WSWS (2019-05-08). The Christchurch terror attack and the promotion of fascism by the ruling elite. wsws.org We are publishing here the text of the speech to the 2019 International May Day Online rally delivered by Tom Peters.

Steven Sahiounie (2019-05-08). Syria Military Operation to Liberate Idlib Has Begun. Estimated 40,000 Terrorists in Idlib. globalresearch.ca The zero-hour has arrived in Idlib, as the long awaited military operations to clear the last remaining terrorist-controlled area in Syria has begun. It is estimated that there are 40,000 terrorists, some with their families, and they comprise many …

WSWS (2019-05-08). Anti-Muslim witch-hunt after terrorist bombings in Sri Lanka. wsws.org Alongside a vicious campaign of anti-Muslim propaganda, hundreds of people have been arrested in house-to-house police operations.

WSWS (2019-05-08). Australian fascist group tried to recruit Christchurch terrorist. wsws.org The latest revelation further discredits claims by the Australian and New Zealand governments and police that Tarrant was a lone gunman whose attack could not have been prevented.

Kurt Nimmo (2019-05-08). Julian Assange Tortured with Psychotropic Drug. globalresearch.ca Retired USAF lieutenant colonel Karen Kwiatkowski writes in an article posted at Lew Rockwell's website that Julian Assange is receiving the same treatment as suspected terrorists while in captivity at "Her Majesty's Prison Service" at Belmarsh. | The FBI, Pentagon, and …

Vanessa Beeley (2019-05-08). Syria Testimonies: "The White Helmets Are More Dangerous than Any Terrorist" — Retired Schoolteacher, Mesyaf. globalresearch.ca "The White Helmets are more dangerous than any terrorist". | Find out why by listening to this important testimony from the town of Mesyaf that has recently been under attack from Israel and the Israeli-backed terrorists in northern Hama and Idleb. …

Jennifer Matsui (2019-05-08). A Permanent, Soylent-Based Solution to Capitalism. counterpunch.org The architects of "regime change" in Venezuela and Iran know only too well that their interventions never bring about anything beyond chaos, destruction and death. Our Overlords are not deluded, pie-in-the-sky dreamers but clear-sighted, rational merchants of nightmares. Where we see endless despair and violence as a result of their meddling, they see a surge More

Jake Johnson, staff writer (2019-05-08). Iran Urges Diplomacy as Trump White House Ramps Up 'Wildly Reckless' Threats of War. commondreams.org "Iran is acting on its warnings that it cannot uphold the agreement unilaterally. As such, Trump has initiated a chain reaction that will make America and the world less safe." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/hassan_rouhani.jpg…

Stephen Lendman (2019-05-08). Will the Trump Regime Attack Venezuela and Iran? globalresearch.ca Imperial madness defines US geopolitics under Republicans and undemocratic Dems, seeking dominion over planet earth, its resources and populations. | Naked aggression and other hostile actions are its favored strategies. Trump delegated his geopolitical agenda to hardline extremists Pompeo and Bolton….

RT (2019-05-08). New Iran sanctions: Trump threatens anyone trading aluminum, iron, steel & copper. rt.com The US has imposed sweeping new sanctions on anyone who trades with Iran in iron, steel, copper, aluminum and related products, escalating the economic blockade of Tehran as the nuclear deal continues to unravel.

Democracy Now! (2019-05-08). Headlines for May 8, 2019. democracynow.org Iran to Suspend Part of Nuclear Deal Citing U.S. Sanctions, Pompeo Makes Surprise Visit to Iraq As U.S.-Iran Tensions Mount, UN Rapporteur Slams U.S. For Using Sanctions to Precipitate Humanitarian Disasters, 1 Dead, 8 Injured in Colorado School Shooting Near Columbine, NYT: Trump's Tax Records Show He Lost Over $1 Billion Between 1985 and 1994, House Prepares to Hold Barr in Contempt as Justice Dept. Advises Trump to Invoke Executive Privilege, Georgia Enacts One of Nation's Most Restrictive Abortion Bans, Uber & Lyft Drivers Strike Ahead of Uber's Wall Street Debut, Tens of Thousands of Teachers in Oregon to Wa…

Middle East Eye (2019-05-08). Iran Quits Parts of 2015 Nuclear Deal and Lays Down 60-Day Ultimatum. theantimedia.com (MEE) — Iran President Hassan Rouhani has announced that Tehran is pulling out of key commitments under a 2015 international nuclear deal, a year after it was abandoned by the United States. Rouhani said Iran would keep enriched uranium stocks in the country rather than sell them abroad and threatened to resume production of higher enriched uranium …

Juan Cole (2019-05-08). Pompeo in Baghdad to Pressure Iraq to Join Press Against Iran; Iraq Declines. commondreams.org Mike Pompeo and John Bolton are known, serial, dedicated liars.(Photo: Gage Skidmore/flickr/cc) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/pompeo-warren.jpeg…

Amy Goodman (2019-05-08). Trita Parsi: John Bolton has wanted war with Iran for 20 years. Now could be his best chance. nationofchange.org In a statement on Sunday night, Bolton said the move was intended to "send a clear and unmistakable message to the Iranian regime that any attacks on United States interests or on those of our allies will be met with unrelenting force."

Akela Lacy (2019-05-08). Democratic-Aligned Think Tank Knocks Bernie Sanders For Vote Aimed at Avoiding War With Iran. theintercept.com A mainstream, Democratic Party-aligned foreign policy think tank is knocking Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., for voting against new sanctions on Iran in 2017 — though the think tank itself and many members of its board oppose new Iran sanctions. | Sanders has been an outspoken supporter of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and said at the time that he voted against the measure in…

M. K. Bhadrakumar (2019-05-08). Iran to Even the Nuclear Score with the US. globalresearch.ca It is going to be 30 years in another six months since the USS Abraham Lincoln, named in honour of the 16th US President, was commissioned on Nov.11, 1989 as the 5th Nimitz-class aircraft carrier of the American Navy. Now, …

Stephen Lendman (2019-05-08). Is the Iran Nuclear Deal Doomed? globalresearch.ca On Wednesday, Iran announced the suspension of some of its JCPOA commitments, short of withdrawing from the nuclear deal altogether. More on this below. | Trump's year ago pullout greatly jeopardizes the deal's sustainability over the longterm, what its hardliners aim …

Staff (2019-05-08). Russia Blames U.S. for Endangering Iran Deal. truthdig.com TEHRAN, Iran — The Latest on Iran's decision to step away from embattled nuclear deal (all times local): | 2: 30 p.m. | Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says the situation surrounding the fate of the 2015 Iran nuclear accord has been complicated by "irresponsible behavior" from Washington. | Lavrov is meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, in Moscow on Wednesday. The nuclear deal will be at the top of their agenda after Iran announced it would suspend some of its commitments in response to U.S. sanctions. | Lavrov says they will discuss the "unacceptable situation" that has been ex…

Ashley Curtin (2019-05-08). 'Shame on Uber:' Drivers on strike worldwide protesting 'poverty wages'. nationofchange.org On Wednesday, days before Uber was set to go public, drivers of both ride-sharing companies, Uber and Lyft, went on strike across the globe. The drivers are standing in solidarity to protest the "poverty wages" and weak worker protections. | Strikes are planned in all major cities around the world including the United States, Brazil, Australia, Chile. Nigeria, Costa Rica, and Nairobi, according to the New York Taxi Work Alliance (NYTWA). | "This is an act of solidarity with drivers across the country, and really across the world, who are suffering with poverty wages," Bhairavi Desai from the NYTWA said | The d…

Mark Taliano (2019-05-08). NATO Is Endangering Us All. globalresearch.ca When Canadians support NATO, they are supporting ISIS and al Qaeda. They are also supporting international illicit drug trafficking, a source of covert funding for covert war crimes. | In Syria, the proxies are al Qaeda, ISIS, and their affiliates, commanded …

Dean Baker (2019-05-08). Krugman v. Sanders on Medicare-for-All. counterpunch.org Last week Krugman devoted a column to dismissing the Democrats septuagenarians (Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders) as not being prepared to deal with the presidency in today's political environment. Part of his indictment of Sanders was an unwillingness to compromise, most notably on health care reform. As Krugman put it: "For Sanders, then, it seems More

Binoy Kampmark (2019-05-08). Infantalising Memes: Ending Subscriptions to PewDiePie. counterpunch.org It should have been just another cheap and sordid episode best respected by being ignored. But this is a time which has embraced without qualification the Marshall McLuhan message about the medium being the irrepressible message, we are left with discussions about the vacuous rather than the substantial; the obtuse rather than the subtle. The More

Shamus Cooke (2019-05-08). Will A Green New Deal Save the Climate, or Save Capitalism? counterpunch.org After decades of neoliberal torment it's easy to yearn for capitalism's tranquil past, a simpler time that delivered stability, fairness, and progress. This mythology around a golden age of U.S. capitalism is regularly conjured up by Bernie Sanders or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who reference the New Deal-era programs that delivered democratic reforms and a massive investment More

Nick Licata (2019-05-08). Trump is Not a Tyrant, He Just Admires Them. counterpunch.org President Trump is not a tyrant, but he doesn't shy away from admiring them. And, that should give one pause in feeling secure that our nation's leader is committed to sustaining the world's longest running democratic republic. For those who don't see his lack of understanding how a democracy functions, they should consider his statements More

Thomas Knapp (2019-05-08). Don't Let Measles Hysteria Defeat Freedom. counterpunch.org As of May 3, the Democratic Republic of Congo's Ministry of Health reported 1,510 cases of Ebola and 1,008 deaths to date in the country's current outbreak. Partial blame for the government's inability to contain the outbreak goes to armed attackers who believe that international health workers are there to intentionally spread the disease, not More

Kenneth Surin (2019-05-08). Reading the Tea Leaves on Ukania's Local Quasi-Referendum on Brexit. counterpunch.org Last week elections were held for town, city, and county councils in England (London apart) and the north of Ireland. No local elections took place in Scotland and Wales. More than 8,400 seats in 248 councils, part of a 4-year election cycle, were contested in England, and 462 seats in Northern Ireland. The elections were More

Jonah Raskin (2019-05-08). How Legal Cannabis Came to Contra Costa County. counterpunch.org When Greg Kremenliev moved to Contra Costa County in 1983, he didn't realize the depth and the intensity of the local opposition to cannabis. Nor did he foresee that his home county would become a battleground in the long, protracted war between prohibitionists on the one hand, and on the other hand pot smokers who believe in the right to self-medicate and who remind their fellow citizens that cannabis became legal in 2016, and that the industry is now regulated by Sacramento bureaucrats and local officials. An hour or two from downtown San Francisco at rush hour, Contra Costa can feel like it's not really a part…

Jack Rasmus (2019-05-08). How Accurate Are the US Jobs Numbers? counterpunch.org The recently released report on April jobs on first appearance, heavily reported by the media, shows a record low 3.6% unemployment rate and another month of 263,000 new jobs created. But there are two official US Labor dept. jobs reports, and the second shows a jobs market much weaker than the selective, 'cherry picked' indicators on unemployment and jobs creation noted above that are typically featured by the press. More

Lance Olsen (2019-05-08). Adult Lifestyles Sentence Kids to 1,000 Years of "Deadly" Heat Waves. counterpunch.org Sixteen year old Greta Thunberg's School Strike for Climate generation seems likely to witness the beginnings of a grueling, traumatizing, brutal, heat-driven reversal of the human population boom. Why? Because we've continued to pack the atmosphere with a little more CO2 with almost every move we make in utterly normal daily routines, thus forcing heat higher More

Eds. (2019-05-08). U.S. State Department publishes, then deletes sadistic Venezuela hit list boasting of economic ruin. mronline.org The Grayzone has obtained a list of "key outcomes" on Venezuela deleted out of apparent embarrassment by the State Department. It boasts of wrecking the nation's economy, destabilizing its military, and puppeteering its political opposition. | Source

Vern Loomis (2019-05-08). The Quiet Coup. dissidentvoice.org Does William Barr appear to be easily manipulated? Do you really think he lacks inner strength? James Comey thinks so (James Comey: How Trump Co-opts Leaders Like Bill Barr). How about Mike Pompeo and Stephen Miller? Does Donald Trump have them acting out of character? Do you think Lindsey Graham does his bidding out of …

Toby Blome (2019-05-08). CODEPINK Monthly Golden Gate Bridge WALK for PEACE. indybay.org BE GREEN AND CARPOOL | See http: //tripplanner.transit.511.org for public transit options. | Golden Gate Transit Buses 10, 70, 80 | and SF Muni Bus 28 stop at the bridge (SF side). | Parking available on all 4 "corners", just remember to take the last exit on hwy 101 as you approach the bridge, or the first exit after you leave the bridge. | 11: 45 am: Gather at the SF or Marin end of the eastern walkway of the Golden Gate Bridge. | Noon: Walk on the eastern walkway from the north or south ends to converge in the middle for World Peace. Then march to the SF side for rally.

Caoimhghin àì Croidheáin (2019-05-08). NATO and the Culture of War: Ireland's History of Resistance. globalresearch.ca This year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of NATO with the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty on 4 April 1949. Established as a peacetime alliance between the United States and Europe to prevent expansion of the Soviet …

plenglish (2019-05-08). US is Acting in Venezuela like the ' West Cowboy ', Spanish FM Says. plenglish.com Madrid, May 8 (Prensa Latina) Spain"s Foreign Minister, Josep Borrell, accused Wednesday the United States of behaving like a "cowboy" in Venezuela and demanded a solution to the political conflict in that country through peaceful means.

plenglish (2019-05-08). South Koreans Ratify Support for Peace Policy towards DPRK. plenglish.com Seoul, May 8 (Prensa Latina) A large majority of South Korean citizens describe the government"s policy regarding the promotion of peace with North Korea as positive, local media stress.

Medea Benjamin (2019-05-08). Social movements under intense attack despite Colombia 'peace plan'. nationofchange.org This article was produced by Local Peace Economy, a project of the Independent Media Institute. | With Venezuela occupying the small bandwidth our media has for news about Latin America, there is virtually no information about Colombia, where a horrible wave of violence in the past two years has taken the lives of hundreds of social movement leaders and activists around the country, especially in places such as Cauca, Antioquia, Santander and Arauca. That's why Colombia's social movements organized the Humanitarian Refugee Convergence, w…

Joyce Chediac (2019-05-08). Suit reveals US, S. Korean govts were sex traffickers of Korean women. liberationnews.org So-called "comfort women" and their advocates advance their struggle in court.

Roya Brake & Rebekah Padilla (2019-05-08). Families Belong Together | Peaceful Action Protest. indybay.org WALNUT CREEK: | – South Side corner of Ygnacio Valley Road and N. Civic Drive | – Iron Horse Trail Bridge above Ygnacio Valley Road (please plan to use effectively large signage in this area)…

Ramzy Baroud (2019-05-08). The Myth of a Disunited and Dysfunctional Palestine Is an Israeli Invention. mintpressnews.com The myth of the disunited and dysfunctional Palestinian is very much an Israeli invention that precedes the inception of Hamas, and even Fatah. This Zionist notion, which has been embraced by the current Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, argues that 'Israel has no peace partner'.

plenglish (2019-05-08). President Maduro Ratifies Commitment to Red Cross Principles. plenglish.com Caracas, May 8 (Prensa Latina) Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Wednesday praised the work carried out by the International Red Cross and ratified the Executive"s commitment to cooperate with the agency.

RT (2019-05-08). Pence lifts US sanctions from Venezuela's defector general, hopes to inspire more turncoats. rt.com The US has lifted sanctions from a former Venezuelan spy chief, who recently defected from President Nicolas Maduro's side. US Vice President Mike Pence hopes this incentive will prompt others to defect as well.

Staff (2019-05-08). Why Does Trump Like Communist Vietnam? Because It's Capitalist. truthout.org Before Donald Trump's February summit with Kim Jong Un in Hanoi, Vietnam, The Washington Post ran an article headlined, "The US wants North Korea to follow the 'miracle' of Vietnam's path." | "In light of the once-unimaginable prosperity and partnership we have with Vietnam today, I have a message for Chairman Kim Jong Un: President Trump believes your country can replicate th…

Jake Johnson, staff writer (2019-05-08). 'This Kind of Obstruction Is Dangerous': Ahead of Barr Contempt Vote, DOJ Threatens Executive Privilege to Block Full Mueller Report. commondreams.org "The department's decision reflects President Trump's blanket defiance of Congress's constitutionally mandated duties," said House Judiciary chairman Jerry Nadler | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/donald_trump_and_william_barr.jpg…

RT (2019-05-08). Trump asserts executive privilege over Robert Mueller's report — DOJ. rt.com US President Donald Trump has invoked executive privilege over the unredacted Mueller report and other materials subpoenaed by the House Democrats, the Justice Department has said.

Janelle Velina (2019-05-08). Afghanistan, the Forgotten Proxy War. The Role of Osama bin Laden and Zbigniew Brzezinski. globalresearch.ca Read Part I from the link below. | Afghanistan, the Forgotten Proxy War | By Janelle Velina, April 30, 2019 | Below is the second half and conclusion of "Afghanistan, the Forgotten Proxy War". While the previous sections examined the economic roots …

Jean Périer (2019-05-08). Will Washington be Held Accountable for Its War Crimes? globalresearch.ca For more than a decade, the United States has been steadily increasing the scale of its illegal military operations across the Middle East, resulting in hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths. | Eighteen years ago, the US invaded Afghanistan under the …

Ryan Grim (2019-05-08). The Democratic Counterrevolution Has a Self-Appointed Leader: Josh Gottheimer. theintercept.com Not long after Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar were sworn into Congress, they began hearing from their new colleagues that one member of the House Democratic caucus, Josh Gottheimer, had particularly strong views about each of them. Gottheimer, a second-term representative from New Jersey, has deep ties to the lobbies for Saudi Arabia and Israel, while Tlaib and Omar are often critical of both Mideast governments. | So when Gottheimer reached out to meet with Tlaib, she was eager to take it, hoping that a personal connection would help bridge their differences. On the day of the meeting, February 6, Gottheimer arriv…

WSWS (2019-05-08). Canada's Liberal government abets US-sponsored coup attempt in Venezuela. wsws.org Last week Canada proclaimed its support for Guaidó's coup attempt and stepped up its efforts to bring to power a far-right, pro-imperialist regime in Caracas.

Stephen F. Cohen (2019-05-08). Russiagate Zealotry Continues to Endanger American National Security. thenation.com Russiagate Zealotry Continues to Endanger American National Security…

Staff (2019-05-08). Russia-China Alignment Challenges U.S. Hegemony. therealnews.com Trump's China tariffs and aggressive military build up is pushing Russia and China to seek a closer relationship which serves China's growing global influence — Prof. Richard Sakwa joins Sharmini Peries…