Paul Dobson (2019-08-19). Imperialist threats unite Venezuelan left, even as patience with Maduro wears thin. peoplesworld.org On a recent visit to Caracas, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel characterized Venezuela as \"the world\'s primary anti-imperialist bastion.\" This, coming from a Cuban, is a striking description. Despite political power having rested in the hands of progressive leaders for 20 years, the primary and unresolved contradiction facing Venezuela is between national sovereignty and imperialist power …

Robert Fisk (2019-08-19). If Chinese Tanks Take Hong Kong, Who\'ll be Surprised? counterpunch.org In the glorious world of journalism, tanks always \"roll\" across borders. I\'ve never in my life actually seen a tank roll, but you get the point. They don\'t let anything stand in their way — or nothing is supposed to stand in their way. Hence the Hong Kong Chinese should back off if the People\'s Army More

Howard Lisnoff (2019-08-19). The Proud Boys Take Over the Streets of Portland, Oregon. counterpunch.org Antifa marches at Trump\'s inauguration and the condemnation is almost universal, including from some on the political Left. No one is harmed, but initially charges are brought against Antifa. The Proud Boys, a neo-fascist, far-right group march in Portland, Oregon (an \"unpermitted\" march), although they have committed acts of violence, and they are allowed a presence on the streets. Now, just More

John Davis (2019-08-19). The Isle of White: a Tale of the Have-Lots Versus the Have-Nots. counterpunch.org The island of North Haven in the Penobscot Bay, Maine, is an eastern establishment, white-shoe summer-place overlain on a diesel swilling, bottom feeding lobster-industry that supports the year-round residents of this tiny, fractal-shored resort. It is washed by the Gulf Stream and reports the fastest rising ocean temperatures in the Western hemisphere, dramatic sea level rises and a devastated eco-system. Comprehensively cleared of its old-growth hardwood forests in the nineteenth century, its second growth pines are now attacked by bark beetles moving north under the duress of a warming climate…But some still…

Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers (2019-08-19). Hong Kong in the crosshairs of global power and ideological struggles. nationofchange.org Hong Kong is one of the most extreme examples of big finance, neoliberal capitalism in the world. As a result, many people in Hong Kong are suffering from great economic insecurity in a city, with 93 billionaires, second-most of any city. | Hong Kong is suffering the effects of being colonized by Britain for more than 150 years following the Opium Wars. The British put in place a capitalist economic system and Hong Kong has had no history of self-rule. When Britain left, it negotiated an agreement that prevents China fr…

Kim Petersen (2019-08-19). Colonialism Lives on in the Mind of Donald Trump. dissidentvoice.org Outside of melting glaciers and global warming discussions, Kalaallit Nunaat does not often find itself in the spotlight, and when it does, it is usually referred to as Greenland. United States president Donald Trump\'s real-estate aspirations have given Kalaallit Nunaat/Greenland prominence in recent news. It seems Trump is serious about the US purchasing Greenland. Judging …

Norman Markowitz (2019-08-19). Against fascism and war: The Communist Party USA\'s third decade. peoplesworld.org As the Communist Party USA\'s second decade ended, World War II, the greatest war in human history, began. In all major capitalist countries, the mass media blamed the war on the Soviet Union\'s signing of a non—aggression pact with Nazi Germany and condemned Communist Parties\' support for the Soviet Union. Was there truth to the …

Steven Krichbaum (2019-08-19). Put an End to the Endless War Inflicted Upon Our National Forests. counterpunch.org To facilitate the fabrication of stumps, roads, and erosion in America\'s National Forests, now the Trump administration has proposed to alter the USDA Forest Service\'s [USFS] implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act [NEPA]. The 1969 NEPA was specifically designed to achieve three main things: 1) require agencies like the Forest Service to use science More

Miko Peled (2019-08-19). With Trump\'s Help, Israel Chooses Short-Term Land Grabs Over Long-Term Legitimacy. mintpressnews.com As Israel prepares for another round of elections, the Trump administration seems poised to give Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu an invaluable campaign contribution by providing a green light for Israel to declare sovereignty in Area C of the West Bank.

Ipek S. Burnett (2019-08-19). White Terror: Toni Morrison on the Construct of Racism. counterpunch.org \"To lose one\'s racial-ized rank is to lose one\'s own valued and enshrined difference,\" writes Toni Morrison in The Origin of Others. In a 2016 post-election essay entitled \"Mourning for Whiteness,\" this sense of loss and the ensuing disorientation become Morrison\'s focus. In today\'s America as \"people of color\" are increasingly occupying everywhere including the Senate, More

Arshad Khan (2019-08-19). India\'s Mangled Economy. counterpunch.org Mid-August is when the subcontinent celebrates independence from Britain. Born in a cauldron of hate 74 years ago, India today is again filling it to the brim. In one fell swoop, Mr. Modi has denuded Kashmir of the flimsy shroud purporting to preserve its cultural and territorial integrity through articles 370 and 35A in the More

John O\'Kane (2019-08-19). Supreme Nihilism: the El Paso Shooter\'s Manifesto. counterpunch.org Mick Mulvaney staunchly defended President Trump after the shootings in Ohio and Texas, claiming he was horrified by the actions but had said nothing that could be construed as provoking them. Trump did come out strongly two days later against hate groups and \"white supremacy,\" a little late for many who contend these shootings demonstrate his inflammatory rhetoric was at least partially to blame for the incidents. Hopefully this will be a real change from his irresponsibly-quick tweets that often lead to reversals and clumsy apologies for misguided claims and send many of his supporters ducking for cover; or his…

Javier Sierra (2019-08-19). El sol es el mejor desinfectante para Puerto Rico. peoplesworld.org Erase una vez una ciudad regida por un déspota cruel. El día de su muerte, sus súbditos llenaron de júbilo las calles. Todos, menos una mujer que sollozaba. Alguien le preguntó, \" øPor qué lloras? °El tirano ha muerto!\". Y ella respondió, \"No lloro por el que se va, sino por el que viene\". Esta fábula …

Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers (2019-08-19). Hong Kong in the Crosshairs of Global Power and Ideological Struggles. dissidentvoice.org Hong Kong is one of the most extreme examples of big finance, neoliberal capitalism in the world. As a result, many people in Hong Kong are suffering from great economic insecurity in a city with 93 billionaires, second-most of any city. Hong Kong is suffering the effects of being colonized by Britain for more than …

Marjorie Cohn (2019-08-19). 2020 Democrats Must Commit to Ending the Carnage in Afghanistan. truthdig.com Only two of the presidential candidates running have committed to withdrawing all U.S. troops from Afghanistan during their first year in office.

Fight Back (2019-08-19). Anti-War Committee denounces Israel\'s ban of Omar and Tlaib. fightbacknews.org Fight Back News Service is circulating the following August 15 statement from the Twin Cities based Anti-War Committee. | The Minnesota Anti-War Committee condemns the Israeli government\'s August 15 decision not to allow US Representatives Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib from entering occupied Palestine, to which the Israeli state controls all access. Reps. Omar and Tlaib join the thousands of peace activists, human rights officials and people of conscience around the world who are denied entry over their support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel and its Zionist policies of occu…

Kevin Zeese (2019-08-19). Hong Kong in the Crosshairs of Global Power and Ideological Struggles. globalresearch.ca Hong Kong is one of the most extreme examples of big finance, neoliberal capitalism in the world. As a result, many people in Hong Kong are suffering from great economic insecurity in a city with 93 billionaires, second-most of any …

Ben Norton (2019-08-19). La Conferencia \'Socialismo\' presenta a activistas golpistas financiados por el gobierno de EEUU. thegrayzone.com La Conferencia de Socialismo 2019, patrocinada por los gigantes de la izquierda estadounidense, la DSA, la revista Jacobin y Haymarket…

Rebekah Barber (2019-08-19). Public Charge Rule Is Trump\'s Latest Attack on Immigrants. commondreams.org This week, Ken Cuccinelli, acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, announced updates to the public charge rule that would bar immigrants who use safety-net programs including Medicaid and food stamps from obtaining green cards. (Photo: Gage Skidmore via Flickr.) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/cuccinelli_skidmore_flickr.jpeg …

Afroze Fatima Zaidi (2019-08-19). When People of Colour are seen as less than human, their babies are too. thecanary.co Every now and then, I come across a piece of news that just… rips my heart out. This may sound like an exaggeration, but reading these things can give me what feels like a physical pain inside my chest. I am forced to reflect on what some people have to suffer at the hands of our greatest living oppressors. And it makes me despair at the state of the world a little bit more. Reading about a four-month-old baby girl being separated from her breastfeeding mum by US immigration authorities…

Do No Harm Coalition, Public Health Awakening (2019-08-19). #CloseTheCamps: Protest by Healthcare & Harm Reduction Workers for Migrant Rights. indybay.org Office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), | 630 Sansome St, San Francisco 94111…

Staff (2019-08-19). Facing Federal Charges for Aiding Migrants, Activist Says He Won\'t Be Deterred. truthout.org | | We broadcast live from Tucson, Arizona, where the government recently put humanitarian activist Scott Warren on trial amid the ongoing policing of the U.S.-Mexico border, separation of families, and cruel and inhumane conditions at immigrant jails across the country. Warren, a longtime volunteer with the humanitarian aid group No More Deaths, was charged with three felony counts for his alleged crime of providing food, water and shelter to migrants in Ajo, Arizona. The immigrants had arri…

Sara Flounders (2019-08-19). Follow the Money Trail Behind the Hong Kong Protests. globalresearch.ca The demonstrations in Hong Kong, now an open confrontation with the People\'s Republic of China, have a global impact. What are the forces behind this movement? What provides the funds and who stands to benefit? | *** | The increasingly violent demonstrations …

Gareth Porter (2019-08-19). U.S. States: We Weren\'t Hacked by Russians in 2016. globalresearch.ca A \"bombshell\" Senate Intelligence Committee report released in July repeated the familiar claim that Russia targeted the electoral websites of at least 21 states—but statements from the states themselves effectively undermine that narrative. | It turns out the reality is dramatically …

Stephen Lendman (2019-08-19). Trump\'s Anti-Iran Warrant. globalresearch.ca Time and again, hard evidence shows the US is a nation run by hawkish right-wing extremists, dismissive of the rule of law and democratic values they abhor and don\'t tolerate. | Operating exclusively by their own rules, they maintain that UN …

Marjorie Cohn (2019-08-19). The Foreign Policy Litmus Test for Democrats in 2020. commondreams.org These war crimes promise to continue unless the U.S. military completely withdraws from Afghanistan. (Photo: Tech. Sgt. Joseph Swafford / U.S. Air Force photo) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/bagram-air-base-afghanistan-1024-850×568.jpeg …

Scott Ritter (2019-08-19). Tulsi Gabbard Gets Some Vindication. globalresearch.ca In the aftermath of the second Democratic primary debate on July 31, Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard emerged as the most Googled of all candidates, an indication that her performance (which included a stunning takedown of California Sen. Kamala Harris…

Tyler Durden (2019-08-19). Turkey-Syria War on the Horizon: Airstrikes Target Invading Turkish Army Convoy. theantimedia.com Turkey and Syria could be headed for war as their armies increasingly clash on front lines in southern Idlib.

Miri Wood (2019-08-19). Al Qaeda Militants are Drugged. 400,000 Amphetamine Captagon Pills Confiscated by Syrian Security Forces. globalresearch.ca Syrian security forces have deprived terrorists of more than 400,000 Captagon pills. On 17 August, authorities in the suburbs of Damascus seized a truck with hidden compartments filled with a large quantity of this Amphetamine-type Stimulant (ATS) known as Captagon….

Mark Taliano (2019-08-19). Criminal War Propaganda Directed against Iraq and Syria: \"We Think the Price Is Worth It.\" globalresearch.ca When we play their game, we will always lose, and they will always win. \"They\" are the largely unelected \"Permanent State\", sometimes called the \"Deep State\". \"They\" are the publicly bailed-out transnational, corporate monopolies and their political fronts that destroy …

teleSUR (2019-08-19). Iran Urges European Partners to Fulfill Nuclear Commitments. telesurenglish.net Foreign Minister of Iran, Mohammad Javad Zarif reiterated on Monday his call for the Union Europe to meet its commitments in the nuclear pact. | RELATED: | Iranian Oil Tanker Leaves Gibraltar Despite US Pressure | \"Our ties with the European Union are important, in particular, for the commitments to the nuclear agreement, which Europeans must fulfill,\" said the Iranian Foreign Minister, from Helsinki, Finland. | With this statement, Zarif recalled the little support of the Europea…

Slava Zilber (2019-08-19). Professor slams US for causing \'intense hardships\' abroad, and media for not holding it to account. thecanary.co Jeffrey Sachs — director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University — a long-time critic of US foreign policy. And speaking to The Canary, he slammed devastating US sanctions on countries like Venezuela and I…

teleSUR (2019-08-19). Trump Wanted Navy Stationed Along Venezuelan Coast. telesurenglish.net The United States President Donald Trump proposed deploying navy ships along the Venezuelan coast to prevent the entry of products into the country according to a report by Axios news portal. | RELATED: | US: Already Interfering in Upcoming Venezuelan Elections | Trump devised the idea of the maritime blockade of Venezuela with his security advisors ac…

Fight Back (2019-08-19). Venezuela: Worker control vs. Trump's blockade. fightbacknews.org Chicago, IL – Venezuela is a country where the dreams of the conscious workers of the world are being made real. It is a nation of 30 million people where, every day, the working class is becoming more conscious of its historic role in building socialism and taking steps to achieve it in the not so distant future. And in the face of an imperialist offensive that threatens them with starvation, where the threat of military invasion hangs over their heads like a storm cloud, they continue their struggle undeterred. | This past week, at the National Gathering of the Productive Worker Councils (CPTs), this stage of t…

Middle East Eye (2019-08-19). Sudan\'s Bashir \"Took Millions in Cash From Saudi Crown Prince,\" Trial Hears. theantimedia.com Detective tells court the deposed president was handed the money by Mohammed bin Salman\'s envoys.

David Penner (2019-08-19). Health Care Imperialism: Looting the World\'s Doctors. dissidentvoice.org To poach and rely on highly skilled foreign workers from poor countries in the public sector is akin to the crime of theft. — \"Migration of Health Workers: An Unmanaged Crisis,\" The Lancet, May 28, 2005 What is striking about the tyranny of the medical industrial complex is not only its unconscionable oppression of the …

James Bovard (2019-08-19). America\'s Benevolent Bombing of Serbia. globalresearch.ca Twenty years ago, President Bill Clinton commenced bombing Serbia in the name of human rights, justice, and ethnic tolerance. Approximately 1,500 Serb civilians were killed by NATO bombing in one of the biggest sham morality plays of the modern era. …

Brian Horejsi (2019-08-19). Bears\' Lives Undervalued. counterpunch.org Bears have been in the news lately. The reality is we could say that just about any day between March and November. Recently there were two incidents that warrant examination and comment. An adult man was apparently attacked by a male grizzly bear while walking along a logging road on B.C.s coast. Media coverage, including More

Staff (2019-08-19). Huge Wildfires in the Arctic and Far North Send a Planetary Warning. truthout.org | | The planet\'s far North is burning. This summer, over 600 wildfires have consumed more than 2.4 million acres of forest across Alaska. Fires are also raging in northern Canada. In Siberia, choking smoke from 13 million acres — an area nearly the size…

Asa Winstanley (2019-08-19). The Truth Is Out About Israel\'s Cover-up of Nakba Facts. globalresearch.ca Recent news reports have shed light on the lengths to which Israel\'s security establishment is going in order to cover-up the history of the country\'s war crimes against Palestinians. A long piece in Haaretz earlier this month explained that for …

WSWS (2019-08-19). Trump administration calls for permanent restoration of bulk phone communications surveillance. wsws.org The outgoing director of National Intelligence appealed to Congress for the restoration of the surveillance program that was exposed by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

WSWS (2019-08-19). Newark, New Jersey residents denounce Democrats over lead-poisoned water. wsws.org The city began distributing bottled water last week after it was revealed that faucet filters were failing to screen toxic lead from home drinking water.

Staff (2019-08-19). Warren Apologizes to Native Americans for Heritage Claim. truthdig.com Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren offered a public apology Monday to Native Americans over her past claim to tribal heritage, directly tackling an area that\'s proved to be a big political liability. | \"Like anyone who has been honest with themselves, I know I have made mistakes,\" the Massachusetts senator said at a forum on Native American issues in the pivotal early-voting state of Iowa. \"I am sorry for the harm I have caused.\" | Monday\'s remarks were an effort to move past the fallout from her past claims of tribal ancestry, which culminated in a widely criticized release of a DNA analysis last…

Askiah Adam (2019-08-19). Malaysian Airlines MH17: Quest for Justice Continues. globalresearch.ca This Saturday, a conference will convene in remembrance of the 298 passengers and crew on board the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, which was shot out of the sky over a war zone in Ukraine. | Organised jointly by the International Movement …

Thomas Knapp (2019-08-19). Lung Disease Outbreak: First Casualties of the War on Vaping? counterpunch.org On August 15, Wisconsin\'s Department of Health Services announced \"a cluster of people with severe lung disease who all reported recent vaping or dabbing (vaping marijuana oils, extracts, or concentrates).\" CNN reports more than 120 similar cases nationwide based on a survey of state health departments. \"Vaping\" has been a thing for a decade or More

Kim Petersen (2019-08-19). Colonialism Lives on in the Mind of Donald Trump. globalresearch.ca Outside of melting glaciers and global warming discussions, Kalaallit Nunaat does not often find itself in the spotlight, and when it does, it is usually referred to as Greenland. United States president Donald Trump\'s real-estate aspirations have given Kalaallit …

NationofChange Staff (2019-08-19). Tell Congress to pass the Stop Wall Street Looting Act. nationofchange.org Wall Street private firms and investment funds make their money by buying and selling companies. According to Vox, these firms raise money privately, usually getting the funding from \"institutional investors, such as pension funds, or accredited investors — investors who meet a certain set of criteria that allow them to make riskier bets.\" | With this \"big money,\" they typically go after companies that are either struggling or have a high potential for…

Serge Halimi, Pierre Rimbert (2019-08-19). How the US Media Demonizes Iran. thenation.com How the US Media Demonizes Iran…

WSWS (2019-08-19). Amy Klobuchar: The favorite Democrat of Senate Republicans. wsws.org Underneath the banality of Klobuchar\'s presidential campaign are pro-war, right-wing politics.

Staff (2019-08-19). Trump Wields Sanctions Hammer, but to What End? truthdig.com WASHINGTON — Call it the diplomacy of coercion. | The Trump administration is aggressively pursuing economic sanctions as a primary foreign policy tool to an extent unseen in decades, or perhaps ever. Many are questioning the results even as officials insist the penalties are achieving their aims. | Since taking office in January 2017, President Donald Trump has used an array of new and existing sanctions against Iran, North Korea and others. His Treasury Department, which oversees economic sanctions, has targeted thousands of entities with asset freezes and business bans. The State Department has been simi…