(2018-06-28). Powerful New Yorkers Are Criminalizing Ecuadorians Seeking Relief From Chevron. truthout.org Two powerful New Yorkers have been indispensable in protecting Chevron from having to pay $9.5 billion to clean up its massive oil contamination in the Amazon rainforest after an Ecuadorian court decision. The contamination was an intentional injustice that killed and injured thousands of Ecuadorians — many Indigenous people and many children. | The Ecuadorian lawsuit, first filed 25 years ago, continues to languish because Chevron refuses to pay damages while 200,000 pages of lawful evidence of contamination by Chevron and Texaco have been ignored in a New York court. | Chevron's intent in this case always has been to turn the focus from its own wrong-doing to the criminalization and de-legitimization of the Ecuadorians and their legal system. | The brain behind this travesty of justice is Chevron, but the muscle is Judge Lewis A. Kaplan and Chevron's attorney Randy…
(2018-06-28). Federal Judge Orders Unwanted Alien Families Reunited. globalresearch.ca The order reflects a window of justice, perhaps a pyrrhic triumph — way overshadowed by Trump regime, congressional hardliners, and Supreme Court harshness, hostile to unwanted aliens, uncaring about constitutionally guaranteed due process and equal protection rights — mandated for …
(2018-06-28). How Jeff Sessions Is Undermining Immigration Courts. truthout.org The Trump Administration's "zero tolerance" prosecution policy for unauthorized border crossings has separated families and placed children in cages. And President Trump's new executive order, which purportedly ends the separation of parents and children, still heralds indefinite detention of families until criminal cases against the parents and any immigration matters involving family members are completed. Many of these detainees will land in the nation's already overburdened immigration courts — just as Attorney General Jeff Sessions is also quietly remaking these courts with his brand of reform. | Sessions, a notorious immigration opponent, has introduced changes to immigration court that masquerade as technical tweaks, but fundamentally remake how immigration judges hear cases, while at the same time making it more difficult for immigrants to effectively make claims for asylum — protection for…
(2018-06-28). Britain's Queen Elizabeth Honors Young Latin American Leaders. telesurtv.net The Queen's Young Leaders were awarded for their endeavors in climate change, food scarcity, gender-based violence, mental health, and education.
(2018-06-28). Trump's "Shithole Countries" Remark Is at the Center of a Lawsuit to Reinstate Protections for Immigrants. theintercept.com 
When President Donald Trump referred to Haiti, El Salvador, and an assortment of African nations as " shithole countries" during a closed-door meeting with congressional leaders and Cabinet members in January, he may have unwittingly planted the seed for the unraveling of a critical part of his deportation agenda. | Last Friday, in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, the first hearing was held for a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's revocation of Temporary Protected Status for over 200,000 foreign nationals from four countries who currently live in the United States. The lawsuit alleges that Trump's rhetoric demonstrates that his administration's cancellation of TPS was motivated by bigotry, rather than policy concerns. | "The Trump administration's decision to end TPS for people from these countries was motivated by its racism against non-white, non-Europeans immigrants," said Ahilan Arulanantham, legal director at the American…
(2018-06-28). Elon Musk & the farting unicorn: Cartoon dispute drags Tesla boss into 'compensation' row. rt.com 
Elon Musk has become embroiled in an intellectual property row after telling an artist it would be "kinda lame" if he sought compensation over allegations Tesla reproduced his work without permission.
(2018-06-27). A Warmer World Needs More Habitat Protection. truthdig.com Some time later this century, the world's need for protected habitat will be more acute even than today. | The greatest danger to the wild vertebrates that roam the planet will not be the intruding humans, their livestock and their pesticides and herbicides. It will be human-induced global warming and climate change. | The conversion of wilderness—forest, grassland and swamp—to urban growth, agriculture and pasture has already caused losses of perhaps one species in 10 in the natural ecosystems disturbed by humankind. | But what could be catastrophic climate change driven by profligate human burning of fossil fuels could by 2070 overtake the damage delivered by changes in the way land is used, with catastrophic consequences for birds, reptiles, mammals and other vertebrates. | Losses could reach 20% or even 40%, according to a new study in an academic journal, the
(2018-06-27). Aiming at the Heart of the Grizzly. counterpunch.org 
Broken promises, disrespect and outright lies. These are at the heart of the Trump Administration blitzkrieg against environmental laws across the nation. We saw it again at the recent Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee (IGBC) meeting in Polson, Montana. By expediting removal of federal protection for the grizzly bear, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is paving the More
(2018-06-27). Do you think climate change is an existential threat? therealnews.com 
As part of our summer fundraiser special series, Paul Jay answers viewer questions during a live Q&A
(2018-06-27). Italy vs. the EU. counterpunch.org Italy is no stranger to political turmoil, but the recent crisis over the makeup of its new government shows two things: that the EU is desperate to assert itself as the political and economic master in Italy; and that it is afraid of the anger of the Italian people. There had been no government in More
(2018-06-27). US Pushing Allies To Halt Iran Oil Imports, No Exceptions. iranian.com The United States is pushing countries to halt imports of Iranian oil from November, a senior State Department official said on Tuesday, and it will not grant any waivers to sanctions, a hardline position the Trump administration says is meant to cut off funding to Iran. US President Donald Trump in May said his administration […]
(2018-06-27). Hong Kong: Freedoms Rapidly Deteriorating. hrw.org 
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam and other officials stand in front of a line dividing Hong Kong and mainland Chinese control zone as part of the joint immigration checkpoint inside West Kowloon Terminus for the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link in Hong Kong, China March 23, 2018. | © 2018 Lama Leung/Hong Kong Economic Times Pool via Reuters | (New York) — Hong Kong's protection of civil and political rights is deteriorating at a quickening pace, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam. July 1, 2018, is the 21st anniversary of Hong Kong's transfer from British to Chinese control. | "The Chinese government has kept chipping away at Hong Kong's freedoms, and has stepped up these efforts in recent years," said Sophie Richardson, China director at…
(2018-06-27). New Zealand's "First Baby" fuels media frenzy. wsws.org The orchestrated fawning over the "First Child" is designed to divert attention from the sharpening class struggle within New Zealand and increasing global turmoil.
(2018-06-27). Trump Has Appointed Some Major Corporate Cronies, but This FTC Stooge Might Beat Them All. theintercept.com Andrew Smith, the newly installed head of the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the Federal Trade Commission, represented an array of miscreant companies.
(2018-06-26). SPLC seeks documents detailing rollback of protections for transgender people in prison. splcenter.org The SPLC is requesting documents from the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) and the Department of Justice about a Trump administration decision to weaken protections for transgender people who are incarcerated by requiring that they be housed according to their "biological sex."
(2018-06-26). American Deathwish. counterpunch.org The American people are the captives of and resources for the drive by its aristocracy, of super-wealth and corporate power, to fulfill its supreme desire for ultimate temporal power: to be the gods of the Earth. This beyond trillion dollar, fossil-fueled, multi-megaton nuclear-armed power-trip can only achieve its grandest capitalistic orgasm by causing a catastrophic More
(2018-06-26). Mexico Can be a Counterweight to US Foreign Policy in Latin America. counterpunch.org 
The candidate of the radical left Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador, known in Mexico as 'AMLO' is set to win the presidential elections on July 1st, consistently over 20 points ahead of his nearest conservative rival. White House foreign policy analysts are frantically worried that he would reverse "one of the most important bilateral relationships in the world". What worries them most is AMLO's plans to reverse the privatisation of Mexico's oil and build refineries. More
(2018-06-26). For WaPo, Subsidizing Bus Fare Is a Lot Like Giving the Rich $5 Trillion. fair.org 
Mexican presidential candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador "bears more than a passing political resemblance to President Trump," according to the Washington Post editorial page ( 6/17/18). | According to the Washington Post ( 6/17/18), Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the frontrunner in Mexico's July 1 election, "bears more than a passing political resemblance" to US President Donald Trump. | Indeed, they are practically the same person: In the late 1970s, AMLO—as López Obrador is sometimes called— was "taking on Mexico's state-run oil company, Pemex, setting up protest camps outside its offices to force it to pay compensation to indigenous communities and campesinos whose lands it had polluted." | Around the same time, in 1975, Donald Trump was busy settling a lawsuit with the US Justice Department that accused the company he owned with his father of refusing to rent or…
(2018-06-26). Indonesian Reporter Dies in Police Custody. hrw.org 
Police officers sit outside a court in Jakarta, Indonesia May 9, 2017. | © 2017 Reuters | Indonesian journalist Muhammad Yusuf died in police custody earlier this month after being detained for more than five weeks on hate speech and criminal defamation charges. | The police arrested Yusuf in Indonesia's Kotabaru regency after writing articles critical of the owner of palm oil company PT Multi Saran Agro Mandiri and the company's alleged illegal land acquisitions. The stories allegedly violated Indonesia's Law on Information and Electronic Transactions, which punishes defamation disseminated via the internet with up to six years in prison. | The circumstances of Yusuf's arrest and subsequent death, which authorities have blamed on complications linked to "breathing difficulties and chest pain," have prompted the announcement of an investigation…
(2018-06-26). Headlines for June 26, 2018. democracynow.org Mattis: U.S. Preparing to Imprison Immigrant Children on Two Texas Military Bases, Border Patrol to Stop Handing Immigrant Parents Over for Prosecution, In El Paso, Immigrant Parents Demand Return of Their Children, AP: Algeria Has Expelled 13,000 Migrants into Sahara Desert, Newly Released Scott Pruitt Emails Show More Ties to Lobbyist, Fossil Fuel Industry, NOAA Proposed Dropping "Climate" from Mission, Judge Dismisses Cities' Effort to Force Fossil Fuel Companies to Pay for Climate Change, Trump Attacks & Threatens Rep. Maxine Waters, PA: Family Holds Funeral for Antwon Rose, Unarmed Black Teen Killed by Police, Mexico: 2 More Political Candidates Assassinated in Lead-Up to Presidential Election, Brazilian Radio Journalist Jairo Sousa Assassinated in Pará, Argentina: Unions Launch 24-Hour General Strike to Protest Austerity, FDA Approves Cannabis-Based Drug for the First Time…
(2018-06-25). FDA approves America's first marijuana-based medication. rt.com 
In a breakthrough for medical marijuana use, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the US' first drug made from cannabis oil, designed to treat two rare forms of epilepsy. |
(2018-06-23). Major oil spill spreads across Iowa floodwaters, forcing evacuations after train derails (VIDEO). rt.com 
Drone footage released by authorities in Iowa shows oil spreading across flooded fields following a devastating train derailment. Dozens of damaged cars are seen piled on the broken train tracks near the Rock River.
(2018-06-22). WaPo Can't Believe White Supremacist Senate Candidate Really Means It. fair.org 
Washington Post ( 6/15/18) takes on Corey Stewart and his "combative style." | A few things about Virginia Republican Senate candidate Corey Stewart: | He described as "one of my personal heroes" Wisconsin congressional candidate and self-described "pro-White Christian" Paul Nehlen, who suggests deporting all Muslims, and whose overt and various hatreds have led Breitbart to break ties with him, along with a Twitter ban. | Stewart joined his endorser Jason Kessler at a rally for Kessler's group, Unity and Security for America, last year. Kessler, of course, was the organizer of the Charlottesville Unite the Right rally, with the Nazi salutes and the "blood and soil" chanting, and the murder of counter-protester Heather Heyer. After the Charlottesville rally, Stewart declared there was "no reason to apologize." | A self-described "proud Southerner" who was born and raised in…
(2018-06-21). Headlines for June 21, 2018. democracynow.org Trump Signs Executive Order to Jail Immigrant Families Together, Without Limit, House to Debate Anti-Immigrant Bills Providing $25B to Militarize Border, Migrant Children Secretly Transported to NYC Foster Care in Dead of Night, Reveal: Migrant Youths Sent to Detention Centers with Abuse Histories, Airlines Refuse to Transport Separated Migrant Children, Portland ICE Office Closes Amid 24/7 Protest over Family Separations, Scathing New Report Gives U.S. "F" Grade over Refugee Treatment, Hungary Approves Law Criminalizing Those Who Help Migrants, U.N. Investigators: Syrian Gov't Committed War Crimes in Eastern Ghouta, EPA Releases Long-Suppressed "Nightmare" Study on Water Contamination, Nearly 100 U.S. Meteorologists to Stage On-Air Climate Change Protest, Climate Change Fuels Floods in Texas, Ivory Coast, India, Bangladesh, Former Archbishop of D.C. Removed over Sexual Abuse Accusations, Disney Raises 21st Century Fox Takeover Bid to $71 Billion, UNC Student Faces Possible Expulsion over Confederate Statue Protest…
(2018-06-19). "Trump Creates Crises & Preys on Fear": Rep. Jayapal on Policy of Separating Kids from Parents. democracynow.org 
Outrage is growing over the Trump administration's separation of children from their parents along the U.S.-Mexico border. On Monday, ProPublica released audio from inside a U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility, in which children estimated to be between the ages of 4 and 10 years old are heard crying "Mama" and "Papi" after being separated from their parents. In another part of the audio, a Border Patrol agent is heard joking, in Spanish, "Well, we have an orchestra here. What's missing is a conductor." Video footage released by the U.S. Border Patrol Monday shows migrant children in concrete-floored chain link cages in an old warehouse in McAllen, Texas. A new Quinnipiac poll shows roughly two-thirds of U.S. voters oppose separating children from their parents at the border. About 7 percent of Democratic voters support the Trump policy, while 55 percent of Republicans support…
(2018-06-15). Lawyer: Jeff Sessions' Attacks on Migrant Domestic Violence Survivors Drags U.S. Back to "Dark Ages" democracynow.org 
On Monday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that domestic and gang-related violence will generally no longer be grounds for asylum, a far-reaching shift that could affect thousands of people, particularly women from Central America fleeing gender-based violence. This decision reverses the Board of Immigration Appeals' grant of asylum to a Salvadoran domestic violence survivor known as A.B., who fled to the U.S. for her life after surviving 15 years of beatings, rape and death threats from her husband. In ruling against A.B., Sessions also overturned a groundbreaking precedent from 2014 in which the immigration appeals court affirmed that domestic violence survivors are deserving of protection. We speak with Karen Musalo, professor of law and the director of the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. She is of the attorneys representing Ms. A.B.
(2018-06-07). Maduro & Workers Push to Stimulate Venezuela's Oil Industry amid Collapsing Production. venezuelanalysis.com It is alleged that PDVSA does not possess sufficient stocks to fulfill its June export orders.