State of the Union Address Until Shutdown Ends, Witness: El Chapo's Sons Murdered Mexican Journalist Javier Valdez, Brazil: Son of President Bolsonaro Linked to Criminal Syndicate, Iowa Anti-Abortion Law Struck Down as New York Pro-Choice Bill Passes, Michael Cohen Cancels Congressional Testimony, Citing Trump's Threats, House Committee to Probe White House Handling of Security Clearances, U.S. Climate Science Ha…

Ralph Nader (2018-12-24). A "Massive Outlaw" zcomm.org Interview on Single Payer, Climate Devastation, Impeachment…

Paul Dobson (2018-12-20). ANC Deputy Julio Escalona: 'The People are Angry Because They Consider that We Aren't Doing Our Job'. venezuelanalysis.com The revolutionary's criticisms came during the passing of 2019's budget, 75% of which is destined for "social protection."

2019-02-01: Social Media Postees

I Declare Myself President of the United States of America
Garry Leech | counterpunch.org | 2019-02-01
I, Garry Leech, declare myself president of the United States of America. There I did it. I am now the leader of the most powerful nation on earth. "By what right?" you ask. By the right of the new democratic political process recently implemented in Venezuela and endorsed by the US government. This is how…
counterpunch.org/2019/02/01/i-declare-myself-president-of-the-united-states-of-america/

The Vanishing Wealth of Black America
Bob Lord | counterpunch.org | 2019-02-01
Want an impossible task? Try identifying the most disturbing trend in America today. Consider the choices: Climate change denial, extreme political polarization, gun violence, etc. Those are just the ones on the national radar. Here's one that isn't, but needs to be: the systematic destruction of black wealth. The reality is horrific, according to the…
counterpunch.org/2019/02/01/the-vanishing-wealth-of-black-america/

CO2 on Track for Largest Rise in 62 Years
Robert Hunziker | counterpunch.org | 2019-02-01
Around the world, atypical climate change grows increasingly threatening to all life on the planet, principally because of excessive CO2 emissions. Paradoxically, this is happening on the heels of the Paris 2015 climate accord among nations of the world. But, didn't almost all of the countries of the world pledge to cut back greenhouse gas…
counterpunch.org/2019/02/01/co2-on-track-for-largest-rise-in-62-years/

Pakistan and the Cultural Appropriation of Pashtun Rights Movement
Nauman Sadiq | globalresearch.ca | 2019-02-01
Historically, from the massacres in Bangladesh in 1971 to the training and arming of Afghan jihadists during the Soviet-Afghan war throughout the 1980s and '90s, and then mounting ill-conceived military operations in Pakistan's tribal areas under American pressure, leading to … | The post Pakistan and the Cultural Appropriation of Pashtun Rights Movement appeared first on Global Research.
globalresearch.ca/cultural-appropriation-pashtun-rights-movement/5667034

Stop Fossil Fuels! Protect the Climate! with German anti-coal group Ende Gelande
Diablo Rising Tide | indybay.org | 2019-02-01
On Friday March 8th at 630pm, join Diablo Rising Tide as we host climate | organizers with the German anti-coal direct action group Ende Gelande to | discuss their epic campaign to stop the coal mines of the Rhineland | region and protect the Hambach Forest.
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/01/29/18820898.php

Five new books for ecosocialists
stuart_m | greenleft.org.au | 2019-02-01
Climate and Capitalism editor Ian Angus takes a look at five new books for an ecosocialists' bookshelf. Inclusion does not necessarily imply endorsement or agreement with a book's contents. | *** | Dust Bowls Of Empire: Imperialism, Environmental Politics, & the Injustice of 'Green' Capitalism | By Hannah Holleman | Yale University Press, 2018 | A clear and insightful analysis of the role of capitalism and colonialism in causing the US Dust Bowl of the 1930s and destroying farmland ar…
greenleft.org.au/content/five-new-books-ecosocialists-1

Senegal: Make Talibé Children a Campaign Focus
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2019-02-01
Talibés begging in downtown Dakar, Senegal, May 11, 2017. | © 2017 Lauren Seibert/Human Rights Watch | (Dakar) — Political parties and candidates for Senegal's February 24, 2019 presidential election should commit to ending the abuse and exploitation of talibé children, Human Rights Watch and the Platform for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (PPDH), a coalition of Senegalese rights groups, said today. | Hundreds of thousands of talibé children in Se…
hrw.org/news/2019/02/01/senegal-make-talibe-children-campaign-focus

Brazil's Indigenous People March Against Bolsonaro's Policies
teleSUR | telesurenglish.net | 2019-01-31
Several Indigenous organizations from across Brazil protested Thursday against the environmental policies promoted by far-right President Jair Bolsonaro that are threatening their territories and lifestyles. | RELATED: | Bolsonaro To Sell Brazil's Image to Investors at Davos 2019 | Demonstrators in towns, cities and remote villages rejected Bolsonaro's strategy to strip the National Foundation of the Indigenous (FUNAI) of its traditional responsibility to demarcate indigenous terri…
telesurenglish.net/news/Brazils-Indigenous-People-March-Against-Bolsonaros-Policies-20190131-0030.html

Catholic Bishop in Kentucky: Trump agenda is anti-life and immoral
Henry Millstein | peoplesworld.org | 2019-01-31
In the midst of controversy over videos showing young men from a Catholic high school in Kentucky harassing a Native American in Washington, D.C., the Catholic Bishop of Lexington, Kentucky, John Stowe, issued a remarkable op-ed in the Lexington Herald-Leader condemning President Trump's racist and anti-immigrant agenda as a violation of Catholic moral principles. The …
peoplesworld.org/article/catholic-bishop-in-kentucky-trump-agenda-is-anti-life-and-immoral/

Pope Francis Visits Arabia, Promotes Tolerance with Muslims
teleSUR | telesurenglish.net | 2019-01-31
When Francis becomes the first pope to visit the Arabian peninsula on Sunday, he takes another important step in his efforts to build bridges with Islam and confirms interreligious dialogue as a keystone of his papacy. | RELATED: | Pope Fears 'Bloodbath' in Venezuela | Pope Francis said he was looking to write a new page in relations between religions with his visit to the United Ara…
telesurenglish.net/news/Pope-Francis-Visits-Arabia-Promotes-Tolerance-with-Muslims-20190131-0026.html

What Breastfeeding Has To Do With Economic Security
ACLU | aclu.org | 2019-01-31
A recent study from the Center for WorkLife Law reveals the heavy toll of breastfeeding discrimination and the pressing need for more protections. | The discrimination began almost immediately after Barbara, an emergency room nurse, returned from maternity leave. Like most breastfeeding parents, Barbara needed to pump regularly to keep up her milk supply and prevent infection. But while her co-workers got smoke breaks, Barbara wasn't allowed to take time to pump, leaving her in pain: "I'd feel like my breasts [were] bursting," she said. | When she did get breaks, Barbara found herself expressing breast milk for h…
aclu.org/blog/womens-rights/pregnancy-and-parenting-discrimination/what-breastfeeding-has-do-economic

Max Boot goes full 'White Man's Burden' in WaPo op-ed, sparking mass jaw-dropping
RT | rt.com | 2019-01-31
Neocon pundit Max Boot defended the unwinnable US "forever wars" in the Middle East in an op-ed comparing them to the slow-motion slaughter of Native Americans at the hands of settlers suffused with Manifest Destiny. | …
rt.com/usa/450201-max-boot-mideast-genocide/

'The Climate Is a Disaster': Fourth Week of Student-Led Strike as Tens of Thousands March in Belgium
Jessica Corbett, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-01-31
As many as 35,000 Belgian students walked out of classrooms in Brussels, Liège, and Leuven in the fourth straight week of protests to pressure policymakers to pursue bolder measures in response to the human-made global climate crisis. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/euronews.jpg
commondreams.org/news/2019/01/31/climate-disaster-fourth-week-student-led-strike-tens-thousands-march-belgium?cd-origin=rss

Americans' Concern About Climate Change Surging to Record Levels
Shared by Hezvo Mpunga | therealnews.com | 2019-01-31
Dr. John Kotcher of George Mason University discusses a new poll about climate change and says improvements in media coverage have helped spur the public's concern about the issue | The post Americans' Concern About Climate Change Surging to Record Levels appeared first on The Real News Network.
therealnews.com/stories/americans-concern-about-climate-change-surging-to-record-levels

Scrap Australia Day, acknowledge the past and fight for the future
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2019-01-31
Celebrating January 26 is a state-sanctioned exercise that rubs salt into the wounds of Indigenous Australia. It proclaims, "You lost, we won. Know your place." | But the desire for an honest conversation about modern Australia's origins in the violent and ongoing dispossession of Indigenous people is not going away. | Across the country Invasion Day marches were both bigger than ever, and took place in many more places. More local governments have dropped their January 26 activities and finally the ABC allowed Triple J to shift its Hottest 100. | The mood for change is gathering momentum — and it'..
greenleft.org.au/content/scrap-australia-day-acknowledge-past-and-fight-future

Allan Nairn: Trump's Venezuela Envoy Elliott Abrams Is a War Criminal Who Has Abetted Genocide
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2019-01-30
In an ongoing effort to topple Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Vice President Mike Pence met with members of the Venezuelan opposition at the White House Tuesday alongside Trump's new special envoy to Venezuela, Elliott Abrams. Elliott Abrams is a right-wing hawk who was convicted in 1991 for lying to Congress during the Iran-Contra scandal, but he was later pardoned by President George H.W. Bush. Abrams defended Guatemalan dictator General Efraín Ríos Montt as he oversaw a campaign of mass murder and torture of indigenous people in Guatemala in the 1980s. Ríos Montt was later convicted of genocide. Abrams w…
www.democracynow.org/2019/1/30/allan_nairn_trump_s_venezuela_envoy

'I have faith in our generation'
Eds. | mronline.org | 2019-01-30
The last few Thursdays, Brussels' streets have been flooded with students who skip school to march for climate justice. The third march, held 24 January, attracted 32,000 people. | Source…
mronline.org/2019/01/30/i-have-faith-in-our-generation/

How Police, Private Security, and Energy Companies Are Preparing for a New Pipeline Standoff
Will Parrish | theintercept.com | 2019-01-30
Law enforcement has been monitoring opposition to Enbridge Line 3 and seeking guidance from officials who led the militarized response at Standing Rock. | The post How Police, Private Security, and Energy Companies Are Preparing for a New Pipeline Standoff appeared first on The Intercept.
theintercept.com/2019/01/30/enbridge-line-3-pipeline-minnesota/

Another County Just Banned New Fossil Fuel Infrastructure
Shared by Jocelyn Dombroski | therealnews.com | 2019-01-30
Climate justice advocate Anthony Rogers-Wright explains why a growing number of jurisdictions are saying no more fossil fuel extractions | The post Another County Just Banned New Fossil Fuel Infrastructure appeared first on The Real News Network.
therealnews.com/stories/another-county-just-banned-new-fossil-fuel-infrastructure

The U.S. Military Plans to Keep Incinerating Toxic Firefighting Foam, Despite Health Risks
Sharon Lerner | theintercept.com | 2019-01-27
The U.S. military is moving ahead with plans to collect and destroy unused firefighting foam that contains the hazardous chemicals PFOS and PFOA. But in trying to solve one environmental problem related to these persistent chemicals, which have caused massive drinking water contamination, the Defense Department may be creating another. | More than 3 million gallons of the foam and related waste have been retrieved from U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, National Guard, Army, and Air Force bases around th…
theintercept.com/2019/01/27/toxic-firefighting-foam-pfas-pfoa/

Headlines for January 24, 2019
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2019-01-24
Venezuela Accuses U.S. of Attempting to Engineer Coup, Competing Senate Bills to End Government Shutdown Unlikely to Pass, Federal Workers Flood Senate Office Building to Protest Shutdown, Trump to Delay State of the Union Address Until Shutdown Ends, Witness: El Chapo's Sons Murdered Mexican Journalist Javier Valdez, Brazil: Son of President Bolsonaro Linked to Criminal Syndicate, Iowa Anti-Abortion Law Struck Down as New York Pro-Choice Bill Passes, Michael Cohen Cancels Congressional Testimony, Citing Trump's Threats, House Committee to Probe White House Handling of Security Clearances, U.S. Climate Science Ha…
www.democracynow.org/2019/1/24/headlines