RT (2019-08-10). Kid Rock attacks Taylor Swift, sparks Twitter culture war. rt.com After firing off a tweet suggesting pop idol Taylor Swift would perform sexual favors on Hollywood in exchange for a movie role, faux-redneck rocker Kid Rock is facing a barrage of criticism online.

Margot Patterson (2019-08-09). U.S. Imperialism, Iran and the Context for War. counterpunch.org The Trump administration\'s efforts to collapse Iran\'s economy can\'t be divorced from the history of U.S. imperialism. If Americans remember the 1979 student takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and the 444 days in which 52 U.S. diplomats and embassy staff were held hostage, Iranians remember the 1953 CIA coup that brought down the More

Staff (2019-08-09). Supersizing Climate Change: U.N. Says Meat Production Destroys Land & Diminishes Key Water Sources. democracynow.org The United Nations\' top panel of climate scientists warns that humans are consuming land and water resources at an unprecedented rate, with the destructive effects of the climate crisis increasingly threatening the planet\'s biodiversity and the food security of hundreds of millions of people. In its latest climate change and land special report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns that without dramatic action, extreme weather and rising temperatures will turn even more fertile land into desert, shrinking the global food supply, even as the world\'s population rises to more than 7.5 billion people.

Staff (2019-08-09). ICE Raids on Undocumented Immigrants Create Fear and Enable Exploitation. therealnews.com The recent ICE raids that detained 680 food workers in Mississippi not only strike fear and terror in the hearts of immigrants, but are a calculated move to enable greater exploitation of immigrants because it increases their insecurity and makes organizing more difficult…

Mark Gruenberg (2019-08-09). Barber: \"Words\" of white supremacy \"lead to acts of physical violence\" peoplesworld.org EL PASO, Texas—Five religious leaders who journeyed to El Paso to investigate — and discuss — awful conditions migrants face, just before the white supremacist terrorist massacred 22 people in that Texas border city, unveiled an open pastoral letter to the entire nation linking racist words and policies to the murders, and demanding a massive …

Staff (2019-08-09). New IPCC Report Warns of Vicious Cycle Between Soil Degradation and Climate Change. therealnews.com Greenpeace\'s Diana Ruiz discusses the new IPCC Climate report, \"Climate Change and Land,\" which issues a dire warning about how climate change and destructive land use reinforce each other, leading to serious threats for human survival…

Marilyn Bechtel (2019-08-09). On anniversary of Hiroshima, demands for end to nuclear weapons. peoplesworld.org LIVERMORE, Calif. — Determined to oppose the Trump administration\'s drive to develop new nuclear weapons and to strengthen the fight to eliminate nuclear weapons worldwide, some 200 demonstrators gathered here on Aug. 6 to rally against what they term \"Designing Armageddon\" at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Over three dozen peace, justice and faith-based organizations …

The Canary (2019-08-09). Nagasaki mayor hits out at nuclear powers on 74th anniversary of bombing. thecanary.co The mayor of Nagasaki has criticised nuclear states including the US and Russia as the city marked the 74th anniversary of the atomic bombing which ended the Second World War.Tomihisa Taue said nuclear powers are undermining the survivors\' efforts towards building a nuclear-free world.The mayor lamented that the idea of \"useful\" nuclear weapons appears to be gaining traction.People attend a mass at the Urakami Cathedral in Nagasaki to mark the 74th anniversary of the world\'s second atomic bomb attack (Kyodo/AP)He said both the US and Russia are returning to the development and deployment of nuclear weapons, as th…

Louis Proyect (2019-08-09). How Real is the \"Eco-Fascist\" Threat? counterpunch.org In a manifesto that was posted to 8Chan just before he carried out his murderous attack on Walmart shoppers in El Paso, Patrick Crusius expressed \"Green\" values that are widespread on the left: The American lifestyle affords our citizens an incredible quality of life. However, our lifestyle is destroying the environment of our country. The More

Daniel Beaumont (2019-08-09). Hate, Murder and Perversity: El Paso 2019, Mississippi 1964. counterpunch.org Hate, Lacan observed, is—like love—a career without limit.[1] The massacre on Saturday August 3 in an El Paso Walmart ended with the arrest of 21 year-old Patrick Crusius, a white supremacist from Dallas. Crusius was likely the source of what the media began to call a \"manifesto\" posted on the website 8chan, a site linked More

David Price (2019-08-09). Militarized Observers: Institutional Daydreams of Ethics End Runs to Weaponize Culture. counterpunch.org A significant limitation facing scholars studying US military uses of anthropology and other social sciences is that while the existence and activities of various military programs are known, and some related documents are available, there is much about these programs that remains unknown to outsiders. Yet, even with these gaps in knowledge, it is possible More

Ron Jacobs (2019-08-09). The Global Lockdown. counterpunch.org When a visitor to the United States enters the airport they plan to leave from they expect to show their passport and declare their baggage. However, it used to be that most passengers expected these interactions to be conducted by customs officials only in their own country. This is often no longer the case. Instead, More

John Kendall Hawkins (2019-08-09). The Sixties: De-tripping, Yeah. counterpunch.org I had intentions of watching Quentin Tarantino\'s new film, Once Upon A Time … in Hollywood, and then writing a review, keened up, like most of his aficionados, with the anticipation it might be his last film, and eager to see how QT handled the Sixties, with limited retrospection, given that he was only six More

Michael Simmons (2019-08-09). Paul Krassner: Nun Smooching In America. counterpunch.org When I was 12-years old in 1967, my father Matty Simmons published Cheetah — a slick magazine designed for what the press called \"hippies.\" It was a fine publication — top-shelf scribes like Tom Nolan, Robert Christgau and Ellen Willis contributed, editor Jules Siegel ran his legendary \"Goodbye Surfing, Hello God\" profile that announced to More

Alvaro Huerta (2019-08-09). The Mexican as Endangered Species. counterpunch.org Mexicans have official become members of an endangered or hunted species in the U.S. (I\'m not referring to our enormous demographics, as we\'ll continue to multiply in el norte—where individuals of Mexican origin represent over 40 million citizens/residents—despite the racist fantasies of Donald J. Trump and his immoral ilk. Throughout the early 1800s to the More

Rob Urie (2019-08-09). Democrats and the Politics of Change. counterpunch.org With the political season underway, the question of an effective politics is the subtext of the debates and speeches intended to motivate constituencies and movements. This should read as odd: in the U.S., it is the act of getting elected that defines effective politics. But as neoliberalism has crept into every aspect of modern life, elections have become an anti-politics, a way of working against the democratic will. More

Richard Moser (2019-08-09). Climate Crisis Means the Ruling Class has Failed. Can the Working Class Inherit the Earth? counterpunch.org The climate crisis is proof positive that the ruling class is an utter failure — but it will not fall on its own. Can the working class rise to the challenge? It sure will help if we understand that our class interests are not merely the economic needs of working people — no matter how important More

Paul Street (2019-08-09). Nothing Less Than a Revolution Can Save Us. counterpunch.org Is there no limit to the lethal and authoritarian absurdity of America, land of mass gun massacres like Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook, Aurora, Orlando, Las Vegas, Parkland, and now El Paso and Dayton among other pockmarked sites? Here is a society that claims to be the beacon to the world of civilized decency and democracy More

Gregory Shupak (2019-08-09). The NYT\'s Pro-War Arguments Against War With Iran. fair.org by Gregory Shupak Once you\'re debating who ought to start a war, you\'ve abandoned the anti-war argument (New York Times, 6/20/19). | The New York Times has published five editorials since the beginning of May that are ostensibly critical of a possible military war between the United States and Iran. As anti-war arguments, however, they are woefully lacking—vilifying Iran without subjecting the US to comparable scrutiny, and hiding US aggression towards Iran. | The editorials regurgitate the same anti-Iran demonology pro-war voi…

Chris Gelardi (2019-08-09). The Tragic Story of Jimmy Aldaoud, Deported From the Streets of Detroit to His Death in Iraq. theintercept.com Aldaoud was targeted as part of an ongoing ICE crackdown on Iraqi communities. His family and supporters say the agency bears responsibility for his death.

Staff (2019-08-09). Mass ICE Raids in Mississippi After Workers Fought for Better Conditions Leave Kids Without Parents. democracynow.org Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents swept through seven poultry processing plants in Mississippi this week and arrested 680 people. It was the largest single-state raid in U.S. history.The mass arrests also came on the first day of the school year, and some children walked home from school only to find their doors locked and their family members missing. Wednesday\'s raids targeted chicken processing plants operated by Koch Foods, one of the largest poultry producers in the U.S. Last year, the company paid out $3.75 million to settle an Equal Employment Opportunities Commission class-action suit charging th…

Sonali Kolhatkar (2019-08-09). This Is How We Defend Immigrants From Trump. truthdig.com There is seemingly no limit to the cruelty President Trump inflicts on immigrants. Just days after a horrific mass shooting claimed the lives of 22 people in the immigrant-rich border town of El Paso, Texas, the Trump administration carried out the largest workplace raids in the nation\'s history. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents rounded up nearly 700 people in cities…

Jeff Amy, Rogelio V. Solis (2019-08-09). Poultry towns devastated as workers and students disappear after ICE raids. peoplesworld.org MORTON, Miss. (AP)—Effects of the largest immigration raid in at least a decade are likely to ripple for years through six Mississippi small towns that host poultry plants. A store owner who caters to Latino poultry plant workers fears he will have to close. A school superintendent is trying to rebuild trust with the Spanish-speaking …

Staff (2019-08-09). How Israel\'s Erasure of Palestinian History Perpetuates Occupation. therealnews.com Prof. Ilan Pappe discusses why Israel\'s agency in charge of nuclear security hid documents about the Nakba, the catastrophe in which Palestinians were driven from their land in 1948, explaining that it was an effort to eliminate the Palestinian narrative…

Mark Gruenberg (2019-08-09). Unions, workers, EPI back Warren bill to crack down on \'private equity\' funds. peoplesworld.org BOYNTON BEACH, Fla.—So-called \"private equity\" investment funds, one of the worst manifestations of anti-worker corrupt corporate capitalism, left Madelyn Garcia and her co-workers without jobs. And she came to Washington in August to help launch legislation to curb their robberies. Garcia, you see, spent 30 years at a Toys \"R\" Us store in Boynton Beach, …

Jo Allen-Eure (2019-08-09). \'I Am My Own Mother\' shows finding birth families an awkward business. peoplesworld.org What child would not want to know their DNA origins? In the experience of adopted children, most of them do want to know, Where do I come from? That was the case with Dionne Audain, playing the part of Esther, the lead character in I Am My Own Mother, written and directed by Andrew Zox, …

RT (2019-08-09). \'Arm to the teeth & pretend to be Canadian\': McAfee\'s savage tactical advice for next US Civil War. rt.com Scandalously famous tech millionaire John McAfee has offered some cheeky advice for both blue and red states in case a civil war erupts in the US: hoard guns, pretend to be Canadian, and sell useless states to Mexico and Cuba.

Staff (2019-08-09). Headlines for August 9, 2019. democracynow.org Mitch McConnell Says Senate Will Take Up Gun Bills, But Not Until September, President and First Lady Pose with Infant Orphaned in El Paso Massacre, Man with Guns and Body Armor Sparks Panic at Missouri Walmart, Home of Interracial Couple in Ohio Torched in Apparent Hate Crime, Over 100 Immigrant Hunger Strikers Tear-Gassed Inside ICE Jail, ICE Releases Some of the 680 Immigrants Swept Up in Massive Mississippi Raid, Mentally Ill Michigan Man with Diabetes Dies After Deportation to Iraq, ICE Agents, Lacking Warrant, Denied Entry to Brooklyn Homeless Shelter, Hundreds of Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Protesters Occupy A…

Charles McKelvey (2019-08-09). Reframing the Issues and Taking Direction of the Nation. counterpunch.org In El Paso, Texas, twenty-two persons were killed in a Walmart store, allegedly by a white supremacist gunman who had posted online a manifesto that railed against immigrants and an \"Hispanic invasion of Texas.\" The attack has been described by Richard Parker, in an editorial in The New York Times, as the worst massacre of More

Staff (2019-08-09). This Week\'s ICE Raids Show Trump\'s Tacit Support for El Paso Shooter. truthout.org | | The Trump administration cares about optics. It always has. So we can assume it was no accident that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were conducting one of the largest immigration raids in U.S. history this Wednesday, even as Trump traveled to El Paso to supposedly honor and comfort the victims of the explicitly racist and anti-immigrant mass shooting perpetrated by a gunman whose manifesto echoed Trump\'s own words decrying the bogeyman of an \"invasion\" of Latinx immigrants. | T…

Thomas Knapp (2019-08-09). Tweeting Publicly Available Information isn\'t \"Shameful and Dangerous\" counterpunch.org On August 5, US Representative Joaquin Castro (D-TX) posted an infographic to Twitter naming and shaming his city\'s most generous supporters of President Donald Trump\'s re-election campaign: \"Sad to see so many San Antonians as 2019 maximum donors to Donald Trump …. Their contributions are fueling a campaign of hate that labels Hispanic immigrants as More

Sonali Kolhatkar (2019-08-09). This Is How We Defend Immigrants From Trump. commondreams.org Handcuffed workers at the Koch Foods Inc. plant in Morton, Miss. await transportation to a processing center following an Aug. 7 raid by U.S. immigration officials. (Photo: Rogelio V. Solis / AP) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/icesonali-690×500.jpeg …

WSWS (2019-08-09). The Mississippi raid: Trump\'s attack on immigrants and his Democratic enablers. wsws.org Hundreds of children have been traumatized by having their parents ripped away from them and, in many cases, shipped to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement prison 150 miles away.

CGTN (2019-08-09). A Lack of Migrant Labor is Forcing Farmers in the US to Stop Growing Crops. dissidentvoice.org The immigration policies of the U.S. government are once again igniting opposition. This time from members of the agriculture industry who say that blocking immigrants from entering the country is doing more harm than good. U.S. farmers who depend on migrants as \"guest workers\" for their harvest are facing considerable financial losses. It\'s the result …

Consortiumnews (2019-08-09). New Fears for Julian Assange. globalresearch.ca Legendary journalist John Pilger has been to see Assange in Belmarsh Prison in London and his report is not encouraging. | Journalist John Pilger visited imprisoned WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Tuesday and has raised an alarm about Assange\'s \"deteriorated\" health….

WSWS (2019-08-09). John Pilger warns: \"Do not forget Assange. Or you will lose him\" wsws.org The well-known journalist outlined the WikiLeaks founder\'s deteriorating health, and the draconian conditions in which he is being held in a British prison.

Norman Solomon (2019-08-09). Nancy Pelosi\'s bad attitude toward progressives. nationofchange.org Here\'s a thought experiment: Imagine that a letter from the billionaire real-estate broker George M. Marcus was hand-delivered to the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, asking to meet with her. What are the chances that Pelosi would find time on her calendar? Hint: Marcus gave $4.5 million to Pelosi\'s House Majority PAC during the …

Robert Scheer (2019-08-09). Is Trump Building a White Ethnostate? truthdig.com On Saturday, a 21-year-old white man entered a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, with an automatic rifle and opened fire. By the time he was finished, 20 people were killed and dozens of others were gravely wounded. Two more would die as a result of the injuries they suffered during the carnage. | The suspect left behind a manifesto citing the shooter at a Christchurch, New Zealand, mosque in March as the inspiration for his massacre. Similarly, the document made repeated reference to the \"great replacement,\" a theory among white nationalists that immigration threatens the demographic future of their race. As \"Proud Boy…

teleSUR (2019-08-09). Guatemala Cannot Be \'Safe Third Country\', US Congresswoman Says. telesurenglish.net U.S. Congresswoman Norma Torres (D-CA) said Thursday that Guatemala does not have the capacity nor the conditions to become a \"Safe Third Country\" (STC) because it is not able to accommodate asylum seekers that the United States would send to stay there while they process their immigration requests. | RELATED: | Guatemala Farmers Strike Against US Migration Deal | \"I believe that I have been very clear in my opinion about this … Guatemala is not prepared to receive thousands of people,\"

Staff (2019-08-09). Mississippi ICE Raids Targeted Workers Who Fought for Better Conditions. truthout.org | | Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents swept through seven poultry processing plants in Mississippi this week and arrested 680 people. It was the largest single-state raid in U.S. history. The mass arrests also came on the first day of the school year, and some children walked home from school only to find their doors locked and their family members missing. Wednesday\'s raids targeted chicken processing plants operated by Koch Foods, one of the largest poultry producers in the U.S. Last ye…

teleSUR (2019-08-09). European \'Fridays for Future\' Movement Takes to Swiss Streets. telesurenglish.net Thousands of environmental activists from 38 European countries brought their \"Fridays for Future\" movement to the Swiss city of Lausanne, calling for swift action from politicians and businesses to reduce emissions linked to global warming. | RELATED: | Endangered Condors Face Fragile Existence in Andes | \"We are all united coming from different countries, and despite the fact it\'s holidays we are ready to sacrifice our time to have politics change, to raise awareness about what\'s happeni…

United Nations (2019-08-09). Friday\'s Daily Brief: Indigenous Peoples\' Day, Yemen food aid, IDs for Rohingya, protect fleeing Malians, Nagasaki Peace Ceremony. un.org Our main stories: \'Promote\' indigenous peoples\' languages urges Guterres; WFP resumes Yemen food aid; 500,000 Rohingya ID cards issued; Malians fleeing violence need protection; Nagasaki Peace Ceremony message…

WSWS (2019-08-09). Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa. wsws.org Ryanair pilots in Britain have given an 80 percent strike mandate while south African bank workers plan to protest massive job losses and Kenyan workers struck the multi-billion-shilling Thwake Dam construction project.

Staff (2019-08-09). The Right Wing Is Trying to Make It a Crime to Oppose Fascism. truthout.org | | Conservatives in the U.S. have long sought to reframe grassroots political activism as dangerously radical, but efforts to criminalize protests have rapidly intensified since Donald Trump\'s election. Most recently, Senators Ted Cruz and Bill Cassidy introduced a resolution that names \"Antifa\" as a \"domestic terrorist organization.\" | \"This was a move designed to punish dissent against both racist groups and policies of the government,\" David Rose, a member of Portland\'s Rose City Antifa, told Truthou…

Nermeen Shaikh (2019-08-09). Emergency doctor to Trump: You are wrong, mental illness is not to blame for gun violence epidemic. nationofchange.org President Trump went to Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas, Wednesday, where he was met by hundreds of protesters condemning his presence after the mass shootings over the weekend, which killed at least 32 people. Prior to his visits, Trump hinted at the need to strengthen background checks for gun purchases, and doubled down on …

teleSUR (2019-08-09). France Fires Back at Trump Over Iran Comments. telesurenglish.net France\'s Foreign Ministry has fired back at U.S. President Donald Trump over his recent comments about Paris\' relationship with Iran, which the American leader criticized in a Twitter rant. | RELATED: | France: Police Repress Yellow Vest Protest in Nantes | In a written statement on Friday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said that his country does not need Trump\'s opinion on Iran. | \"France speaks for itself on Iran as a sovereign power,\" Le Drian stated. \"France is deeply committed…

Ramzy Baroud (2019-08-09). The War on Innocence: Palestinian Children in Israeli Military Court. counterpunch.org On July 29, 4-year-old Muhammad Rabi\' Elayyan was reportedly summoned for interrogation by the Israeli police in occupied Jerusalem. The news, originally reported by the Palestinian News Agency (WAFA), was later denied by the Israeli police, likely to lessen the impact of the PR disaster that followed. The Israelis are not denying the story in More

Stephen Lendman (2019-08-09). Trump\'s EPA Sued for Not Banning Brain-Damaging Pesticide. globalresearch.ca Chlorpyrifos producer Dow Chemical falsely claims the pesticide \"protects.\" It\'s been poisoning the earth and people for nearly half a century. | The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) \"for a healthy planet and safer world\" said Dow is the main beneficiary …

Stephen Lendman (2019-08-09). US vs. China: A Clash of Civilizations? globalresearch.ca In promoting destructive \"Western values,\" hardline academic Samuel Huntington once said the following: | \"The West must exploit differences and conflicts among Confucian and Islamic states to support in other civilizations groups sympathetic to Western values and interests — to strengthen …

Stephen Lendman (2019-08-09). US and Turkey Collude to Steal Northern Syrian Territory. globalresearch.ca Troops of both countries illegally occupy northern Syrian territory bordering Turkey, including its oil rich area. | On the phony pretext of protecting Turkey\'s security, President Erdogan is intermittently battling Kurdish YPG fighters cross-border in Syria — despite their posing no …