Trump and Corporate America Are Dead Serious About Plans to Conquer Outer Space
Elliott Gabriel | mintpressnews.com | 2018-05-15
Like any military effort, the establishment of the U.S. Armed Forces in space is meant to ensure the expansion of capital, the protection of corporate property and investments on or off the globe. | The post Trump and Corporate America Are Dead Serious About Plans to Conquer Outer Space appeared first on MintPress News.
Trump, Backed by Corporate America, Announces Plans to Conquer Outer Space
My Home is Beit Daras: Our Lingering Nakba
Ramzy Baroud | counterpunch.org | 2018-05-15
When Google Earth was initially released in 2001, I immediately rushed to locate a village that no longer exists on a map, which now delineates a whole different reality. Although I was born and raised in a Gaza refugee camp, and then moved to and lived in the United States, finding a village that was…
counterpunch.org/2018/05/15/my-home-is-beit-daras-our-lingering-nakba/
How Trump's EPA Is Moving to Undo Fracking Wastewater Protections
truth-out.org | truth-out.org | 2018-05-14
(Photo: risteski goce / Shutterstock; Edited: JR / TO) | Choose journalism that empowers movements for social, environmental and economic justice: Support the independent media at Truthout! | Back in 2008, residents of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and surrounding areas received a notice in the mail advising them to drink bottled water instead of tap water — a move that Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) internal memos at the time described as "one of the largest failures in US history to supply clean drinking water to the public." | The culprit: wastewater from oil and gas drilling and coal mines. This included fracking wastewater that state officials had allowed to be dumped at local sewer plants — facilities incapable of removing the complex mix of chemicals, corrosive salts, and radioactive materials from that kind of industrial waste before they piped the "treated" water…
www.truth-out.org/news/item/44477-how-trump-s-epa-is-moving-to-undo-fracking-wastewater-protections
Understanding Ignorance — And Why You Don't Have the Right to Believe Whatever You Want to
DeNicola, Aeon | alternet.org | 2018-05-14
Beliefs can be false, unwarranted by evidence or reasoned consideration. They can also be morally repugnant. | Do we have the right to believe whatever we want to believe? This supposed right is often claimed as the last resort of the wilfully ignorant, the person who is cornered by evidence and mounting opinion: 'I believe climate change is a hoax whatever anyone else says, and I have a right to believe it! ' But is there such a right? We do recognise the right to know certain things. I have a right to know the conditions of my employment, the physician's diagnosis of my ailments, the grades I achieved at school, the name of my accuser and the nature of the charges, and so on. But belief is not knowledge. Beliefs are factive: to believe is to take to be true. It would be absurd,. . .
www.alternet.org/understanding-ignorance-and-why-you-dont-have-right-believe-whatever-you-want
Climate Crisis Clobbers Trump Denials
Robert Hunziker | counterpunch.org | 2018-05-14
Photo by Bert Kaufmann | CC BY 2.0 | Harken! A Trump appointee agrees that climate change is not a hoax. Granted, that is unimaginable, but it is the real thing. An ongoing climate crisis in America's Southwest brings this rare specimen into the limelight. | The climate crisis star of the year is Brenda Burman, commissioner of The Bureau of Reclamation, a division of the Department of Interior, who, in her confirmation hearings said: "I believe that climate change is not a hoax." After all, in her youth she did serve as a park ranger at Grand Canyon National Park; she's an outdoorsperson. | She comes to the forefront via an ongoing dire ultra scary southwestern drought. According to The Bureau of Reclamation (Trump's Bureau) it's the worst drought in over 1,200 years. (Source: Eric Holthaus, Look! A Federal Agency is…
counterpunch.org/2018/05/14/climate-crisis-clobbers-trump-denials/
If Europe Wants To Remain On The World Stage, It Must Resist Trump On Iran
Patrick Cockburn | iranian.com | 2018-05-14
"Iraq is at the muzzle of the gun," says Ali Allawi, Iraqi historian and former minister, speaking of the increased turmoil expected to follow the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear agreement. It is not only Iraq which is in danger: an escalating confrontation between the US and Iran will affect the whole region, but […] | The post If Europe Wants To Remain On The World Stage, It Must Resist Trump On Iran appeared first on The Iranian.
iranian.com/2018/05/14/europe-wants-remain-world-stage-must-resist-trump-iran/
Tanzania: Civil Societies call regarding the security of citizens, Human Rights and Rule of Law in Tanzania
amnesty.org | amnesty.org | 2018-05-14
We, the undersigned Civil Societies Organizations (CSOs) in this petition, are seriously concerned by the current situation of human rights violations, rule of law and the security of citizens in Tanzania. CSOs are independent and autonomous entities established by different laws of Tanzania. These organizations implement various activities in ensuring sustainable development for our nation. CSOs have been a catalyst of development in Tanzania because of the social service delivery role they have been playing to improve people's lives and above all protection of human rights.
Philippines Acts to Combat Violence Against Children
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2018-05-14
Mourners watch as Kian delos Santos, a 17-year-old student who was shot during anti-drug operations is buried in Caloocan, Metro Manila, Philippines August 26, 2017. | © 2017 Reuters | The Philippine Plan of Action to End Violence against Children, formulated by the government's Council for the Welfare of Children and UNICEF, the United Nations children's organization, outlines and harmonizes the roles of different agencies to enforce child protection measures. It seeks to "break the cycle" of violence by ensuring access to services, building the capacity of children to protect themselves, improving legislation, and serving as a guide for policymakers and donors. | "It is concerning that violence pervades on children, committed by people they trust," said Julia Rees of UNICEF Philippines, referring to findings of a study commissioned by the agency…
www.hrw.org/news/2018/05/14/philippines-acts-combat-violence-against-children
US withdrawal from Iran nuclear deal drives Ankara into a corner
wsws.org | wsws.org | 2018-05-14
Washington's reimposition of punishing economic sanctions on Iran, and its plans to force other countries to follow suit, threatens to roil the already crisis-ridden Turkish economy.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/05/14/turk-m14.html
Eruption of Hawaii's Kilauea volcano continues into second week
wsws.org | wsws.org | 2018-05-12
At least 1,700 residents have been forced to evacuate their homes as the island has been rocked by a series of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions over the past week.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/05/12/volc-m12.html
If Europe Wants to Remain on the World Stage, It Must Resist Trump on Iran
Patrick Cockburn | counterpunch.org | 2018-05-11
"Iraq is at the muzzle of the gun," says Ali Allawi, Iraqi historian and former minister, speaking of the increased turmoil expected to follow the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear agreement. It is not only Iraq which is in danger: an escalating confrontation between the US and Iran will affect the whole region, but…
counterpunch.org/2018/05/11/if-europe-wants-to-remain-on-the-world-stage-it-must-resist-trump-on-iran/
Immigration Officials Are Using Pseudoscience to Justify Jailing Teenage Asylum Seekers with Adults
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-05-11
This week, the Trump administration announced it will detain asylum seekers and separate them from their children at the border. A case in California shows how some minors who arrived alone to seek asylum have been put in adult detention. Immigration authorities in California are refusing to release an Afghan asylum seeker from an adult detention center, even though a federal court had determined he is a child. His lawyers say the teenager, who has been held in adult detention for five months, is 17 years old. But ICE used a disputed "pseudoscience" age test based on a dental exam to insist he is over 18. The teen, who uses the name Hamid for privacy and protection, says he fled Afghanistan using a forged passport after the Taliban murdered his father. On Tuesday, Hamid spoke to Democracy Now! in his first phone interview from the Mesa Verde detention center in Bakersfield, California. We speak to his attorney Mariel Villarreal in New York.
www.democracynow.org/2018/5/11/immigration_officials_are_using_pseudoscience_to
Japan, China and South Korea hold talks on North Korea and trade
wsws.org | wsws.org | 2018-05-11
While North Korea dominated the summit, concerns over US protectionist measures may result in improved relations between the three Asian neighbors.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/05/11/asia-m11.html
Trump's environment czar Pruitt in trouble over ethics
RT | rt.com | 2018-05-11
The head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, who is under scrutiny for his lavish spending habits at taxpayers' expense, must answer to ethics concerns, the White House has said. …
www.rt.com/usa/426424-pruitt-environment-ethics-spending-concerns/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS
Philippine Chief Justice Ouster an Assault on Rights, Democracy
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2018-05-11
Ousted Philippine Supreme Court Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno speaks to supporters at a rally outside the Supreme Court building on Taft Avenue, metro Manila, Philippines May 11, 2018. | The Philippine Supreme Court's unprecedented and nefarious removal of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno constitutes a frontal assault on human rights protections and democratic rule. | The court, by an 8 to 6 vote, approved a government-filed petition questioning the validity of Sereno's appointment. But Sereno's ouster was about much more. Last month, President Rodrigo Duterte declared Sereno an " enemy" and called for her impeachment for her criticism of his murderous "war on drugs" and other abusive policies. | Sereno, 57, is just the latest in a growing list of institutions and individuals — including Philippine media outlets and
www.hrw.org/news/2018/05/11/philippine-chief-justice-ouster-assault-rights-democracy
#NappingWhileBlack: Yale embroiled in race row after bizarre dorm incident
RT | rt.com | 2018-05-10
The dean of Yale says the prestigious university needs to make efforts to be more inclusive after a white graduate student called the police on a black student who fell asleep on a couch in a common area of their campus residence. …
www.rt.com/usa/426335-yale-black-student-police/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS
Americans released by North Korea land on US soil
RT | rt.com | 2018-05-09
Donald Trump is receiving US citizens at the Andrews Air Force Base in Washington DC after they were freed from North Korean captivity with the help of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who negotiated their release. …
www.rt.com/usa/426304-north-korea-prisoners-alaska/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS
Primary Day: Blankenship Out in WV; Consumer Watchdog Wins in Ohio; Pence's Brother Wins in Indiana
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-05-09
Voters in West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana and North Carolina headed to the polls Tuesday to decide a number of key primaries. In West Virginia, the state's Republican Attorney General Patrick Morrisey won a closely watched U.S. Senate primary, defeating U.S. Rep. Evan Jenkins and former coal baron Don Blankenship. Blankenship had served a year in prison after 29 miners died in the 2010 Upper Big Branch Mine disaster. He faced intense criticism after releasing an ad attacking Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his "China family." Patrick Morrisey will now face the conservative Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin in November. In Ohio, Richard Cordray defeated former Congressmember Dennis Kucinich in the state's Democratic primary for governor. Cordray served as the first director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. He will now face Mike DeWine in November to determine who will replace outgoing Ohio Governor…
www.democracynow.org/2018/5/9/primary_day_blankenship_out_in_wv
'Heinous acts': US Olympic committee accused of sex trafficking in new lawsuit
RT | rt.com | 2018-05-08
The US Olympic Committee is embroiled in a fresh misconduct controversy as a new lawsuit alleges that it knowingly allowed the sex trafficking and abuse of Taekwondo athletes for more than 20 years. …
www.rt.com/usa/426127-olympic-sex-us-taekwondo/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS
Nearly 90,000 Hondurans May Be Deported to Danger and Poverty as Trump Ends Their Protected Status
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-05-07
The Trump administration announced Friday it is ending temporary protected status for nearly 90,000 Hondurans now living in the United States, saying they must return home. TPS is an immigration status granted to foreign nationals who can't safely return to their home countries, and allows them to legally live and work in the United States. Hondurans were first given TPS in 1999 after Hurricane Mitch devastated the country. Critics note Honduras remains the one of the world's most violent countries. The Trump administration has also ended protections for El Salvador, Haiti, Nepal, Nicaragua and Sudan. Only South Sudan and Syria were renewed. An estimated 300,000 people will be impacted overall. We get response from Patricia Montes, an immigrant from Honduras and executive director of Centro Presente in Boston, Massachusetts, which has worked with members from Honduras and Central America since the 1980s. She also has family members who will lose their temporary protected status.
www.democracynow.org/2018/5/7/nearly_90_000_hondurans_may_be