Showing posts with label John Bolton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John Bolton. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 25, 2019
Saturday, June 15, 2019
Don't let the Americans lie their way into another disastrous war
Given that Trump himself apparently "said 10,796 things that were either misleading or outright false" during his first 869 days in office it is pretty clear that a critical approach should be taken to anything his administration asserts on any front. Yet we have already seen that despite this culture of lies the American mainstream media and Democratic politicians almost all got on board with Trump's attacks on Venezuela and have stayed on board even after various incidents -- such as the fabricated burning of aid trucks on a bridge from Colombia -- were proven to be false.
When it comes to its imperialist adventures in the interests of American business and capital abroad, however, there is almost always unity within the American ruling political class and its pundits.
Now Trump's bombastic, truth averse Secretary of State Pompeo -- fresh off of implying that the United States would intervene in upcoming British elections to prevent a victory by Jeremy Corbyn -- is trying to use an alleged attack on Japanese oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman as justification for action against Iran that could easily escalate into full blown war.
Already Pompeo's claims regarding this incident are being thrown into doubt by the owner of the tankers himself. "Company president Yutaka Katada said Friday he believes the flying objects seen by the sailors could have been bullets. He denied any possibility of mines or torpedoes because the damage was above the ship's waterline. He called reports of a mine attack "false.""
When placed in historical context, moreover, it is impossible to escape the likelihood that whatever happened in the Gulf of Oman, the version we are getting from the Trump administration is almost certainly untrue.
The most obvious parallel is with the Gulf of Tonkin incident in 1965 that was used by the Johnson administration to greatly escalate the war in Vietnam. It is widely known now that the incident was fabricated and as a US Navy Lieutenant Commander put it in an article for the US Naval Institute, it is "clear that high government officials distorted facts and deceived the American public about events that led to full U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War."
Then there was the allegation made in 1990 that Iraqi forces had removed babies from incubators in Kuwaiti hospitals and left them to die on the floor that was used as one of the major propaganda points to get Americans on board with the first Iraq War. The problem was, of course, that is was totally made up and the 15 year old girl "Nayirah" who tearfully recounted it to the Human Rights Caucus of the US Congress was actually the daughter of the Kuwaiti ambassador who had been coached by a public relations firm to lie to the caucus.
Not to be outdone the Bush administration notoriously lied its way to the second war on Iraq. This is so well known that there really is no need to belabour it, but two key things to remember are the entirely false assertions that were made by the then Secretary of State Colin Powell to the United Nations in 2003 and the fact that John Bolton, now the national security adviser to Trump, was a major hawk calling for war with Iraq back in that administration.
Given this long and sordid history of imperialist lies and fabrications by the Americans over the decades, and given the fact that the Trump administration has a proven track record of lying on an almost daily basis about even minor issues, it is astounding that anyone would take anything Pompeo says seriously.
One does not have to embrace or be an apologist for the Iranian regime to know that a war in Iran would be catastrophic for the Iranian people. Given the terrain and the strength of the regime it would likely make the war in Iraq -- which has destabilized the entire region -- look relatively mild in comparison. It would be certain to result in the deaths of hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people, and lead to further destabilization and radicalization in the Middle East. American forces would likely have to occupy the country for many years. They are still in Afghanistan 18 years later.
It is imperative that the Americans not be allowed to lie their way into another terrible conflict.
Wednesday, May 29, 2019
John Bolton - Pathological Liar
Cuba has dubbed John Bolton a "pathological liar" for good reason.
"We are confident that Saddam Hussein has hidden weapons of mass destruction and production facilities in Iraq" - US national security adviser John Bolton building the false case for war against Iraq, 2002
"The United States believes that Cuba has at least a limited offensive biological warfare research and development effort" - Bolton also falsely claimed this in 2002. When State Department officials contradicted him, he threatened them.
Now Bolton is making claims about Cuban troops in Venezuela and Iranian "aggression" with no evidence to back them up.
He was lying then. He is now too. Say NO to the next wars.
Sunday, May 19, 2019
Abortion Rights Under Attack, American Imperialists Push for War with Iran, Climate Change & more -- The Week in News, Opinion and Videos May 12 - 19
This list covers the week of May 12 - 19.
1) The War on Women Enters a New, Even More Dangerous Phase
Dorothy Woodend, The Tyee
On the 50th anniversary of the publication of Our Bodies, Ourselves, the struggle for women’s bodily autonomy, for political representation and economic power, for freedom and equality is still being waged.
2) Alabama abortion ban: Republican state senate passes most restrictive law in US
Erin Durkin, Jessica Glenza and Amanda Holpuch, The Guardian
Alabama’s Republican-controlled state senate has passed a near-total ban on abortion, making it a crime to perform the procedure at any stage of pregnancy.
3) In Alabama, abortion rights are under threat. In Northern Ireland, they never existed
Glosswitch, The New Statesman
"Dear people facing abortion pushback, we know how you feel…” So starts an open letter from the Northern Irish activist organisation Alliance for Choice, advising residents of Alabama on what to expect when their access to reproductive care becomes almost as restrictive as that of residents of Northern Ireland.
4) 'We have to keep vigilant': Toronto pro-choice advocate on Alabama's abortion ban
CBC Radio
The state of Alabama passed a near-total ban on abortion last night. Could it have cascading effects, potentially threatening the landmark Roe v. Wade case? We ask Torontonian Judy Rebick, an activist who was at the centre of the fight for the legalization of abortion here in Canada.
5) Republican vows to bring near-total abortion ban to Virginia
Josh Israel, Think Progress
After his party largely downplayed its desire to eliminate abortion rights in Virginia in recent years, Virginia Delegate Bob Thomas (R) admitted that the real goal is to win back the governor’s mansion and a narrow majority in the legislature to do just that.
6) Republicans in the US are criminalizing abortion. Canada’s Conservatives want to do the same.
North 99
On Tuesday, the Alabama Senate passed America’s most restrictive ban on abortion, making it illegal for abortion to be performed at any stage of pregnancy unless it is to avoid a serious health risk to the unborn child’s mother.”
7) Doug Ford Pledged to Defund Abortion During Leadership Race, Report Claims
North 99
According to a new story from Macleans, Doug Ford promised anti-abortion group Campaign Life Coalition that if elected leader he would defund abortion.
8) Sam Oosterhoff’s coffee with constituents event ended abruptly as protestors were calling out the MPP’s stance on abortion
CHCH News
100 people converged on the legion in Grimsby, in MPP Sam Oosterhoff’s riding upset with him because of his stance against abortion. Inside Oosterhoff was hosting a community coffee event with constituents. Many of the people in the legion were pro choice and confronting him about his beliefs, some were upset saying he would not answer their questions.
9) Alabama Passes Near Total Ban on Abortion as Part of “Stealth Campaign” to Overturn Roe v. Wade
Democracy Now
Alabama lawmakers voted to effectively ban abortion Tuesday, passing the most restrictive anti-choice law in the country in a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade. The bill approved by the Senate Tuesday and the Alabama House last month bans abortions at all phases. Doctors could face up to 99 years in prison for performing abortions. The bill’s only exception is grave risk to the mother’s life — not cases of rape and incest. The legislation is now heading to the desk of anti-choice Republican Governor Kay Ivey, and many expect she’ll sign it. Opponents say they’ll challenge the bill in court should it become law, but this is precisely the point. Architects behind the legislation want to use it to challenge Roe v. Wade, which recognizes the constitutional right to an abortion. We speak with Jessica Mason Pieklo of Rewire.News and Monica Simpson of Sister Song.
10) ‘Were you turned on by this at all?’: RCMP officer asks Indigenous youth during sexual assault report
Holly Moore and Brittany Guyot, APTN News
Video obtained by APTN Investigates shows a Kelowna RCMP officer interviewing an under-aged Indigenous teen for more than two hours after she reported a sexual assault while in care of the B.C child welfare system.
11) Doug Ford was just booed at the opening of the Special Olympics in Toronto
Jordan Steinhauer, Blog TO
People at the opening ceremonies of the 2019 Special Olympics Ontario Invitational Youth Games weren't too happy to see Premier Doug Ford show up and give a speech.
12) Ford government scraps funding for stem cell research
Mike Crawley · CBC News
The Ford government plans to stop all funding to an institute that supports Ontario scientists at the cutting edge of stem cell research.
13) Anti-poverty advocates shaken by cuts contemplated by Ford government
Laurie Monsebraaten, The Toronto Star
Anti-poverty activists say they are shocked the Ford government had contemplated cuts to the Ontario Child Benefit as part of efforts to slay the province’s $11.7 billion deficit.
14) TDSB announces over 300 high school courses to be cut next year due to provincial changes
CBC News
More than 300 classes are being cancelled over the coming school year and another 300 or so will continue on with larger class sizes as a result of provincial changes to class size averages, the Toronto District School Board says.
15) Ford government blasted over cuts to office dedicated to keeping workers safe
Sara Mojtehedzadeh, The Toronto Star
Funding cuts to the office tasked with preventing workplace deaths and plans to “modernize” health and safety provisions in the province will make workers less safe on the job, opposition critics argued at Queen’s Park Tuesday.
16) Ontario government just cut $20 million more from Toronto Public Health
Lauren O'Neil, Blog TO
Ontario's PC government continues to slash and burn through Toronto's finances with the announcement of another $20 million in Public Health cuts, bringing the total amount of money being pulled from next year's budget to $106 million.
17) TRUMP ADMINISTRATION PREPARES MULTIPLE MILITARY OPTIONS FOR IRAN, INCLUDING AIRSTRIKES AND SETTING UP GROUND INVASION
James LaPorta and Tom O'Connor, Newsweek
When President Trump’s top national security advisers met for a classified meeting at the Pentagon last Thursday, Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan laid out several U.S. military options for Iran, separated into two distinct categories: retaliatory and offensive.
18) 'Disturbing': Trump Reportedly Reviewed Bolton Plan to Threaten Iran by Sending 120,000 Troops to Middle East
Jake Johnson, Common Dreams
Observers warned the United States is hurtling down the same path that led to the disastrous invasion of Iraq 16 years ago following a report late Monday that President Donald Trump reviewed a plan to send 120,000 ground troops to the Middle East if Iran launches an "attack" on American forces or moves to develop nuclear weapons.
19) John Bolton Is the World's Worst Nightmare
Amy Goodman and Denis Moynihan, Truthdig
“Time is terribly short, but a strike can still succeed.” —John Bolton, in a March 26, 2015, New York Times op-ed headlined, “To Stop Iran’s Bomb, Bomb Iran”
20) Communists warn risk of war with Iran and Venezuela ‘escalating’
The Morning Star
THE Communist Party warned of a “rapidly escalating danger of war” at its political committee this week.
21) ‘NY Times’ disgracefully joins the propaganda campaign to push for war against Iran
James North, Mondoweiss
I’m old enough to remember the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident, which the U.S. used as the pretext to massively escalate the Vietnam war. In early August that year, the American press indignantly reported that the USS Maddox, innocently patrolling in the South China Sea, had been the victim of two attacks by North Vietnamese patrol boats. The truth later emerged; the attacks were either made up, exaggerated, or a deliberate U.S. provocation. But President Lyndon Johnson used the episode to convince Congress to pass the Gulf of Tonkin resolution, which enabled him to eventually send half a million American soldiers to Vietnam.
22) War With Iran Is America's Endgame
Maj. Danny Sjursen, Truthdig
Who do we think we are? Truly. The latest reports that the Trump administration is considering plans for deploying 120,000 troops to the Middle East – presumably to strike Iran – demonstrates how Washington’s foreign policy has finally gone off the rails. Crazier still, the impending war with Iran isn’t even the today’s biggest news story – what with all the nonsense, soap opera hullabaloo about the Mueller Report – on mainstream media outlets. What the proposed plan constitutes is nothing less than the most important, and disturbing, global issue of the day. This is how it should be reported by a truly adversarial media: The United States is preparing for an aggressive, illegal, and unwarranted war against another sovereign power thousands of miles from its shores. Again! All true citizens should be beyond appalled and screaming dissent from the rooftops.
23) Trump May Be Preparing Pardons for Servicemen Accused of War Crimes
Dave Phillips, The New York Times
President Trump has indicated that he is considering pardons for several American military members accused or convicted of war crimes, including high-profile cases of murder, attempted murder and desecration of a corpse, according to two United States officials.
24) Rainforest Cafe strike puts the spotlight on tip-sharing
Alison Braley-Rattai, The Conservation
The ongoing labour dispute at the Rainforest Cafe in Niagara Falls, Ont., highlights a growing concern among hospitality workers across the country — employer control over their tips.
25) How Marxists Are Winning in Belgium
Aurore van Opstal, Jacobin
With this month's European Parliament elections approaching, the media is fixated on the far right. But in Brussels itself, it’s the radical left that’s changing the debate.
26) Europe’s Newest Finance Minister Wants to Keep His Country White
Andrew Langley and Ott Ummelas, Bloomberg
He wants to keep his country racially pure and makes gestures used by white supremacists. And this week he will sit down with the rest of the euro region’s finance ministers.
27) FIVE IMPERIALIST MYTHS ABOUT CHINA’S ROLE IN AFRICA
Nino Brown, Liberation
That China is a rising power is undeniable. Since its founding in 1949, the People’s Republic of China has undergone several substantial economic and social policy changes, in response to both the evolving domestic situation and international obstacles and challenges. Along the way, China has lifted 800 million people out of poverty, increased wages and the standard of living, raised life expectancy (even beyond US life expectancy), and is asserting itself on the international arena to the dismay of U.S. imperialism.
28) Ilhan Omar, Bernie Sanders Come Out in Support of Rashida Tlaib Amid Trump’s Attacks
Telesur
Many progressives and activists like congresswoman Ilhan Omar, Shaun King, etc., came forward in defense of congresswoman Rashida Tlaib after she was attacked by the United States President Donald Trump for her comments on Holocaust.
29) Hatred of Jews terrifies me. So do false accusations of antisemitism
Aaron Freedman, The Guardian
On 27 June 1941, the Nazis marched into the Polish city of Bialystok. In this once vibrant, cosmopolitan city where Jews had made up two-thirds of the residents, German troops went door to door, pulling Jews into the streets. The lucky ones were shot. Much of the rest – including my great-great-grandparents, their children and their grandchildren – were packed into the Great Synagogue.
30) Secret archives show US helped Argentine military wage "dirty war" that killed 30,000
Rut Diamint, Salon
History books may never tell the full story of the dictatorship that terrorized Argentina from 1976 to 1984.
31) Promote Parenti, not Slavoj Zizek
Zoltan Zigedy, The Morning Star
In a blistering evisceration of phoney Marxists, ZOLTAN ZIGEDY excoriates those academics and their dupes who peddle trendy nonsense that was never a threat to capitalism
32) Jason Kenney is Giving Corporations a Massive Tax Giveaway That Will Cost Albertans $3.7 Billion
Press Progress
Alberta will lose 12% of the annual revenues it depends on to pay for public services thanks to a Donald Trump-inspired corporate tax giveaway announced this week by Alberta Premier Jason Kenney.
33) Green leader May supports same old pro-imperialist foreign policies
Yves Engler
Does Elizabeth May hate Palestinians? Does the Green Party leader want the Trump administration to attack Iran? Does she support efforts to overthrow Venezuela’s government?
34) 'You can’t really win': 4m Britons in poverty despite having jobs
Josephine Moulds, The Guardian
"I’m a bit scatty with things like this,” Gemma* admits when talking about her finances. It was not scattiness that meant she struggled to make ends meet when taking home £399.69 a month for working 18 hours a week as a cashier at Betfred.
35) Rebel Youth remembers Stephen Endicott
Rebel Youth
Rebel Youth remembers and salutes Stephen Endicott who passed away on May 4th as a giant for the Communist movement in Canada.
36) Far-right party in Hungary forms uniformed ‘self-defence’ force in spirit of outlawed vigilante group
Chris Stevenson, The Independent
A far-right party in Hungary is forming a uniformed “self-defence group” akin to the vigilante Hungarian Guard which was banned a decade ago.
37) Winnipeg Transit drivers’ fare strike ATU’s first in North America
Emily Leedham, Rand and File
On Tuesday, May 14, the majority of Winnipeg Transit drivers, who are members of ATU Local 1505, did not enforce payment from transit riders. This “fare strike” is the first time the ATU has done this type of action in North America.
38) Is ‘Left Over’ Food for ‘Left Behind’ People the Best We Can Do?
Graham Riches and Kell Gerlings, The Tyee
The British Columbia government’s poverty reduction plan has made a serious miscalculation.
39) Desperate Guaido Asks EU To Impose More Sanctions On Venezuela
Telesur
The self-proclaimed president of Venezuela is trying to recover from his embarrassing coup by punishing the people of the Bolivarian Republic with new sanctions.
40) Guaido Hits Hard Times, Begs US Military For Help
Telesur
The self-proclaimed "interim president" of Venezuela failed to oust the legitimate President Nicolás Maduro last month after boasting about his alleged military 'support' inside the Bolivarian Republic.
41) US Police Illegally Invade Venezuelan Embassy in Washington DC
Telesur
Metropolitan Police of Washington D.C arrived at the Venezuelan embassy on Monday afternoon to break the locks and carry out the illegal eviction of international NGO Code Pink who have barricaded themselves in the embassy. Protesters inside and outside the building reject the aggression as a violation of the Vienna Convention.
42) Is the Venezuela Opposition Really 'Pro-Democracy'? That's Worthy of Orwell
Gregory Shupak – FAIR
Writing of the failed US-sponsored coup attempt in Venezuela on April 30, Uri Friedman of The Atlantic (5/1/19) referred to the Venezuelan branch of the coup as Juan “Guaidó’s pro-democracy movement.” The logical contradiction could scarcely be more pronounced: A wave of Friedman’s wand transforms a political force seeking the military overthrow of Venezuela’s elected government into a “pro-democracy movement.”
43) Without Venezuela's oil, Haiti struggles to keep lights on
Loop News
When her daughter was 4 years old, Jennifer Jean started a small catering business in Bourdon, a lower-middle-class district of the Haitian capital.
44) The Nakba: a catastrophe that is still with us
Robert Massoud, Rabble
Around the world, every May 15 is commemorated as Nakba Day. In 1948, during the 12 or so months known to Palestinians as the "Nakba" (Arabic for "catastrophe"), an estimated 750,000 people were ethnically cleansed from their homes and land, and more than 600 villages destroyed. This was the "cost" of creating the State of Israel, paid by the indigenous people of Palestine. Few people suspected then and not many realize today that the events of that year would help steamroll future developments into the full-blown catastrophe facing the world 71 years later.
45) ‘Extraordinary thinning’ of ice sheets revealed deep inside Antarctica
Damian Carrington, The Guardian
Ice losses are rapidly spreading deep into the interior of the Antarctic, new analysis of satellite data shows.
46) Alberta faces future flood, drought extremes as climate change hits Prairies hard, expert warns
Madeline Smith, Star Calgary
While southern Alberta knows all too well the impact of severe flooding, experts say that drought, made more severe by climate change, poses a serious risk that the city can’t ignore.
See also: John Bolton Pushes for War, Venezuela, Abortion Rights & more -- The Week in News, Opinion and Videos May 5 - 12
Sunday, May 12, 2019
John Bolton Pushes for War, Venezuela, Abortion Rights & more -- The Week in News, Opinion and Videos May 5 - 12
This week's list of articles, news items, opinion pieces and videos that I see as a must if you are looking for a roundup that should be of interest to The Left Chapter readers.
This list covers the week of May 5 - 12.
1) Failed ‘Coup’ a Fake Corporate News Story Designed to Trick Venezuelan Soldiers and US Public
Dave Lindorff - FAIR
After days of breathless reporting in the US media about public and military support for Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro collapsing, and about an April 30 coup by presidential poseur Juan Guaidó, we now know the truth: The whole thing was a fraud, staged at the instigation of Washington in hopes that the Venezuelan people and rank-and-file troops would fall for the trick and think an actual coup was underway.
2) The Atlantic Illustrates Everything That’s Wrong With Media Coverage of Venezuela Sanctions
Joshua Cho, Common Dreams
“Trump’s Venezuela Policy: Slow Suffocation,” an Atlantic report (4/17/19) by Uri Friedman and Kathy Gilsinan, passed up a rich opportunity to expose the humanitarian pretexts for economic intervention, and instead exhibited the worst tendencies of corporate media coverage of US policy in Latin America.
3) Police Arrest Second Top Venezuelan Opposition Lawmaker for Attempted Coup
Telesur
The alleged crimes Zambrano is charged with are: "treason to the homeland, conspiracy, instigating and insurrection" among others.
4) Venezuela Will Defend Itself From Any Foreign Invasion: Arreaza
Telesur
"The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela does not represent a threat to the United States, but in the case of a military intervention, the Bolivarian National Armed Forces and the People of Venezuela are prepared to defend its sovereignty."
5) Guaido's Bluff: Coup Leader Admits Failure After Embarrassing Attempt To Overthrow Government
Telesur
The self-proclaimed "interim president" of Venezuela admitted to the Washington Post that he expected the legitimate President Nicolás Maduro to step down after he announced his coup on April 30.
6) Fake news: CNN falsely claims US-appointed Venezuelan coup leader Guaidó was ‘elected’
Ben Norton, The Grayzone
Six CNN journalists produced an article falsely claiming US-appointed Venezuelan coup leader Juan Guaidó was elected, before quietly issuing a misleading correction.
7) AOC Lines Up with Pelosi, Bolton and Trump in Support of Coup Attempt in Venezuela
Nathaniel Flakin, Left Voice
The coup attempt in Venezuela, orchestrated by Trump’s National Security Advisor John Bolton, has been condemned by socialists around the world. “Democratic socialist” congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, however, is siding with Republican and Democratic Parties in support of U.S. imperialism.
8) US State Department publishes, then deletes sadistic Venezuela hit list boasting of economic ruin
Anya Parampil, The Grayzone
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.
9) What Is Happening at the Venezuelan Embassy Is an Outrage
Medea Benjamin, Common Dreams
Determined to avoid another war, a group of US peace activists sought and received permission from the legitimate Venezuelan government to form an Embassy Protection Collective.
10) Cuban “troops” saving lives in Venezuela
Raúl Antonio Capote, Granma
Cubans are truly committed to the principle of sovereignty, we are protective of our independence, and we would never do to others what we would not allow to be done to ourselves.
11) Trudeau continues push to overthrow Venezuela’s government
Yves Engler
The effort Justin Trudeau is putting into overthrowing Venezuela’s government is remarkable.
12) Ontario Telemedicine Network lays off 44 staff
Mike Crawley · CBC News
A non-profit agency that helps Ontario patients access health care through videoconferencing has laid off more than 15 per cent of its staff in the wake of a cut to its provincial funding, CBC News has learned.
13) Cuts force Ont. family to pay for 6-year-old cancer patient's tube feed supplement
CTVNews.ca Staff, with a report from CTV Kitchener’s Heather Senoran
The family of a six-year-old girl with cancer says it must pay hundreds of dollars each week for her nutrition supplements following the Ontario government’s cuts to the provincial youth pharmacare program.
14) MPP Sam Oosterhoff’s office calls cops on library-loving seniors
Karena Walter , The St. Catharines Standard
Police were called to MPP Sam Oosterhoff's riding office Tuesday after a group of older adults clutching books showed up to stage a "read in" over provincial library cuts.
15) MY UNTHINKABLE ABORTION: ST.CATHARINES REG. COUNCILLOR GOES PUBLIC AND SENDS LETTER TO OOSTERHOFF
Bonnie Heslop, Newstalk 610
A St.Catharines Regional Councillor has gone public about her abortion after Niagara West MPP Sam Oosterhoff declared he wants to make abortion "unthinkable."
16) Should 11-year-old girls have to bear their rapists' babies? Ohio says yes.
Eric Zorn, Chicago Tribune
An 11-year-old rape victim in northwestern Ohio is pregnant, according to news reports, and a highly restrictive state law on abortion signed last month says a girl in her position must carry and deliver her rapist’s baby.
17) Mike Pompeo praises the effects of climate change on Arctic ice for creating new trade routes
Clark Mindock, The Independent
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has praised the effects of global warming for cutting the time it takes to trade between Asia and the west, during a speech before an international group.
18) Texas Voter Intimidation Bill Targets Elderly, Disabled, and Most Vulnerable
David Badash, NCRM
Texas Republican State Senator Bryan Hughes' bill on "election integrity" is a clear attack on voting rights, get out the vote efforts, and preys on the most vulnerable voters. Senate Bill 9 passed the Senate last month, and is a priority for the very powerful Texas Lt. Governor, far right wing ideologue and Trump supporter Dan Patrick, to become law. He claims it "protects our democracy."
19) Muslims Under Attack: Solidarity or ‘Left Secularism’
John Clarke, Socialist Project Bullet
Western governments and the xenophobic far right are engaged in a veritable war on Muslims. One way in which this attack unfolds is an ongoing effort to force Muslims to embrace dominant ‘values’ and change their forms of dress or abandon religious observances. Though he was not speaking exclusively about Muslims, the infamous war criminal, Tony Blair, recently sounded off on this very theme of the obligation to ‘integrate’ and was challenged very powerfully by Aditya Chakrabortty in The Guardian.
20) Trump Pardons Ex-Soldier Convicted of Killing Unarmed Iraqi Man
Telesur
United States President Donald Trump granted a full pardon Monday to a former army lieutenant who was convicted of killing an unarmed Iraqi man.
21) Native American communist topples incumbent council president in Wisconsin town
Earchiel Johnson, People's World
While there has been some media attention to self-described socialist candidates winning elections in bigger cities, in Northern Wisconsin now, for the first time in its history, a Communist is on the city council in Ashland. Whitebird defeated incumbent Mettille 52-42.
Jake Johnson, Common Dreams
In a late Sunday statement warning—without any evidence whatsoever—of "troubling and escalatory" actions by the Iranian government, U.S. national security adviser John Bolton used the scheduled deployment of an American aircraft carrier and bomber task force to the Middle East to threaten Iran with military action.
Democracy Now
Iran is accusing the United States of “psychological warfare” after National Security Advisor John Bolton announced the U.S. is deploying a carrier strike group and a bomber task force to the region. 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.” On Monday acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said the deployment was made because of a “credible threat by Iranian regime forces” but he offered no details. Axios is reporting the threat is based on information passed on from Israel. The Trump administration has been ratcheting up pressure against Iran following Washington’s withdrawal from the landmark Iran nuclear deal last year. Last month, the U.S. designated Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization. The Trump administration also said it will end a waiver program that allowed some nations to circumvent U.S. sanctions and continue buying Iranian oil without suffering penalties. We speak with Trita Parsi in Washington, D.C., author of “Losing an Enemy: Obama, Iran, and the Triumph of Diplomacy.” He is the founder and former president of the National Iranian American Council, and an adjunct associate professor in the Center for Security Studies at Georgetown University.
Olivia Stefanovich · CBC News
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will later this month exonerate a First Nations chief who was wrongly convicted of treason-felony after leading his warriors in battle against Canadian forces in 1885.
Jasper Jolly, The Guardian
Britain has gone a week without using coal to generate electricity for the first time since Queen Victoria was on the throne, in a landmark moment in the transition away from the heavily polluting fuel.
Telesur
Bolivia’s government provided more than 80,000 Bolivians in the department of Cochabamba, with free vaccinations, inoculating against more than 15 diseases.
OFL
The Ontario Federation of Labour, which represents 54 unions and one million workers in Ontario has issued an official boycott declaration of Canadian Niagara Hotels Inc. (CNH), effective immediately.
Telesur
Democratic lawmakers from the United States claimed Wednesday that President Donald Trump holds a “personal vendetta against Puerto Rico” which has left disaster relief for the territory in limbo, as well as for that of Florida after being struck by Hurricane Michael last October.
Levi Rickert, Native News Online
Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) said today that he will pursue other means of passing a pair of bills to help Indian Country after they were pulled from consideration by the House of Representatives in the wake of President Trump’s racist tweet and subsequent Republican opposition to the measures. The House was scheduled to vote on Rep. Bill Keating’s (D-Mass.) H.R. 312, the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Reservation Reaffirmation Act, and Rep. Tom Cole’s (R-Okla.) H.R. 375, which updates the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 to affirm that the federal government can take land into trust for the benefit of tribes that received federal recognition after June 18, 1934.
John Paul Tasker · CBC News
Lynn Beyak has been suspended from the Senate for the remainder of this parliamentary session after declining to remove letters from her website that have been widely condemned as racist, and for refusing to apologize for posting them.
Press Progress
Faith Goldy complains her failed campaign to become the Mayor of Toronto was sabotaged by “establishment elites,” but in fact her campaign was bankrolled by donors living in some of Toronto’s wealthiest neighbourhoods.
Karl Nerenberg, Rabble
Green candidate Paul Manly has won the federal byelection in Nanaimo-Ladysmith on Vancouver Island, a seat formerly held by the NDP's Sheila Malcolmson. Commentators are saying the result is a wake-up call for all of Canada's political class. It means Canadians might be much more serious about climate change than most politicians seem to think, they say.
Mark Gruenberg, People's World
More than 20,000 Oregon public school teachers statewide — at least two-thirds of all teachers in the state — walked out of classes on May 8 to demand more state funds to fix crumbling schools and provide up-to-date textbooks.
Telesur
For the first time in their history, the nine largest French workers unions -including the General Confederation of Labour (CGT), the French Democratic Confederation of Labour (CFDT) and the Workers' Force (FO)- summoned millions of citizens on Thursday to protest against President Emmanuel Macron’s reforms which seek to change contracting modalities, reduce the right to organize and eliminate about 120,000 jobs.
Telesur
The Organization of American States (OAS) have announced they will be visiting Bolivia to learn about the country’s anti-drug strategy. This follows the country’s rejection of the US ‘War On Drugs’.
The Morning Star
IRANIAN communists are demanding “the immediate and unconditional release” of May Day demonstrators they say were rounded up by police as they tried to mark International Workers’ Day.
Arwa Mahdawi, The Guardian
Eurovision has always been an exercise in bad taste, but this year’s event takes things to an extreme. If you want to enjoy the kitschy song contest, which will take place from 14 to 18 May in Tel Aviv, Israel, then you have got to ignore the bloody political context that surrounds it. Indeed, Israel is so intent on keeping Eurovision politics-free that anyone it says might disrupt the event will be blocked from entering the country.
Mike Blanchfield, The Globe and Mail
A Conservative government would move Canada’s embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, party Leader Andrew Scheer said in a sometimes fiery foreign-policy speech on Tuesday that took personal aim at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Julia Conley, Common Dreams
Human rights advocates and progressives in Congress on Monday slammed the corporate media for perpetuating anti-Palestinian sentiments in their reporting on the violence in Gaza and Israel over the weekend.
Saturday, March 30, 2019
American Hypocrisy Knows No Bounds
American Hypocrisy Knows No Bounds
“We strongly caution actors external to the Western Hemisphere against deploying military assets to Venezuela, or elsewhere in the Hemisphere, with the intent of establishing or expanding military operations. We will consider such provocative actions as a direct threat to international peace and security in the region.” - American Imperialist Thug and U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton after Russia deployed some military advisers to Venezuela which has been under siege by the United States and its stooge allies.
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