2019-07-25: News Headlines

David Rosnick (2019-07-25). Reducing Carbon Emissions Must Not Be Done on the Backs of the World\'s Poorest. counterpunch.org By all appearances, the economic positions of the world\'s poorest people have improved considerably over the most recent three decades. Households living on $1.90 per capita per day have — on average — seen their real (inflation-adjusted) incomes grow approximately 4.2 percent per year for the last 30 years. Consequently, less than 10 percent of More

Eds. (2019-07-25). \'This is the beginning\': new study warns climate crisis may have been pivotal in rise of drug-resistant superbug. mronline.org Research argues that deadly Candida auris \"may be the first example of a new fungal disease emerging from climate change.\" | Source

Staff (2019-07-25). Robert Mueller Testimony Disappoints Democrats Who Bet on Special Counsel to Help Sink Trump. democracynow.org Special counsel Robert Mueller gave his much-anticipated testimony on Capitol Hill Wednesday, where he spoke for the first time about his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential elections. Over the 7-hour hearing, Mueller stressed to the House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees that despite Donald Trump\'s claims, he had not exonerated the president of obstruction of justice. Mueller\'s report was handed in 124 days ago, but only a redacted version was made available to the public. Ahead of Mueller\'s testimony, the Justice Department warned Mueller in a letter to \"remain within the bound…

Manuel García, Jr. (2019-07-25). Killer Heat Forever, From Our Fossil-Fueled Inertia. counterpunch.org For the equivalent of a week or more each year, about 120 million people across the U.S.A. will be exposed to conditions so hot, the heat index (or \"feels like\" temperature, which is produced by the combination of heat and humidity) will surpass the limits of the National Weather Service\'s heat index charts. Depending on locality at that time, the upper limit of the heat index scale could be at or above 127 ∞F (52.8 ∞C) More

Staff (2019-07-25). Pro-Palestinian Activists Persevere Amid Ongoing Turmoil in Gaza. truthout.org | | \"I felt shaky and uneasy all day, preparing for this talk\" — Jehad Abusalim, a Palestinian from the territory of Gaza.Jehad Abusalim, a Palestinian now living in the United States, grew up in Gaza. In Chicago last week, addressing activists committed to breaking the siege of Gaza, he held up a stack of 31 papers. On each page were names of 1,254 Palestinians living in Gaza who had been killed in just one month of Israel\'s \"Operation Protective Edge\" attacks five years ago. | \"I felt shaky an…

Staff (2019-07-25). Pa\'lante Puerto Rico. truthdig.com Just before midnight on Wednesday, Puerto Rico\'s governor Ricardo Rossello announced in a prerecorded video message that he would resign, effective Friday, Aug. 2. This capped close to two weeks of nonstop protests. | In Old San Juan, cries of \"!Ricky Renuncia!\" had been ringing out alongside the traditional refrain, \"!Pa\'lante!\" The first was a demand for the embattled Rossello to resign, while the latter means \"onward, forward.\" The Caribbean island (along with its smaller islands, Vieques and Culebra) is at a historic crossroads. Hundreds of thousands of people have been marching and protesting daily, followin…

Stephen Lendman (2019-07-25). Big Pharma Fueled Opioid Crisis. globalresearch.ca The widespread opioid epidemic is perhaps the most serious public health crisis in the US. | It\'s fueled by Big Pharma greed and indifference to the health and welfare of ordinary people — facilitated by ruling authorities in Washington, doing little …

Sonali Kolhatkar (2019-07-25). Puerto Ricans Demonstrate How to Oust a Corrupt Leader. truthdig.com The movement that forced Ricardo Rosselló to step down as governor of Puerto Rico is one of the largest in the island\'s history. It unified people across the ideological and political spectrum toward a common purpose: ending the governor\'s corrupt regime. On Monday, hundreds of thousands of people gathered in San Juan to demand \"Ricky Renuncia.\" | Traveling to her native Puerto Rico to witness what was unfolding, political activist and journalist Rosa Clemente told me in an interview that rumors had spread…

Stephen Lendman (2019-07-25). Mueller\'s Congressional Testimony Lays an Egg. globalresearch.ca His 7-hour Wednesday Q & A spectacle was much ado about nothing. | Undemocratic Dems wanting grist for their rage to impeach Trump got nothing to make their case. | The charade was an embarrassment to the maestro of malign intent, unable …

Staff (2019-07-25). Ryan Grim: Tom Perez Was Elected Head of DNC Thanks to a \"Silent Coup\" in Puerto Rico in 2017. democracynow.org As Puerto Ricans celebrate the imminent departure of disgraced Governor Ricardo Rosselló, we speak with Intercept reporter Ryan Grim about how Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez benefited from what\'s been described as a \"coup\" within the Democratic Party in Puerto Rico. In his recent book, Grim revealed pro-statehood politicians—including some Republicans—quietly took over the Puerto Rico Democrats in 2017 and then offered full support for Perez in exchange for his support for statehood. This helped give Perez enough delegates to beat Keith Ellison in the race to head the DNC.

teleSUR (2019-07-25). Venezuela Hosts 25th Meeting of Leftist \'Sao Paulo Forum\'. telesurenglish.net Embracing \"Peace, Sovereignty and Prosperity of the Peoples\" as a common goal, over 120 Latin American social and political organizations began Thursday the 25th Meeting of the Sao Paulo Forum (SPF) in Caracas, Venezuela. | RELATED: | Sao Paulo Forum: Leftist Leaders Reaffirm Regional Unity | Their debates will be focused on the neoliberal offensive against Latin American peoples and its consequences regarding the increase in poverty and inequality. Amidst the United States aggression ag…

teleSUR (2019-07-25). Tulsi Gabbard, Ayanna Pressley Votes in Favor of Anti-BDS Bill. telesurenglish.net The 2020 U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard came under fire for voting in favor of condemning the pro-Palestinian Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. | RELATED: | Ilhan Omar Introduces Bill Backing Pro-Palestine BDS Movement | The U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday passed (398-17) a nonbinding resolution condemning the BDS…

teleSUR (2019-07-25). Bolivian Opposition Plan Protests to Destabilize Elections. telesurenglish.net A senior figure of Bolivia\'s right-wing opposition has announced plans for a \'national revolt\' to destabilize the upcoming presidential elections, because they believe Evo Morales should not be on the ballot paper. Social movements have denounced the plans as \'undemocratic\'. | RELATED: | Bolivian Opposition Will Privatize Gas Reserves, Minister Warns | Opposition lawmaker Rafael Quispe announced on Wednesday a fresh round of national mobilizations, starting on the 10th of Octo…

Andrew Bacevich (2019-07-25). The Great Reckoning A Look Back from Mid-Century. counterpunch.org [Editorial note: This remnant of a manuscript, discovered in a vault near the coastal town of Walpole, Massachusetts, appears to have been part of a larger project, probably envisioned as an interpretive history of the United States since the year 2000. Only a single chapter, probably written near the midpoint of the twenty-first century, has More

John W. Whitehead (2019-07-25). It\'s Un-American to be Anti-Free Speech. counterpunch.org \"Since when have we Americans been expected to bow submissively to authority and speak with awe and reverence to those who represent us? The constitutional theory is that we the people are the sovereigns, the state and federal officials only our agents. We who have the final word can speak softly or angrily. We can More

Philip Giraldi (2019-07-25). No Accountability in Washington. The CIA Wants to Hide All Its Employees. globalresearch.ca Government that actually serves the interests of the people who are governed has two essential characteristics: first, it must be transparent in terms of how it debates and develops policies and second, it has to be accountable when it fails …

teleSUR (2019-07-25). 115 Migrants Feared Dead as Boat Capsizes off Libya. telesurenglish.net About 115 people are missing and feared to have drowned and another 134 were rescued by Libyan coast guards and local fishermen after a wooden boat carrying migrants capsized off Libya, a Libyan navy official said Thursday. | RELATED: | EU Commission Should Let Rescue Boats Dock, Rackete Asks | \"The worst Mediterranean tragedy of this year has just occurred,\" UNHCR head Filippo Grandi said in a tweet. Earlier, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said that up to 150 people were feared dead.

Chris Wright (2019-07-25). It\'s Important to Always Ignore Thomas Friedman. counterpunch.org Whenever I read a column by the pustule called Thomas Friedman, I don\'t know whether to laugh or cry. To laugh at the hilarious attempts of an anthropoid carbuncle to sound vaguely human and Serious, or to cry at the fact that this abscess on the body politic is admired and deemed Serious by…all the polyps and tumors that run the media, the government, the corporate sector, the country, and the world. More

Ted Rall (2019-07-25). Progressives to Democrats: We Are Watching the Way You Mistreat \"the Squad\" counterpunch.org Strictly speaking, Nancy Pelosi is right. Led by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, the four Congressional freshmen known as the Squad are, by Beltway standards, relatively powerless—just four votes, as the speaker said. They chair no committees and head no broad coalitions that can be counted upon to cast yeas and nays at their command. Yet More

Stephen Corry (2019-07-25). Mothers Nature and Human: Another Blueprint for Survival. counterpunch.org The real fight for biodiversity is also a fight against prejudice and patriarchy, against inequality and cruelty. It\'s a fight against the corrosive and self-defeating pretence that nature is separate from humanity. That\'s simply not true: Both nature and humanity are our mother and each is part of the other, as everyone once knew and we must now learn afresh. Our fight must yoke human rights to environmental concerns and so point the way to the survival of a better and kinder world. More

CFJPIME (2019-07-25). Lebanon\'s New Work Permit Laws, Directed against Palestinians and Syrian Refugees. globalresearch.ca Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) condemns the Lebanese government\'s new work permit laws which discriminate against Syrian and Palestinian refugees working in the country. CJPME urges the Lebanese government to put an end to its …

teleSUR (2019-07-25). Drought Threatens Lives of 15 Million People in Africa\'s Horn. telesurenglish.net The humanitarian organization Oxfam Thursday warned that more than 15 million people are at severe risk due to drought in Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia, the countries at the \"Horn of Africa.\" | RELATED: | Suicide Attack in Somalia: Mayor Wounded, Officials killed | According to recent studies, the overall number of people in need of immediate humanitarian assistance are 5.4 million in Somalia, 8.3 million in Ethiopia and 1.6 million in Kenya. | Of that 15.3 million Africans who are a…

Juan Cole (2019-07-25). Iran: How Bolton tricked Clueless UK Conservatives into Confrontation with Tehran. globalresearch.ca Simon Tisdall at The Guardian explains the difference between Socialist Spain and the disorganized Conservatives in control of UK on foreign policy. | US national security adviser John Bolton tried to hoodwink both of them about the Grace I, a Panamanian-flagged …

Tony Cartalucci (2019-07-25). US Puppet Wants Help Making Thailand Like America. globalresearch.ca The US is involved in regime change worldwide — from Venezuela in South America, to Ukraine in Eastern Europe, to Syria in the Middle East, to Afghanistan in Central Asia. | But these headline-grabbing wars, coups, color revolutions, and interventions are …

Elijah J. Magnier (2019-07-25). Iran Imposes Its Rule of Engagement: \"An Eye for an Eye\" globalresearch.ca Iran has meticulously selected its political steps and military targets in recent months, both in the Gulf and the international arena. Its partial and gradual withdrawal — tactical yet lawful -from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), known as …

Cluborlov (2019-07-25). War Profiteers and the Demise of the US Military-Industrial Complex. globalresearch.ca Within the vast bureaucratic sprawl of the Pentagon there is a group in charge of monitoring the general state of the military-industrial complex and its continued ability to fulfill the requirements of the national defense strategy. Office for acquisition and …

Sergey Sayenko (2019-07-25). Getting Rid of Imperial Ambitions. UN Resolution to Terminate British Control over Chagos Archipelago. globalresearch.ca The British authorities cannot get rid of imperial ambitions and appear to be yearningly recalling the times of the British Empire under Queen Victoria. At least, this is what the Chagos Archipelago situation testifies to. | Just a reminder: on May …

Andrew Korybko (2019-07-25). New MH17 Documentary Proves Beyond a Doubt that a Cover-Up Took Place. globalresearch.ca MH17 – Call For Justice\" sheds light on the dark truth of what happened immediately after the plane\'s downing. The video powerfully includes an interview with Malaysia\'s PM Minister Mahathir, who had earlier spoken out about the cover-up & reaffirms that Russia was blamed for before any information was known about the incident.

Gabriela Luna (2019-07-25). Nicaragua: Telling the Truth as a Revolutionary Act. globalresearch.ca \"The (soft coup) effort (June 2018) to topple the democratically-elected government of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega was originally led by students trained by US-funded \"democracy promotion\" programs (USAID). US-funded nongovernmental organizations, the Sandinista Renovation Movement political party, the Catholic Church …

Media Lens (2019-07-25). The Campaign to Stop Corbyn — Smears, Racism and Censorship. globalresearch.ca The greatest fear of those holding the most power and wealth is that they will lose their exalted position in the world. They will resist any changes to the grossly unequal and unjust class structure that causes grievous damage to …

Shane Quinn (2019-07-25). Conspiring with Neo-Nazi Parties: Washington and the EU\'s Role in the Kiev Coup. globalresearch.ca In the weeks preceding the February 2014 ousting of Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, American politicians were prominent in Kiev inciting the marchers so as to destabilize government institutions. From early December 2013 Victoria Nuland, a high-ranking official in …

Padraig McGrath (2019-07-25). Russia-Africa Relations: Economic, Strategic and Geopolitical Dimensions. globalresearch.ca Following the Russia-Africa Economic Conference in Moscow last month and the Russia-Africa Parliamentary Conference on July 3rd, the first ever Russia-Africa political summit is scheduled for Sochi on October 24th. The summit will henceforth be planned as an annual event. …

Mark Taliano (2019-07-25). Imperial Duplicity and Mass Murder. globalresearch.ca A staple of Western war propaganda is what Prof. John McMurtry calls \"Reverse Projection\". The U.S. Empire, for example, projects its own crimes against prey nations. | So, it projects the lie that President Bashar al-Assad of Syria is a \"brutal …

John Stanton (2019-07-25). Trump\'s \"Proximity\" to the Nuclear Weapons Trigger. Racism in America. globalresearch.ca \"He has been glorified as a hero and obeyed as a ruler, but fundamentally he is always the same. His most fantastic triumphs have taken place in our own time, among people who set great store by the idea …

Andrew Korybko (2019-07-25). A Joint-Russia-China Air Patrol Just Made South Korean-Japanese Tensions Worse. globalresearch.ca The first-ever long-range joint air patrol between the Russian and Chinese Air Forces got off to a scandalous start after South Korea reportedly fired hundreds of warning shots to ward off what it says was Moscow\'s violation of its sovereign …

Shane Quinn (2019-07-25). Conspiring with Neo-Nazi Parties: Washington and the EU\'s Role in the Kiev Coup. globalresearch.ca In the weeks preceding the February 2014 ousting of Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, US politicians were prominent in Kiev inciting the marchers to destabilize government institutions. Victoria Nuland, a high-ranking official in the US Department of State, made repeated trips to the Ukrainian capital…

Kurt Nimmo (2019-07-25). End Forever War? Divest Zionism. US Congress Passes Resolution which Violates Constitution. globalresearch.ca On Wednesday, the US House of \"Representatives\" passed a resolution that violates both the Constitution and natural law. | . | . | . | BREAKING: 398 House members just voted for H.Res.246 in a powerful statement opposing the global BDS campaign and its …

Andrew Korybko (2019-07-25). New MH17 Documentary Proves Beyond a Doubt that a Cover-Up Took Place. globalresearch.ca The newly released documentary directed by Yana Yerlashova with the contribution of independent Dutch investigator Max van der Werff proves beyond a doubt that Ukraine and its Western partners did all that they could to cover up the true …

Arabi Souri (2019-07-25). Aleppo Rebuilding Its Infrastructure, 1216 Projects Since Eliminating Terror. globalresearch.ca As hundreds of thousands of Aleppo residents returning to their homes since the Syrian Arab Army and its allies cleaned it from US-sponsored terror, the infrastructure must be rehabilitated and whatever needs to be rebuilt must be completed at the …

Dr. Paul Craig Roberts (2019-07-25). America\'s Collapse: Asset Forfeiture. globalresearch.ca Readers aware that I, and Dmitry Orlov, have been chronicling America\'s rapid decline ask me, \"where did it all begin?\" To answer that question would require a massive history such as Jacques Bazun\'s From Dawn to Decadence: 500 Years of …

Charles Hugh Smith (2019-07-25). Our Ruling Elites Have No Idea How Much We Want to See Them All in Prison Jumpsuits. globalresearch.ca Even the most distracted, fragmented tribe of the peasantry eventually notices that they\'re not in the top 1%, or the top 0.1%. | Let\'s posit that America will confront a Great Crisis in the next decade. This is the presumption of …

Washington\'s Blog (2019-07-25). 13 Shocking Facts About Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller. globalresearch.ca First published in November 2017. Can we trust Robert Mueller with Trump-Russia probe? | *** | Talking heads act like Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller is fair, impartial and unbiased. | But the facts are a wee bit different … | Failure to Aggressively Prosecute …

Kathleen M. Tucker (2019-07-25). Radioactive Fallout of the First Atomic Bomb Explosion, \"Trinity\", July 16, 1945: \"The Most Significant Hazard of the Entire Manhattan Project\" globalresearch.ca For the past several years, the controversy over radioactive fallout from the world\'s first atomic bomb explosion in Alamogordo, New Mexico on July 16, 1945—code-named Trinity—has intensified. Evidence collected by the New Mexico health department but ignored for some 70 …

teleSUR (2019-07-25). Bolsonaro Refuses to Supply Fuel to Iranian Cargo Ships. telesurenglish.net Since the beginning of June, two Iranian commercial ships have been stranded at the port of Paranagua, in the state of Parana, in Brazil because the state-owned company, Petrobras has so far refused to supply fuel to them, in line with sanctions imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump on Iran, according to comments made by President Jair Bolsonaro to reports earlier this week. | RELATED: | Iran Hints at Possible Swap of Seized Tankers | \"You know we are aligned with the U.S. policy. That is why…

Staff (2019-07-25). Koch Industries Cultivate Antiwar Image While Profiting From Defense Contracts. truthout.org | | This article was produced by Sludge, an independent, ad-free investigative news site covering money in politics. Click here to support Sludge.Libertarian billionaire industrialist Charles Koch has gone to great lengths to paint himsel…

teleSUR (2019-07-25). Colombia Gov\'t Bails out Banks for Dissolved Odebrecht Project. telesurenglish.net The Colombian government said Wednesday it will bail out an Odebrecht-backed consortium in Colombia with the amount of 1.2 billion pesos, US$378 million. | RELATED: | Colombia: Duque\'s Party Proposes Law to Allow Convicted Politicians to Appeal | The money will be paid to seven banks that lent the capital for a national highway project which, due to the company\'s major corruption scandal and subsequent loss of funds, is being scrapped. | Minister of Transportation…

Staff (2019-07-25). Mueller\'s Testimony Didn\'t Herald Impeachment — But Don McGahn\'s Might. truthout.org | | SCHIFF: Russia committed federal crimes in order to help Donald Trump? | MUELLER: When you\'re talking about computer crimes in the charge in our case, absolutely. | SCHIFF: The Trump campaign officials built their strategy — their messaging strategy around those stolen documents? | MUELLER: Generally that\'s true. | SCHIFF: And then they lied to cover it up. | MUELLER: Generally that\'s true.In case you missed it during all the hand-wringing (or crowing) over the unsteady, understated perform…

Paul Krassner (2019-07-25). The Ten Suggestions. counterpunch.org 1) Stay well-informed and be on the alert for disinformation; besides mainstream media, check out alternative papers and the Internet, especially the international press. 2) Maintain empathy for the motivation of terrorists and sympathizers, bearing in mind that they are victims of their own conditioning. 3) Start saving the world by acting in every aspect More

Juan Cole (2019-07-25). Mueller\'s Testimony Exposes Trump for What He Really Is. truthdig.com This piece first appeared on Informed Comment. | Trump keeps trying to hypnotize people by saying \"No collusion, no obstruction,\" and saying that Mueller exonerated him. Since so few Americans and so few in Congress will actually read the Mueller report, he thinks he can get away with the Big Lie. | Mueller explicitly denied yesterday that he had exonerated Trump. So that\'s a Trump lie. | The Mueller report contains ample evidence that Trump attempted to obstruct the Mueller investigation. In fact, we know that Trump tried as hard…

Peter Koenig (2019-07-25). Iran Seizure of a British Tanker: More than Tit for Tat. dissidentvoice.org The British-flagged tanker \"Steno Impero\", heading for Saudi Arabia, was seized on Friday, 19 July 2019, by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), in the Strait of Hormuz, after it rammed an Iranian fishing boat, whose distress call it ignored. The tanker was taken to an Iranian port, because it was not complying with \"international …