Daily Archives: April 3, 2019

2019-04-03: News Headlines

teleSUR (2019-04-03). US Orgs to Congress: End Trump's Crusade For War in Venezuela. telesurenglish.net More than 40 organizations from throughout the United States are demanding their Congress put an end to U.S. intervention in Venezuela saying that, in particular, the illegal and "extensive economic sanctions, imposed unilaterally by the Trump government since August 2017, have caused great hardship and loss of life" in the South American country. | RELATED: | Washington Concerned Over Maduro's Stay in Power | The organizations, including CODEPINK, and dozens of other civil and religious soci…

Alison Bodine (2019-04-03). The U.S.' Refusal of Entry to Arnold August Is a Dangerous Precedent for All Activists. counterpunch.org On March 16, 2019, more than 1000 activists from across the U.S. gathered in Washington, DC for the "U.S Hands Off Venezuela!" demonstration. However, Canadian journalist Arnold August was not one of them — earlier in the day he was unjustly denied entry into the United States at U.S. Customs and Immigration in the Montreal More

Rabbi Brant Rosen (2019-04-03). Root causes of forced migration from Honduras: Some background. peoplesworld.org It was my honor last week to travel with 75 delegates representing diverse religious traditions and advocacy organizations on a "Root Causes Pilgrimage" to Honduras. Sponsored by the the Bay Area-based SHARE — El Salvador and Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity, we spent seven days traveling throughout the country, meeting with local grassroots groups, Indigenous activists and faith …

teleSUR (2019-04-03). Caribbean Students Protest War, Demand Respect for Venezuela. telesurenglish.net Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago: The rapidly unfolding events in Venezuela are continuing to attract attention across the Caribbean with students joining the discussion, demanding a peaceful solution and condemning promotion of growing confrontation between the opposing sides. | RELATED: | US Orgs to Congress: End Trump's Crusade For War in Venezuela

Mark Gruenberg (2019-04-03). House panel subpoenas full Mueller report, nationwide protests planned Thursday. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON—By a party-line 24-17 vote, the Democratic-run House Judiciary Committee formally subpoenaed Special Counsel Robert Mueller's full, uncut report on Russian manipulation of the 2016 presidential election in favor of GOP nominee Donald Trump and Trump's potential obstruction of justice. "This committee requires the full report and the underlying materials because it is our job, …

Andrew Malone (2019-04-03). The South Dakota Legislature Has Invented a New Legal Term to Target Pipeline Protesters. globalresearch.ca The government of South Dakota has made it very clear that it does not like people who protest the Keystone XL pipeline. The state's governor has dismissed them as "out-of-staters who come in to disrupt." And other officials have similarly …

Dr. Binoy Kampmark (2019-04-03). Terms of Asylum and Distraction: Ecuador's President Moreno's "Assange Problem" globalresearch.ca Political asylum is an accepted if often ignored right. It is also at the mercy of those interests that grant it. Ecuador's repeated insistence on conditioning Julian Assange's stay in its London abode is tantamount to corroding the idea …

Democracy Now! (2019-04-03). Rep. Ro Khanna on WH Security Clearances, Ending Support for the Saudi War in Yemen, and Venezuela. democracynow.org The House Oversight Committee has subpoenaed the director of White House personnel security after a whistleblower revealed senior Trump officials overturned 25 security clearance denials, despite "serious disqualifying issues." We speak with California Democratic Congressmember Ro Khanna, who says, "Congressional oversight is not a choice—it's the law." We also speak to him about the latest congressional actions around Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.

Olivia Rosane (2019-04-03). New York becomes second state to ban plastic bags. peoplesworld.org New York State lawmakers agreed to a ban on single-use plastic bags Sunday, making the Empire State the second in the nation to do so. The decision was part of a $175.5 billion budget agreement that included other progressive measures including the elimination of cash bail for most misdemeanors and non-violent crimes, three-hours-off on election …

STAFF (2019-04-03). Mitch McConnell on the Brink of Packing Courts With Extremists. truthdig.com The Senate majority leader is expected to exercise the so-called "nuclear option" this week in order to expedite the confirmation process.

Democracy Now! (2019-04-03). AMLO: How Mexico's New Leftist President Has Navigated Corruption, Inequality and Trump. democracynow.org As President Trump continues his threats to close the U.S.-Mexico border to stop the flow of asylum seekers, we look at the response from Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and the first four months of his presidency. In Mexico City, we speak with Humberto Beck, professor at El Colegio de México and co-editor of "The Future Is Today: Radical Ideas for Mexico." He says that while López Obrador doesn't want to openly confront Trump on stopping immigration, "he knows that sending back migrants to Central America is sending back these people to unlivable situations."

Alan Macleod (2019-04-03). Wealthy San Franciscans Raising Money to Block Homeless Shelter is Latest Example of Rich Disintegrating Society. mintpressnews.com The irony of wealthy Silicon Valley employees trying to block a local homeless shelter, as CBS notes, is that homelessness is on the rise in the Bay Area in no small part owing to Silicon Valley itself.

Lance Olsen (2019-04-03). Why All the Uproar Over the Green New Deal? counterpunch.org Same ol' same ol' battle: The more things change, the more they stay the same On August 21, 2009, The Wall Street Journal reported that "…many scientists say deep emissions cuts are necessary … to prevent … dangerous consequences of global warming," and also reported that, "Getting from here to there would require a massive economic shift." There's likely been More

Robert Hunziker (2019-04-03). Arctic Permafrost No Longer Freezes … Even in Winter. counterpunch.org Global warming is starting to hit hard like there's no tomorrow, and at current rates of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, there may not be a tomorrow, as emissions continue setting new records year-by-year, expected to hit a 62-year record in 2019. So much for the Paris 2015 climate agreement! More

Evaggelos Vallianatos (2019-04-03). Stealing Democracy in an Age of Kleptocrats. counterpunch.org There's something in me that revolts against injustice and wrong. Like the genes that transmit our genetic inheritance, there are intellectual forces — call them Metis assets from the Greek goddess of intelligence Metis — that define us as human beings no less than the biological markers of skin color, height, etc. Metis inheritance I More

George Ochenski (2019-04-03). A Rare Win for Water Quality. counterpunch.org Montana's environment isn't getting much help from the legislature, but thanks to a lawsuit filed by the Upper Missouri Waterkeeper group, the state is going to have to re-do its 20 year variance on acceptable discharge levels for the nutrients/pollutants nitrogen and phosphorus. Make no mistake, this is a definite win for Montana's water quality More

Edward Curtin (2019-04-03). The CIA Takeover of America in the 1960s is the Story of Our Times. dissidentvoice.org 'We're all puppets,' the suspect [Sirhan Sirhan] replied, with more truth than he could have understood at that moment. — Lisa Pease, quoting from the LAPD questioning of Sirhan When Senator Robert Kennedy was assassinated on June 5, 1968, the American public fell into a hypnotic trance in which they have remained ever since. The …

Philip Giraldi (2019-04-03). Pro-Israeli Power Rolls over Washington. globalresearch.ca The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has just completed its annual summit in Washington. It claims that 18,000 supporters attended the event, which concluded with a day of lobbying Congress by the attendees. Numerous American politicians addressed the gathering …

Ted Rall (2019-04-03). The Greatest Projects I Never Made. counterpunch.org Two weeks ago I discussed some of the projects and jobs that, for whatever reason, I never got to do during my career as a cartoonist and writer. The stuff we don't do, I wrote, defines as much as what we do. This week: my weird stuff that never came together. Hugh Hefner died in 2017. More

Stephen Lendman (2019-04-03). US Puppet Guaido Stripped of Immunity. globalresearch.ca Usurper in waiting Guaido is a front man for the Trump regime's coup attempt to topple democratically elected President Maduro. | Most of all, the scheme aims to eliminate Bolivarian social democracy, wanting Venezuela transformed into a US vassal state, gaining …

Stephen Lendman (2019-04-03). Jane Byrne: Chicagoans Elect First Black Female Mayor. globalresearch.ca The late Harold Washington was Chicago's first Black mayor, elected in 1983, serving until his premature death at age-65 on November 25, 1987, the day before the Thanksgiving holiday that year. | No one before or since was like him, affectionately …

Andre Vltchek (2019-04-03). Like Libya and Syria, Venezuela is not "just about oil". dissidentvoice.org Yes, the latest research confirms that Venezuela is so rich in natural resources that it could single-handedly satisfy all global demand for oil for over 30 years. And it has much more than oil to offer, in its Orinoco basin and in other areas of the country. But it is not all 'about oil'; actually, …

Andre Vltchek (2019-04-03). Like Libya and Syria, Venezuela Is Not "Just About Oil" mintpressnews.com What makes the Libyan, Syrian and Venezuelan scenarios so similar? Why was the West so eager to viciously attack, and then destroy these three, at first glance, very different countries? The answer is simple, although it is not often uttered in the West; at least not publicly.

Andre Vltchek (2019-04-03). Like Libya and Syria, Venezuela Is Not "Just About Oil" globalresearch.ca Yes, the latest research confirms that Venezuela is so rich in natural resources, that it could single-handedly satisfy all global demand for oil, for over 30 years. And it has much more than oil to offer, in its Orinoco basin …

Jefferson Morley (2019-04-03). Spain Not Satisfied With CIA Answers on Embassy Attack. commondreams.org The North Korean flag is flown at Madrid's North Korean embassy, which was was raided in February. (Photo: Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/madrid.jpeg

Jennifer Gibson (2019-04-03). US Drone Strikes "Outside War Zones" in Somalia, Yemen: Why Trump's Actions Have Put Civilians at More Risk. globalresearch.ca Yesterday, President Trump scrapped an Obama-era regulation forcing the government to publicly report the number of civilians killed in US drone strikes outside war zones. The National Security Council dismissed the regulation as an annoying bit of paperwork, describing it …

STAFF (2019-04-03). Rep. Ro Khanna: White House Must Start Playing by the Rules. truthout.org The House Oversight Committee has subpoenaed the director of White House personnel security after a whistleblower revealed senior Trump officials overturned 25 security clearance denials, despite "serious disqualifying issues." We speak with California Democratic Congressmember Ro Khanna, who says, "Congressional oversight is not a choice — it's the law." We also speak to him about the latest congressional actions around Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. | Transcript: | JUAN GONZÁLEZ: We begin today with explosive revelations by a White House whistleblower who says senior Trump officials overtur…

teleSUR (2019-04-03). Ministers Fear Dismissal As Kenyatta National Address Nears. telesurenglish.net Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta is expected to announce stern measures that will be implemented to combat the war on corruption during a national address Thursday. | RELATED: | Kenyan Officials At Odds Over Drought Crisis, Hunger Deaths | The pending address has fueled panic among members of the Cabinet as well as Principal secretaries…

STAFF (2019-04-03). Mitch McConnell Poised to Allow the Courts to Be Packed With Extremists. truthout.org With Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell expected as early as Wednesday to use the so-called "nuclear option" to speed up the confirmation process for President Donald Trump's right wing judicial nominees, progressives raised alarm and urged Americans to pressure their senators to stop the "reckless court packing" by the Republican Party. | "McConnell has signaled he is ready to use the so-called 'nuclear option' to further pack the courts with Trump's lifetime judicial appointments," tweeted the progressive advocacy group 5 Calls. "Tel…

teleSUR (2019-04-03). Turkish Opposition Demands Mandate as 8 Cities Undergo Recount. telesurenglish.net Turkey's main opposition candidate in Istanbul urged the High Election Board (YSK) Wednesday to confirm him as the elected mayor after the board ruled in favor of a partial recount of votes in eight of 39 city districts. | RELATED: | Turkey Will Continue to Support President Maduro and Venezuela | Initial results from Sunday's mayoral elections showed the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) had narrowly won control of Turkey's two biggest cities, Istanbul and Ankara, in…

teleSUR LF (2019-04-03). Lebanese President Meets with Top Venezuelan Diplomat. telesurenglish.net Venezuela's Minister of Foreign Affairs Jorge Arreaza traveled to Lebanon this week as part of a delegation representing President Nicolas Maduro in the Middle East and North Africa. | RELATED: Lebanon Announces Formation of New Government | The top Venezuelan diplomat began his Middle East trip this week by meeting with Lebanese President Michel Aoun at the presidential palace in Baabda on Wednesday morning. | Arreaza, alongside the Venezuelan Ambassador to Lebanon Zoed Karam, discussed several…

Christopher Black (2019-04-03). A Threatening Monster. globalresearch.ca President Trump used to attack President Obama as being weak with regard to Syria for not being more ruthless in the American led war of aggression against Syria, a prelude to war with Iran; that he had drawn red lines …

teleSUR (2019-04-03). Closure of the US-Mexico Border Could Cause Devastating Losses. telesurenglish.net U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to close the southern border is considered by both Mexican and U.S. businessmen as an attempt to dictate the ongoing immigration problems, a foreign policy move which could severely affect the economies of both countries. | RELATED: | Border Patrol Shuffle Delays US-Mexico Crossing by 12 Hours | "The Trump Administr…

teleSUR (2019-04-03). Italy: Firefighter Faces 20 Yrs in Prison For Rescuing Migrants. telesurenglish.net Spanish firefighter, Miguel Roldan, has been accused by the Italian government of aiding human trafficking and illegal immigration after he helped save thousands of migrants from drowning in the Mediterranean Sea in 2017. | RELATED: | EU Suspends Migrant Rescue Operations Despite Saving Thousands | Roldan, a 32-year-old firefighter from Malaga, Spain,…

Stephen F. Cohen (2019-04-03). The Fictitious 'Russian Attack' vs. the Real Imperative to 'Cooperate With Russia'. thenation.com The Fictitious 'Russian Attack' vs. the Real Imperative to 'Cooperate With Russia'

Doug Noble (2019-04-03). Collusion Hiding in Plain Sight. counterpunch.org Donald Trump's suspected "collusion" with Russia in the 2016 elections has been extensively investigated. But almost nothing has been said about his, and Congress members', open collusion with another nation, Israel, whose pervasive impact on US elections and US policy takes place in plain sight. Despite courageous critiques by Rep Omar and others, few candidates for More

Steven F. Forleo (2019-04-03). Wagging the Dog in Rhode Island. counterpunch.org Another Raimondo Tale Ever since Gina Raimondo, (a republican in any other state), became governor of Rhode Island, she has unabashedly launched a political coup on our lone community college. She continues to exclude faculty from her pie-in-the-sky Rhode Island Promise free tuition escapade while simultaneously allowing hand-picked business types on her "higher education" board More

Robert Bridge (2019-04-03). Is Washington Preparing the Groundwork for a Maidan Scenario in Venezuela? globalresearch.ca Venezuela is home to the largest oil deposits in the world, which makes the political stakes involved much higher than they would be otherwise. Enter Juan Guaidó, Washington's puppet leader in Caracas, who will be attempting to rally the …

John Steppling (2019-04-03). Population Bomb or Bomb the Population? counterpunch.org There will be, in the next generation or so, a pharmacological method of making people love their servitude, and producing dictatorship without tears, so to speak, producing a kind of painless concentration camp for entire societies, so that people will in fact have their liberties taken away from them, but will rather enjoy it, because More

Serge Halimi (2019-04-03). A Neoliberal "Wall of Values" counterpunch.org The far right's strong performance in elections was for decades an insurance policy for left- and right-wing neoliberals: any moderate, no matter how bland, could easily get elected provided he stood against a political party widely perceived as unacceptable and offensive. Jean-Marie Le Pen's share of the vote in the 2002 French presidential election did More

Thomas Knapp (2019-04-03). Social Media Regulation: Speak of the Devil and in Walks Zuck. counterpunch.org In a recent column on the mating dance between Big Government and Big Tech, I noted that "Big Tech wants to be regulated by Big Governments because regulation makes it more difficult and expensive for new competitors to enter the market." Two days after I hit "publish" on that column, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg called More

Binoy Kampmark (2019-04-03). Unnecessary Expansions: the Australian War Memorial. counterpunch.org War is not merely a matter of sowing death, much of it needless; it entails preserving a rationale to perpetuate it. The mistake often made about reading, consulting and listening to the harrowing tales of those who have perished in battle or those who survived them is to presume that these should not happen again. Politicians, More

Elliot Sperber (2019-04-03). Political Economy of the Squirrel. counterpunch.org Sweet potato Joe's crow, Flo, flew up to the heights, where the squirrels reside sharing and storing their nuts, In the branches where Each has a nest, yes, a little apartment though none of them own these so nobody pays rent. As such, squirrels don't work that much They gather their nuts Which are amply More

Telesur (2019-04-03). Why Was Guaido Barred from Holding Public Office for 15 Years? globalresearch.ca Venezuela's Comptroller General Elvis Amoroso announced Thursday that the opposition politician Juan Guaido has been barred from holding public office for 15 years over irregularities in his financial activities. | This decision was taken "considering that the deputy Juan Guaido has …

Global Research News (2019-04-03). Selected Articles: US Puppet Guaido Stripped of Immunity. globalresearch.ca Our objective at Global Research is to recruit one thousand committed "volunteers" among our more than 50,000 Newsletter subscribers to support the distribution of Global Research articles (email lists, social media, crossposts). | Do not send us money. Under Plan A

teleSUR (2019-04-03). Brazil: Ex-President Temer Faces New Charges in 'Car Wash' Case. telesurenglish.net Former Brazilian President Michel Temer was charged with new crimes Tuesday in connection to the ongoing criminal investigation into the "Car Wash" scandal involving bribes in exchange for public contracts. | RELATED: | Brazil Judge Takes on Fresh Corruption Compliant Against Temer | Temer, whose presidency ended on Dec. 31 as Jair Bolsonaro was inaugurate…

teleSUR (2019-04-03). Brazil's Bolsonaro Says Nazism Was 'a Leftist Movement'. telesurenglish.net Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro said Tuesday in front of the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum that Nazism was a product of a left-wing movement. | RELATED: | Bolsonaro To Netanyahu At Start of 4-Day Tour: 'I Love Israel' | Bolsonaro, who is on an official visit to Israel since Sunday, made the comments after visiting the museum built in memory of six million Jews massacred by Nazis. | Upon leaving the museum he said that "there is no doubt" that Nazism was a leftist movem…

teleSUR (2019-04-03). UK Troops Use Corbyn's Picture For Target Practice in Kabul. telesurenglish.net Britain's defense ministry said Wednesday it had launched an investigation into a video circulating on social media showing soldiers using a picture of leftist opposition Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn for target practice. | RELATED: | Jewish Socialists Support Corbyn Against Antisemitism Smears | The video, posted on Snapchat, shows four paratrooper…

teleSUR, lf (2019-04-03). China Slams Reports of Sending Troops to Venezuela as Fiction. telesurenglish.net The Spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Geng Shuang, told reporters at a press conference Wednesday that all reports claiming Beijing sent troops to Venezuela are untrue. | RELATED: | Chinese Aid Arrives in Venezuela | When asked if the People ¥s Liberation Army had deployed to Venezuela, Shuang told the reporter that he was unaware of such a deployment by his country's military. | "As for the second ques…

Eric A. Gordon (2019-04-03). 'The Mother of Henry': An anti-war play in 1960s East L.A. peoplesworld.org

2019-04-03: Social Media Postees

Please be social by posting these 'POSTEES' on social media!

US Orgs to Congress: End Trump's Crusade For War in Venezuela
teleSUR | telesurenglish.net | 2019-04-03
More than 40 organizations from throughout the United States are demanding their Congress put an end to U.S. intervention in Venezuela saying that, in particular, the illegal and "extensive economic sanctions, imposed unilaterally by the Trump government since August 2017, have caused great hardship and loss of life" in the South American country. | RELATED: | Washington Concerned Over Maduro's Stay in Power | The organizations, including CODEPINK, and dozens of other civil and religious soci…
telesurenglish.net/news/US-Orgs-to-Congress-End-Trumps-Crusade-For-War-in-Venezuela–20190403-0008.html

The U.S.' Refusal of Entry to Arnold August Is a Dangerous Precedent for All Activists
Alison Bodine | counterpunch.org | 2019-04-03
On March 16, 2019, more than 1000 activists from across the U.S. gathered in Washington, DC for the "U.S Hands Off Venezuela!" demonstration. However, Canadian journalist Arnold August was not one of them — earlier in the day he was unjustly denied entry into the United States at U.S. Customs and Immigration in the Montreal…
counterpunch.org/2019/04/03/the-u-s-refusal-of-entry-to-arnold-august-is-a-dangerous-precedent-for-all-activists/

Caribbean Students Protest War, Demand Respect for Venezuela
teleSUR | telesurenglish.net | 2019-04-03
Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago: The rapidly unfolding events in Venezuela are continuing to attract attention across the Caribbean with students joining the discussion, demanding a peaceful solution and condemning promotion of growing confrontation between the opposing sides. | RELATED: | US Orgs to Congress: End Trump's Crusade For War in Venezuela…
telesurenglish.net/news/Caribbean-Students-Oppose-War-Plans-and-Demand-Respect-for-Venezuelan-Sovereignty-20190403-0031.html

Haiti stands 'at the crossroads' between peacekeeping, development — Bachelet urges strengthened 'human rights protection'
United Nations | un.org | 2019-04-03
With the end of the UN's peacekeeping presence in Haiti in sight, the UN's human rights chief told the Security Council on Wednesday that the country now stands "at the crossroads between peacekeeping and development", urging all concerned parties to continue building on progress made, or "risk losing it" altogether.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/04/1036011

UN chief commends Algerians for 'mature and calm' demonstrations for change, leading up to presidential resignation
United Nations | un.org | 2019-04-03
In the wake of the resignation in Algeria of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the UN Secretary-General on Wednesday saluted "the mature and calm nature" of protests involving hundreds of thousands of citizens who took to the streets peacefully in recent weeks, to express "their desire for change."
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/04/1035981

House panel subpoenas full Mueller report, nationwide protests planned Thursday
Mark Gruenberg | peoplesworld.org | 2019-04-03
WASHINGTON–By a party-line 24-17 vote, the Democratic-run House Judiciary Committee formally subpoenaed Special Counsel Robert Mueller's full, uncut report on Russian manipulation of the 2016 presidential election in favor of GOP nominee Donald Trump and Trump's potential obstruction of justice. "This committee requires the full report and the underlying materials because it is our job, …
peoplesworld.org/article/house-panel-subpoenas-full-muller-report-nationwide-protests-planned-thursday/

The South Dakota Legislature Has Invented a New Legal Term to Target Pipeline Protesters
Andrew Malone | globalresearch.ca | 2019-04-03
The government of South Dakota has made it very clear that it does not like people who protest the Keystone XL pipeline. The state's governor has dismissed them as "out-of-staters who come in to disrupt." And other officials have similarly …
globalresearch.ca/south-dakota-legislature-new-legal-term-target-pipeline-protesters/5673521

Terms of Asylum and Distraction: Ecuador's President Moreno's "Assange Problem"
Dr. Binoy Kampmark | globalresearch.ca | 2019-04-03
Political asylum is an accepted if often ignored right. It is also at the mercy of those interests that grant it. Ecuador's repeated insistence on conditioning Julian Assange's stay in its London abode is tantamount to corroding the idea …
globalresearch.ca/asylum-distraction-morenos-assange-problem/5673497

Pro-Israeli Power Rolls over Washington
Philip Giraldi | globalresearch.ca | 2019-04-03
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has just completed its annual summit in Washington. It claims that 18,000 supporters attended the event, which concluded with a day of lobbying Congress by the attendees. Numerous American politicians addressed the gathering …
globalresearch.ca/jewish-power-washington/5673479

The Greatest Projects I Never Made
Ted Rall | counterpunch.org | 2019-04-03
Two weeks ago I discussed some of the projects and jobs that, for whatever reason, I never got to do during my career as a cartoonist and writer. The stuff we don't do, I wrote, defines as much as what we do. This week: my weird stuff that never came together. Hugh Hefner died in 2017.
counterpunch.org/2019/04/03/the-greatest-projects-i-never-made/

US Puppet Guaido Stripped of Immunity
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2019-04-03
Usurper in waiting Guaido is a front man for the Trump regime's coup attempt to topple democratically elected President Maduro. | Most of all, the scheme aims to eliminate Bolivarian social democracy, wanting Venezuela transformed into a US vassal state, gaining …
globalresearch.ca/us-puppet-guaido-stripped-of-immunity/5673532

Jane Byrne: Chicagoans Elect First Black Female Mayor
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2019-04-03
The late Harold Washington was Chicago's first Black mayor, elected in 1983, serving until his premature death at age-65 on November 25, 1987, the day before the Thanksgiving holiday that year. | No one before or since was like him, affectionately …
globalresearch.ca/jane-byrne-chicagoans-elect-first-black-female-mayor/5673522

Like Libya and Syria, Venezuela is not "just about oil"
Andre Vltchek | dissidentvoice.org | 2019-04-03
Yes, the latest research confirms that Venezuela is so rich in natural resources that it could single-handedly satisfy all global demand for oil for over 30 years. And it has much more than oil to offer, in its Orinoco basin and in other areas of the country. But it is not all 'about oil'; actually, …
dissidentvoice.org/2019/04/like-libya-and-syria-venezuela-is-not-just-about-oil/

Like Libya and Syria, Venezuela Is Not "Just About Oil"
Andre Vltchek | mintpressnews.com | 2019-04-03
What makes the Libyan, Syrian and Venezuelan scenarios so similar? Why was the West so eager to viciously attack, and then destroy these three, at first glance, very different countries? The answer is simple, although it is not often uttered in the West; at least not publicly.
mintpressnews.com/like-libya-syria-venezuela-not-just-oil/256854/

Like Libya and Syria, Venezuela Is Not "Just About Oil"
Andre Vltchek | globalresearch.ca | 2019-04-03
Yes, the latest research confirms that Venezuela is so rich in natural resources, that it could single-handedly satisfy all global demand for oil, for over 30 years. And it has much more than oil to offer, in its Orinoco basin …
globalresearch.ca/like-libya-syria-venezuela-not-just-about-oil/5673488

Spain Not Satisfied With CIA Answers on Embassy Attack
Jefferson Morley | commondreams.org | 2019-04-03
The North Korean flag is flown at Madrid's North Korean embassy, which was was raided in February. (Photo: Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/madrid.jpeg
commondreams.org/views/2019/04/03/spain-not-satisfied-cia-answers-embassy-attack?cd-origin=rss

Rep. Ro Khanna: White House Must Start Playing by the Rules
STAFF | truthout.org | 2019-04-03
The House Oversight Committee has subpoenaed the director of White House personnel security after a whistleblower revealed senior Trump officials overturned 25 security clearance denials, despite "serious disqualifying issues." We speak with California Democratic Congressmember Ro Khanna, who says, "Congressional oversight is not a choice — it's the law." We also speak to him about the latest congressional actions around Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. | Transcript: | JUAN GONZÁLEZ: We begin today with explosive revelations by a White House whistleblower who says senior Trump officials overtur…
truthout.org/video/rep-ro-khanna-on-security-clearances-ending-the-war-in-yemen-and-venzuela/

US Drone Strikes "Outside War Zones" in Somalia, Yemen: Why Trump's Actions Have Put Civilians at More Risk
Jennifer Gibson | globalresearch.ca | 2019-04-03
Yesterday, President Trump scrapped an Obama-era regulation forcing the government to publicly report the number of civilians killed in US drone strikes outside war zones. The National Security Council dismissed the regulation as an annoying bit of paperwork, describing it …
globalresearch.ca/us-drone-strikes-outside-war-zones-why-trumps-actions-have-put-civilians-at-more-risk/5673537

Rep. Ro Khanna on WH Security Clearances, Ending Support for the Saudi War in Yemen, and Venezuela
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2019-04-03
The House Oversight Committee has subpoenaed the director of White House personnel security after a whistleblower revealed senior Trump officials overturned 25 security clearance denials, despite "serious disqualifying issues." We speak with California Democratic Congressmember Ro Khanna, who says, "Congressional oversight is not a choice–it's the law." We also speak to him about the latest congressional actions around Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.
www.democracynow.org/2019/4/3/rep_ro_khanna_on_wh_security

Lack of basic water facilities risks millions of lives globally: UN health agency
United Nations | un.org | 2019-04-03
More than two billion people face grave health risks because basic water facilities are not available in one in four medical centres globally, the UN has said, in an appeal to countries to do more to prevent the transmission of treatable infections that can turn deadly if not washed or flushed, away.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/04/1035971

New York becomes second state to ban plastic bags
Olivia Rosane | peoplesworld.org | 2019-04-03
New York State lawmakers agreed to a ban on single-use plastic bags Sunday, making the Empire State the second in the nation to do so. The decision was part of a $175.5 billion budget agreement that included other progressive measures including the elimination of cash bail for most misdemeanors and non-violent crimes, three-hours-off on election …
peoplesworld.org/article/new-york-becomes-second-state-to-ban-plastic-bags/

Mitch McConnell on the Brink of Packing Courts With Extremists
STAFF | truthdig.com | 2019-04-03
The Senate majority leader is expected to exercise the so-called "nuclear option" this week in order to expedite the confirmation process.
truthdig.com/articles/mitch-mcconnell-on-brink-of-packing-courts-with-extremists/

Mitch McConnell Poised to Allow the Courts to Be Packed With Extremists
STAFF | truthout.org | 2019-04-03
With Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell expected as early as Wednesday to use the so-called "nuclear option" to speed up the confirmation process for President Donald Trump's right wing judicial nominees, progressives raised alarm and urged Americans to pressure their senators to stop the "reckless court packing" by the Republican Party. | "McConnell has signaled he is ready to use the so-called 'nuclear option' to further pack the courts with Trump's lifetime judicial appointments," tweeted the progressive advocacy group 5 Calls. "Tel…
truthout.org/articles/mitch-mcconnell-poised-to-allow-the-courts-to-be-packed-with-extremists/

Turkish Opposition Demands Mandate as 8 Cities Undergo Recount
teleSUR | telesurenglish.net | 2019-04-03
Turkey's main opposition candidate in Istanbul urged the High Election Board (YSK) Wednesday to confirm him as the elected mayor after the board ruled in favor of a partial recount of votes in eight of 39 city districts. | RELATED: | Turkey Will Continue to Support President Maduro and Venezuela | Initial results from Sunday's mayoral elections showed the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) had narrowly won control of Turkey's two biggest cities, Istanbul and Ankara, in…
telesurenglish.net/news/Turkish-Opposition-Demands-Mandate-as-8-Cities-Undergo-Recount-20190403-0021.html

Lebanese President Meets with Top Venezuelan Diplomat
teleSUR LF | telesurenglish.net | 2019-04-03
Venezuela's Minister of Foreign Affairs Jorge Arreaza traveled to Lebanon this week as part of a delegation representing President Nicolas Maduro in the Middle East and North Africa. | RELATED: Lebanon Announces Formation of New Government | The top Venezuelan diplomat began his Middle East trip this week by meeting with Lebanese President Michel Aoun at the presidential palace in Baabda on Wednesday morning. | Arreaza, alongside the Venezuelan Ambassador to Lebanon Zoed Karam, discussed several…
telesurenglish.net/news/Lebanese-President-Meets-with-Top-Venezuelan-Diplomat—20190403-0019.html

A Threatening Monster
Christopher Black | globalresearch.ca | 2019-04-03
President Trump used to attack President Obama as being weak with regard to Syria for not being more ruthless in the American led war of aggression against Syria, a prelude to war with Iran; that he had drawn red lines …
globalresearch.ca/a-threatening-monster/5673509

Italy: Firefighter Faces 20 Yrs in Prison For Rescuing Migrants
teleSUR | telesurenglish.net | 2019-04-03
Spanish firefighter, Miguel Roldan, has been accused by the Italian government of aiding human trafficking and illegal immigration after he helped save thousands of migrants from drowning in the Mediterranean Sea in 2017. | RELATED: | EU Suspends Migrant Rescue Operations Despite Saving Thousands | Roldan, a 32-year-old firefighter from Malaga, Spain,…
telesurenglish.net/news/Italy-Firefighter-Faces-20-Yrs-in-Prison-For-Rescuing-Migrants-20190403-0004.html

Closure of the US-Mexico Border Could Cause Devastating Losses
teleSUR | telesurenglish.net | 2019-04-03
U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to close the southern border is considered by both Mexican and U.S. businessmen as an attempt to dictate the ongoing immigration problems, a foreign policy move which could severely affect the economies of both countries. | RELATED: | Border Patrol Shuffle Delays US-Mexico Crossing by 12 Hours | "The Trump Administr…
telesurenglish.net/news/Closure-of-the-US-Mexico-Border-Could-Cause-Devastating–Losses-20190403-0018.html

AMLO: How Mexico's New Leftist President Has Navigated Corruption, Inequality and Trump
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2019-04-03
As President Trump continues his threats to close the U.S.-Mexico border to stop the flow of asylum seekers, we look at the response from Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and the first four months of his presidency. In Mexico City, we speak with Humberto Beck, professor at El Colegio de México and co-editor of "The Future Is Today: Radical Ideas for Mexico." He says that while López Obrador doesn't want to openly confront Trump on stopping immigration, "he knows that sending back migrants to Central America is sending back these people to unlivable situations."
www.democracynow.org/2019/4/3/amlo_a_look_at_mexican_president

Trump's Dirty Tricks Have Worldwide Reach
STAFF | truthdig.com | 2019-04-03

| Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' security team has alleged in The Daily Beast that Saudi Arabian intelligence hacked his phone and passed to the National Enquirer intimate photos that the married Bezos had sent to his lover, Lauren Sanchez. Although the Enquirer's parent company, AMI, has alleged that it received the material from Sanchez's brother, this allegation may be be a cover story intended to deflect attention from the Saudi role (of which AMI may or may not h…
truthdig.com/articles/trump-dirty-tricks-are-reshaping-the-globe/

Wealthy San Franciscans Raising Money to Block Homeless Shelter is Latest Example of Rich Disintegrating Society
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2019-04-03
The irony of wealthy Silicon Valley employees trying to block a local homeless shelter, as CBS notes, is that homelessness is on the rise in the Bay Area in no small part owing to Silicon Valley itself.
mintpressnews.com/wealthy-san-franciscans-raising-money-to-block-homeless-shelter-is-latest-example-of-rich-disintegrating-society/256874/

Collusion Hiding in Plain Sight
Doug Noble | counterpunch.org | 2019-04-03
Donald Trump's suspected "collusion" with Russia in the 2016 elections has been extensively investigated. But almost nothing has been said about his, and Congress members', open collusion with another nation, Israel, whose pervasive impact on US elections and US policy takes place in plain sight. Despite courageous critiques by Rep Omar and others, few candidates for…
counterpunch.org/2019/04/03/collusion-hiding-in-plain-sight/

The Fictitious 'Russian Attack' vs. the Real Imperative to 'Cooperate With Russia'
Stephen F. Cohen | thenation.com | 2019-04-03
The Fictitious 'Russian Attack' vs. the Real Imperative to 'Cooperate With Russia'…
thenation.com/article/the-fictitious-russian-attack-vs-the-real-imperative-to-cooperate-with-russia/

Wagging the Dog in Rhode Island
Steven F. Forleo | counterpunch.org | 2019-04-03
Another Raimondo Tale Ever since Gina Raimondo, (a republican in any other state), became governor of Rhode Island, she has unabashedly launched a political coup on our lone community college. She continues to exclude faculty from her pie-in-the-sky Rhode Island Promise free tuition escapade while simultaneously allowing hand-picked business types on her "higher education" board…
counterpunch.org/2019/04/03/wagging-the-dog-in-rhode-island/

Is Washington Preparing the Groundwork for a Maidan Scenario in Venezuela?
Robert Bridge | globalresearch.ca | 2019-04-03
Venezuela is home to the largest oil deposits in the world, which makes the political stakes involved much higher than they would be otherwise. Enter Juan Guaidó, Washington's puppet leader in Caracas, who will be attempting to rally the …
globalresearch.ca/is-washington-preparing-groundwork-maidan-scenario-venezuela/5673541

A Neoliberal "Wall of Values"
Serge Halimi | counterpunch.org | 2019-04-03
The far right's strong performance in elections was for decades an insurance policy for left- and right-wing neoliberals: any moderate, no matter how bland, could easily get elected provided he stood against a political party widely perceived as unacceptable and offensive. Jean-Marie Le Pen's share of the vote in the 2002 French presidential election did…
counterpunch.org/2019/04/03/a-neoliberal-wall-of-values/

Population Bomb or Bomb the Population?
John Steppling | counterpunch.org | 2019-04-03
There will be, in the next generation or so, a pharmacological method of making people love their servitude, and producing dictatorship without tears, so to speak, producing a kind of painless concentration camp for entire societies, so that people will in fact have their liberties taken away from them, but will rather enjoy it, because…
counterpunch.org/2019/04/03/population-bomb-or-bomb-the-population/

A Rare Win for Water Quality
George Ochenski | counterpunch.org | 2019-04-03
Montana's environment isn't getting much help from the legislature, but thanks to a lawsuit filed by the Upper Missouri Waterkeeper group, the state is going to have to re-do its 20 year variance on acceptable discharge levels for the nutrients/pollutants nitrogen and phosphorus. Make no mistake, this is a definite win for Montana's water quality…
counterpunch.org/2019/04/03/a-rare-win-for-water-quality/

Why All the Uproar Over the Green New Deal?
Lance Olsen | counterpunch.org | 2019-04-03
Same ol' same ol' battle: The more things change, the more they stay the same On August 21, 2009, The Wall Street Journal reported that "…many scientists say deep emissions cuts are necessary … to prevent … dangerous consequences of global warming," and also reported that, "Getting from here to there would require a massive economic shift." There's likely been…
counterpunch.org/2019/04/03/why-all-the-uproar-over-the-green-new-deal/

Social Media Regulation: Speak of the Devil and in Walks Zuck
Thomas Knapp | counterpunch.org | 2019-04-03
In a recent column on the mating dance between Big Government and Big Tech, I noted that "Big Tech wants to be regulated by Big Governments because regulation makes it more difficult and expensive for new competitors to enter the market." Two days after I hit "publish" on that column, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg called…
counterpunch.org/2019/04/03/social-media-regulation-speak-of-the-devil-and-in-walks-zuck/

Political Economy of the Squirrel
Elliot Sperber | counterpunch.org | 2019-04-03
Sweet potato Joe's crow, Flo, flew up to the heights, where the squirrels reside sharing and storing their nuts, In the branches where Each has a nest, yes, a little apartment though none of them own these so nobody pays rent. As such, squirrels don't work that much They gather their nuts Which are amply…
counterpunch.org/2019/04/03/political-economy-of-the-squirrel/

Unnecessary Expansions: the Australian War Memorial
Binoy Kampmark | counterpunch.org | 2019-04-03
War is not merely a matter of sowing death, much of it needless; it entails preserving a rationale to perpetuate it. The mistake often made about reading, consulting and listening to the harrowing tales of those who have perished in battle or those who survived them is to presume that these should not happen again. Politicians,…
counterpunch.org/2019/04/03/unnecessary-expansions-the-australian-war-memorial/

Arctic Permafrost No Longer Freezes … Even in Winter
Robert Hunziker | counterpunch.org | 2019-04-03
Global warming is starting to hit hard like there's no tomorrow, and at current rates of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, there may not be a tomorrow, as emissions continue setting new records year-by-year, expected to hit a 62-year record in 2019. So much for the Paris 2015 climate agreement!
counterpunch.org/2019/04/03/arctic-permafrost-no-longer-freezes-even-in-winter/

Stealing Democracy in an Age of Kleptocrats
Evaggelos Vallianatos | counterpunch.org | 2019-04-03
There's something in me that revolts against injustice and wrong. Like the genes that transmit our genetic inheritance, there are intellectual forces — call them Metis assets from the Greek goddess of intelligence Metis — that define us as human beings no less than the biological markers of skin color, height, etc. Metis inheritance I…
counterpunch.org/2019/04/03/stealing-democracy-in-an-age-of-kleptocrats/

Selected Articles: US Puppet Guaido Stripped of Immunity
Global Research News | globalresearch.ca | 2019-04-03
Our objective at Global Research is to recruit one thousand committed "volunteers" among our more than 50,000 Newsletter subscribers to support the distribution of Global Research articles (email lists, social media, crossposts). | Do not send us money. Under Plan A…
globalresearch.ca/selected-articles-us-puppet-guaido-stripped-of-immunity/5673544

Why Was Guaido Barred from Holding Public Office for 15 Years?
Telesur | globalresearch.ca | 2019-04-03
Venezuela's Comptroller General Elvis Amoroso announced Thursday that the opposition politician Juan Guaido has been barred from holding public office for 15 years over irregularities in his financial activities. | This decision was taken "considering that the deputy Juan Guaido has …
globalresearch.ca/why-was-guaido-barred-public-office-15-years/5673491

Brazil: Ex-President Temer Faces New Charges in 'Car Wash' Case
teleSUR | telesurenglish.net | 2019-04-03
Former Brazilian President Michel Temer was charged with new crimes Tuesday in connection to the ongoing criminal investigation into the "Car Wash" scandal involving bribes in exchange for public contracts. | RELATED: | Brazil Judge Takes on Fresh Corruption Compliant Against Temer | Temer, whose presidency ended on Dec. 31 as Jair Bolsonaro was inaugurate…
telesurenglish.net/news/Brazil-Ex-President-Temer-Faces-New-Charges-in-Car-Wash-Case-20190403-0017.html

Brazil's Bolsonaro Says Nazism Was 'a Leftist Movement'
teleSUR | telesurenglish.net | 2019-04-03
Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro said Tuesday in front of the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum that Nazism was a product of a left-wing movement. | RELATED: | Bolsonaro To Netanyahu At Start of 4-Day Tour: 'I Love Israel' | Bolsonaro, who is on an official visit to Israel since Sunday, made the comments after visiting the museum built in memory of six million Jews massacred by Nazis. | Upon leaving the museum he said that "there is no doubt" that Nazism was a leftist movem…
telesurenglish.net/news/Brazils-Bolsonaro-Says-Nazism-Was-a-Leftist-Movement-20190403-0016.html

China Slams Reports of Sending Troops to Venezuela as Fiction
teleSUR, lf | telesurenglish.net | 2019-04-03
The Spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Geng Shuang, told reporters at a press conference Wednesday that all reports claiming Beijing sent troops to Venezuela are untrue. | RELATED: | Chinese Aid Arrives in Venezuela | When asked if the People ¥s Liberation Army had deployed to Venezuela, Shuang told the reporter that he was unaware of such a deployment by his country's military. | "As for the second ques…
telesurenglish.net/news/China-Slams-Reports-of-Sending-Troops-to-Venezuela-as-Fiction-20190403-0029.html

Mother of Michael Brown Loses Ferguson City Council Election
teleSUR | telesurenglish.net | 2019-04-03
Lesley McSpadden, the mother of 18-year-old police brutality victim Michael Brown, was defeated in her bid for Ferguson's 3rd Ward City Council election in Missouri, where her son's death took place. | RELATED: | RELATED: Report Confirms Police Stop Black Drivers More Often Than White | "I wanted to come back to a place that caused me so much pain and did me so wrong, and to do something right," McSpadden said about her attempted foray into politics in the extremely competitiv…
telesurenglish.net/news/Mother-of-Slain-African-American-Teen-Michael-Brown-Loses-Ferguson-City-Council-Election-20190403-0012.html